Rotterdam primary school stops with Steve Jobsconcept
The Rotterdam primary school De Vierambacht is discontinuing the iPad education of Maurice de Hond's Education for a New Age (O4NT) organization. The school had introduced the educational concept since the beginning of this school year, but the test results of students were disappointing. Logistics, in particular, turns out to be difficult.
The educational concept O4NT (also known as Steve Jobsscholen) was introduced throughout the school. Pupils register via the iPad for workshops that they want to follow and then sit together at level, this can differ per subject. The class system with one teacher in front of the class is abandoned in this educational concept. All students receive an individual development plan.
Logistic problems
“It turned out to be difficult that a teacher did not see his group all the time,” says spokesman Dorieke Hammink of the Boor foundation that the school is part of. "The concept was well thought out in advance, but we couldn't get it done due to logistical problems."
De Vierambacht has several locations where students have to go back and forth to follow their courses. In addition, the school has many other activities in the afternoon such as music lessons, theater and gym. The primary school could not always rent the gym in the afternoon, because it is shared. Hammink: “That's why students missed important instructions in the morning. Before the educational concept was introduced, there was hope that the timetable would work out. In practice, that was disappointing.”
Decrease in test results
Disappointing test results were the immediate reason to stop. Spokesman Hammink: “We saw a clear decrease compared to a year earlier. We didn't want students to lag behind too much. ” The school is therefore going back to the classroom way. "The iPads stay and the adaptive software too, but the teacher is back in front of the class."
O4NT and the school stopped in good consultation: the three-year contract was terminated after one year.
Mieke den Elzen of sCoolsuite, who guided the school in introducing the concept, is disappointed that it failed. "It's a shame it's ending. We also see schools where the Cito scores are skyrocketing.”
