The St Patrick's College/SurveyLab Link

In 2003, staff at the Technology Department of St Patrick's College, Wellington, was contacted by Futureintech Facilitator Phil Sadgrove with a proposal. Phil had been cold-called by a pair of young electonics engineers Leon Toorenburg and Jeremy Gold. Their company, SurveyLab, was developing a new survey tool, which, if early market reactions were any indication, was going to do well. Offshore sales of the device were taking off, and Leon and Jeremy felt the time was ripe to "give something back". After reading about the Futureintech programme the pair contacted Phil and asked him if he knew of Wellington city schools who could do with some help?

A meeting, between the school and the business was set up and this proved to be the start of a very fruitful two-year relationship, with Leon and Jeremy making regular visits to the department, helping out with workshop projects, mentoring students, and providing the technology teachers with technical help.

The Link

The first time St Patrick's HOD Technology Chris Smyth met Leon and Jeremy, he had to convince them that they had something to offer. At that meeting – in the company's premises – Chris and the then-HOD Brian Allen, explained how the technology curriculum worked and their understanding of the technology process. After Leon and Jeremy explained how they went about designing, manufacturing, and developing their products, it was clear the two approaches didn't seem to match.

"They told us they didn't fit into our mould. What we would call a 'brief' they would call a 'No 1 Document'. We had to convince them that while their terminology may differ, their real-world technological practice would be hugely beneficial for our students to see and understand. We hoped that having real, living breathing technologists in direct contact with our students would support the teaching and learning in our senior courses; specifically the Year 11 mechatronics projects."

Finally, Leon and Jeremy agreed to come and talk to the students about SurveyLab and how it went about the process of product development. During their hour-long presentation, they used a number of prototype devices they had brought along as illustrations. The pair's "natural delivery" was a hit, Chris says.

"They showed the whole process and tried to describe it in the same terms that we use with our students. They showed how they went from scribbling down initial ideas through to the final prototype. They also showed us how they approached the electronics in a modular fashion. The students particularly enjoyed the opportunity to take a close, hands-on look at the prototypes and to talk one-on-one with Leon and Jeremy."

When the presentation was repeated the following year, it was videotaped. The tape has been an invaluable classroom resource, Chris says. He uses it to teach product development. Students at various levels have used the tape for case-study material supporting their own tech practice and it contributes to external assessment evidence. The tape is also used in Graphics classes.

Bouyed by the success of the initial presentation, Leon and Jeremy's committed themselves to making fortnightly workshop and classroom visits. "Increased contact meant we could actually get to know the kid's names," says Leon.
During their visits Jeremy and Leon worked alongside the students in the workshop, helping out with electrical and mechanical problems, giving them pointers and ideas, and tried to introduce or reinforce the notion of project management.

We'd ask the students what they wanted to build, then ask them how they were going to do it," Leon says. "They may have been introduced to the [technology] method at the beginning of the project, but there's nothing like having a bit of a stock-take in the middle of a project." Leon says the boys sort of 'got it' – he particularly remembers one student who arrived at an ingenious solution to his problem, but only after Herculean feats of trial and error.

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."

The Future

At the end of 2006, Leon and Jeremy met with Chris to discuss the coming year. After two years, everybody was still keen to continue the interaction, but it was apparent that the pair wouldn't be able to commit as much time to the programme as they had previously.

Leon says it was a real shame because he had been looking forward to working more with the school. But the pragmatic decision had to be made to focus energy almost completely on SurveyLab business.  "We had to prioritise. We just didn't have the bandwidth. If I had more time I would jump at the opportunity to do it again."

Chris says while he must accept SurveyLab's decision to scale-back their involvement with the school he regrets it. He would like to make class-industry interaction a permanent part of his department's culture, and encourages other teachers to go out and forge similar arrangements. He wishes them luck and hopes they get in touch with people like Jeremy and Leon.

"We were very lucky to find them."