Combining independent learning, student engagement, co-operation, and creative learning with real-life problem-solving? A group of students following the AMS MADE Msc programme showed this is possible with the Peek app.
AMS MADE is a joint degree program in Amsterdam by TU Delft and Wageningen University & Research. The programme uses innovative education to deliver interdisciplinary engineers that can deal with complex urban challenges in a fast urbanizing world.
Students create tours for their peers
To stimulate independent and creative learning, AMS MADE encouraged its students to use the Peek app to create tours for their peers. A group of students took on this challenge and brought together five multidisciplinary teams in Amsterdam to explore its Metropolitan Challenges with the Peek app.
Energy use in the city
For each group, they had created a different tour which discussed issues related to energy use at various locations in Amsterdam: from the ‘Green light district’ to flower markets, national opera and the Rembrandt square. The students were asked to look around them and identify energy issues and sustainable energy solutions. A few examples:
- The Green light District is collaborating with al kind of partners in the city centre to make the centre more sustainable. Can you give an example on how such a collaboration can help the energy transition?
- The Van der Pekbuurt is a ‘proeftuin’ for the program ‘aardgasvrije wijken’. If you had to decide as a group, how would you make this neighbourhood gas-free? Which techniques would you apply?
The result shows a true win-win: students learn how to co-operate, acquire knowledge independently and turn this into a creative output, so that their peers will enjoy learning about complex and multifaceted issues in a fun and engaging way.
Innovative use of the Peek app
What is innovative about this? The case shows that it is not always teachers who have to make excursions for their students. Students can also create educative excursions for each other! This enables an even more in-depth learning experience for all students. Encourage your students to go beyond remembering and encourage them to understand, apply, analyze evaluate and create!
