In primary education, too little attention is currently paid to mental health and science. With the online lesson series ‘What is happening in my head?’ for pupils from groups 6 to 8, we want to make children aware of important themes around mental well-being and behaviour at an early age. With this we want to give children more insight into their own feelings and behavior and teach them how to deal with them. At the same time, we want to stimulate children’s curiosity by introducing them to science and scientific role models.

In co-creation with pupils, teachers and the Wetenschapsknooppunt

The team of clinical psychologists from Erasmus University Rotterdam, together with Public Primary School De Tandem and the EUR Studio, has developed an online lesson series. This series of lessons was piloted in different classes, in which the reactions of both pupils and teachers were taken into account in the further development. The pupils showed a lot of enthusiasm, especially for the varied and interactive assignments.

During the pilots, EUR Studio employees were also involved to discuss the editing of the videos, so that they optimally matched the intended learning objectives and the target group. The results of these pilots showed that the lessons were not only effective in imparting knowledge, but also in increasing children’s interest in scientific topics.

The Wetenschapsknooppunt has provided valuable feedback on the series of lessons and helped with dissemination within their network. This collaboration has contributed to the definition and development of the lessons, ensuring quality and relevance for the target group.

How to use

The online lesson series is aimed at pupils from group 6 to group 8 and covers topics such as anxiety, concentration, nutrition and exercise. In these lessons, children learn that anxiety is a normal feeling, how nutrition and exercise affect their school performance, and what they can do in case of concentration problems. In addition, they gain insight into how scientists study these topics, giving them a better understanding of the scientific process.

The lessons are designed to be used independently, but can also serve as an introduction for a scientist’s visit to the classroom. The series includes interactive exercises to prepare and conclude lessons, allowing teachers to get started quickly and effectively.

The following topics will be addressed:

Conclusion and follow-up

The series of lessons is already being actively used in schools and the first results are positive. We plan to conduct further research into teachers’ experiences and how they use the lessons. Based on this feedback, we want to develop new lessons, expand the lessons to secondary education, and make translations to reach a wider audience. Our ultimate goal is to make a sustainable contribution to mental health education and science.