The St Patrick's College/SurveyLab Link
Benefits
"At the beginning Leon and Jeremy weren't confident they were going to be of any use,” says Chris, "but the reality is they have been fantastic. Contact with them has brought enormous benefits to us and our students.
"It was so good for the classes to see how a successful company works to develop a product, and having Leon and Jeremy in the classroom gave the students direct stakeholder input. Coming from someone other than their teacher, this input commanded the student's attention. The boys were getting into more sophisticated areas and taking their projects further, and would email questions to them. In their folders they wrote things like: 'Jeremy from SurveyLab said I should try this...', quoting specific advice from the stakeholder."
There were also benefits for the teachers and the school, both in knowledge and resources. Chris and the other teacher involved in the mechatronics programme had little in-depth experience with electronics, so were able to ask Jeremy and Leon theoretical and practical questions, either directly or via email. Jeremy and Leon also gifted the department surplus componentry for the students to use.
Jeremy says he gained some insights into the process of teaching. He learnt that learning is an incremental process. And he learnt to take satisfaction in seeing the students take small steps in understanding and not to expect giant strides. And he discovered what may well be the teacher's greatest reward: the rare sight of a penny dropping and somebody 'getting it'.
Asked to identify the things that make a link run smoothly, Chris says be appreciative. "It's important with people like Leon and Jeremy to let them know their involvement is appreciated. And be honest, be honest in the way you talk to them." The most important thing to Leon was teacher enthusiasm. "It's critical," he says. But also: "Return your emails. Sometimes we were wondering if our emails were getting there. But we always got the information and went there at the right time."
