Mathematics

equired to spend 440 hours (within three years) on this course, which is
assessed with a school based exam.
Teaching and learning is based on a selection of interdisciplinary modules,
each taking 40 hours. Currently more than 75 modules are available, so
teachers have a wide choice in selecting topics, within the boundaries of the
examination programme, which ensures some variety in the fields covered.
The NLT-modules deal with a wide range of topics in areas such as climate,
sports, diseases, health technology, energy production, crime science, food
production, astronomy, water management, nanomaterials, earth science,
logistics, dynamic modelling, quantum chemistry and physics, and brain
functioning. This variety of modules is meant to contribute to student
awareness of the possibilities for further education in a scientific or
technological area.
At present more than 200 schools are offering the NLT course, 40% of the
schools in the country. In this paper we describe and evaluate the possibilities
for professional development in the context of the NLT course. Central
questions are:
a) What are the contributions of teachers to the development of the subject
NLT?
b) In which way does participation of teachers in NLT contribute to their
professional development?
2 Teacher participation in NLT
2.1 Developing and testing modules
In 2006 no lessons materials were available for the intended course. It was
clear that the STEM area is wide and in order to show students possibilities of
further studies in STEM many modules would be necessary to cover the field.
Moreover, school teachers are usually not familiar with new developments in
STEM and experts in these fields are in general not familiar with school
curricula and culture of teaching. Therefore expertise from science experts and
active teachers was expected to be required in order to produce innovative
teaching materials which are both up to date and suitable for teaching in senior
high school. All development teams consisted of teachers of at least two
secondary schools and experts from universities, colleges, research institutes
or industry. Teachers from almost 100 schools participated in development
teams and experts from 10 universities, 12 colleges and 25 other institutes
were involved.
First drafts of modules were always piloted in schools which were not involved
in producing the modules. Teachers from more than 50 schools participated in
these trials. These teachers and their students commented on the modules
and gave suggestions for improvement. In addition, external experts reviewed
the contents of the modules and science education experts added advice on
the educational quality of the materials. After a revision, taking into account all
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