Aloysius De Roosten: Everything revolves around competencies
Anouk Beek, Aloysius De Roosten in Eindhoven:
‘In the competency diagram, you can immediately see how a student is doing’
At Aloysius De Roosten in Eindhoven (vmbo-k/g/t) students keep track of the development of their (21st century) skills in the digital portfolio Simulise, a digital portfolio that allows you to visualize the development of skills of students. The resulting competency diagram is used, among other things, as a starting point for interviews.
Aloysius De Roosten is a small school with about 400 students. Students work in inspiration labs on projects that align with 21st century skills. In addition to teaching, Anouk Beek, a physical education teacher at this school, is involved in implementing Simulise.
Anouk: “We think it’s important to look at the whole child and not just grades. Competencies, such as 21st century skills, tie in with that thinking. We therefore chose seven skills that we think are important for student development: cooperation, research skills, communication, creativity, independence, ICT skills and citizenship.’ In Simulise, students can keep track of their portfolio and skill development.
Competencies in Simulise
“The ownership of the portfolio lies with the students, so their responsibility grows,” Anouk explains. “And when you’ve been working in this digital portfolio for a while, you can print out a competency chart that shows at a glance how a student is doing in terms of skill development – a great starting point for a conversation.
Anouk: ‘When we started, Simulise provided training for teachers and administrators. I have since taught myself how to use the digital portfolio, both to students and teachers.’
Teachers regularly remind students to use the portfolio – even outside of school. “A colleague of mine always says: Encourage your students to fill the portfolio with relevant files,” laughs Anouk. ‘And they always have their phones with them, so taking a picture and uploading it to the portfolio can be done anywhere, anytime!’