Purdue, Dutch university establish education collaborative

Representatives from Fontys University of Professional Education in the Netherlands will sign a letter of intent on Tuesday (April 18).

The collaboration currently includes three graduate-level study-abroad programs in the Netherlands organized by faculty in Purdue's College of Education. These programs immerse graduate students in cultural and practical experiences in school counseling, special education and science education, respectively.

Graduate students studying science education through the College of Education and the College of Science will travel to the Netherlands to research best practices associated with teaching and learning among middle and high school science students. One component includes Purdue graduate students observing Dutch science practitioners instructing science lessons through English immersion.

"The collaboration with Dutch science teachers and teacher educators will give our graduate students a whole new perspective on ways to examine how students learn and engage in science," said Brenda Capobianco, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in the College of Education. "Graduate students will have the opportunity to apply theories and models for science learning and teaching through direct observations of and conversations with science students and teachers."

Jean Peterson, an associate professor in educational studies at Purdue, said the collaboration will benefit students by teaching them new ways of thinking.

"Participating in the collaboration will help Purdue graduate students and researchers to think outside of the box," she said.

Being able to stay in homes and be immersed in the culture of families and educators can have a profound impact, based on what Peterson and Teresa Taber Doughty, associate professor in special education, have observed in their students in recent years.

"School counseling and special education in the Netherlands are both quite different from those areas in the United States," Peterson said. "Understanding how the Dutch meet the needs of children helps us to see that there are many effective ways to approach education. We have observed a great deal of collaboration there, and we can see how that reflects the Dutch culture."

The science education collaboration with the Dutch is an extension of an existing partnership with the Netherlands established by Peterson. In 2002, she and Doughty began a direct exchange program for graduate students in school counseling and special education.

This year will be their second Maymester abroad, and a Dutch delegation spent time at Purdue a year ago. The collaboration has now expanded into science education, as well as the field of teacher action research, a form of systematic inquiry that encourages teachers, school counselors, administrators and other stakeholders to investigate areas of their practice that they want to improve and develop.

Because Capobianco was already involved in science education action research, Peterson invited her in 2004 to meet the Dutch teacher-trainers and researchers to determine prospects for collaboration.

In May 2005, Capobianco traveled to the Netherlands and interviewed and observed practicing science teachers, teacher trainers and researchers. She observed that teachers created a positive atmosphere by encouraging continual student feedback, a basic tenet of action research. If students do not understand concepts, the teacher can explore which methods are and are not working and continue to refine approaches that are effective.

The first study abroad program in science education will take place May 23-June 11, when two doctoral students and Capobianco will travel to the Netherlands. During the two-week visit, they will become familiar with how Dutch children learn science and how the educational system is structured in the Netherlands. In addition, the Purdue students will be conducting their own action research.

"The goal of the program is to not only improve understanding of others but also to be professionally rewarding," Capobianco said. "We hope to gain new knowledge about how we can build upon our current collaboration, and I look forward to learning more about what issues in science education and teacher action research are significant to the Dutch and examine their efforts at addressing them."

Writer: Kim Medaris, (765) 494-6998, kmedaris@purdue.edu

Sources: Jean Peterson, (765) 494-9742, jeanp@purdue.edu

Brenda Capobianco, (765) 494-9635, bcapo@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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