VU Amsterdam PhD candidate in Environmental Geography, Joshua Nooij, discovered how to really bring complex themes back to their essence, while teaching guest lessons for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in primary schools. “Try explaining biodiversity to a six-year-old without jargon or models.” Surprisingly, that same approach turned out to be highly effective in the lecture hall too.
Child-friendly language as serious didactics
“I wasn’t exactly a model student myself. I often found classes boring and had trouble staying focused. Sometimes I skipped school, sometimes I got sent out of class. What did fascinate me was nature. That interest eventually brought me to WWF and later into the lecture halls of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Because I personally struggled with dry academic lessons, I now try to make my own teaching as lively, engaging, and relevant as possible.
My mother always said: ‘You only truly understand a subject if you can explain it in child-friendly language.’ I’ve never forgotten that. That’s why in my primary school guest lessons I always pick one difficult word and explain it without jargon. It’s a small exercise, but it reminds me that giving clear explanation might be the hardest (and most important) skill a teacher can have.”
What universities can learn from primary schools
“Activating students. That’s the biggest lesson. First-year students, just like primary school children, need variety, excitement, and interaction to stay engaged. If I simply lecture for too long, half of them tune out. That’s why I break my lectures into blocks. After some explanation, I’ll ask a question or give a short assignment. It keeps everyone awake. Myself included.”
Clear language, better teaching
“Teaching children has also made me much more aware of my language use. I realised I often spoke in jargon with students without noticing that some terms weren’t obvious to them at all.
In primary school, I handled that very differently: I explained ‘biodiversity’ by counting tree species together in the forest, an example children grasp immediately, because it connects to their everyday world. At university, I wouldn’t even bother to explain a term like ‘genetic diversity’ briefly. Now I do, so that everyone can follow along and no one is left behind.”
Didactic flexibility needs training
“My advice to colleagues is actually quite simple. Try it yourself: give a guest lesson in a kindergarten class, or explain a tricky concept to your nephew, niece, or a friend’s child. You’ll immediately notice how much creativity it takes to make complex material accessible.
In my view, that’s the fastest way to train your didactic flexibility. And that’s exactly the skill you need as a teacher, day after day.”
