Secondary school pupils row for science

Just four weeks to go until they race against each other: who is the fastest rower? Niki, Ingrid and Nienke are not training specifically for this race, but they are working up a sweat for science.

Niki, Ingrid and Nienke, all pupils at the Bonhoeffer College secondary school in Enschede, get together three times a week at the University of Twente sports centre. These meetings are part of their 'meesterproef', the graduation assignment at the Technasium, which is part of their secondary school. The 'meesterproef' is an independent scientific research assignment that is supervised by a university-affiliated scientist. The three girls are very enthusiastic about their research work. They put a lot of time into the project. "Sometimes we even miss important classes at school because we are so busy with our research," Niki says.

Research & Design

The girls are taking the 'Research & Design' course at the Technasium for four hours per week. Here they learn how to work on a project basis, to establish a research plan independently and then carry it out. The pupils combine what they have learned from their regular coursework and put it into practice. This course is geared toward the 'meesterproef' in the final year of secondary school. They spend a total of seven months on the project. "Our research looks into the effects of training on sports performance. We are interested in the kinds of training routines that have the greatest influence on a rower's abilities," says Ingrid. They are being supervised by Bart Koning of the Biomedical Engineering department. They have currently completed about half of their research.

Research

Niki, Ingrid and Nienke started their research at the beginning of the school year. They first attended some lectures on sports physiology and then started their experiments in November. "The lectures were fascinating and we learned a lot from them. It was also a great experience to sit in on some real university lectures," says Ingrid.

 "Under Bart's supervision all three of us set up her own individual training programme. We conducted the same base-line measurement at the beginning: 100 metres and 500 metres rowing. We repeated these measurements after twelve weeks of intensive training. We expect these measurements to help us determine which training regimen has the greatest effect on rowing performance. Niki followed a rowing-specific training regimen, Ingrid concentrated on cardiovascular training en I followed a weight training plan," tells Nienke.

The final measurement will take place in four weeks' time. They will all once again row 100 metres and 500 metres. They expect that Nienke, who is doing weight training, will have improved on the 100 metres, because she is training to produce bursts of power. Ingrid, who is doing cardiovascular training, is expected to improve on the 500 metres, because her training regimen should improve her stamina. Niki should improve on both distances. She is receiving rowing training, meaning she is training specifically for the sport and is developing more coordination and improving her technique. "We're not interested in seeing who is the fastest," tells Niki, "but in seeing who has improved the most compared to the base-line measurement".

Technasium

The Technasium is offered as an option at secondary school. Pupils can start as early as the first year of secondary school. They take the 'Research & Design' course initially. The course is strongly oriented towards a science career. In the last couple of years of secondary school the university starts to play a more central role. The course culminates with the 'meesterproef', the graduation assignment at the Technasium. Pupils conduct a research project in teams of two or three. The projects are supervised by a university researcher, guaranteeing a real dose of science. Twenty-three teams of pupils started their research projects at the University of Twente in September.