School to expand [sligochampion.ie]
- Published: 26 October 2011
ROCKFIELD National School in Coolaney has been given approval for three new mainstream classrooms. Funding is being made available under the 2011 Additional Accommodation Scheme.
Minister for Education, Depluty Ruairi Quinn has confirmed that the Department will be in contact with school authorities with details of this approval.
Welcloming the announcement, Junior Minister, Deputy John Perry described it as 'well-timed news'.
Our supersize classes: Britain has the worst record in Europe on pupil ratio [dailymail.co.uk]
- Published: 26 October 2011
Primary school classes in Britain are the most crowded in Europe and have the highest ratio of pupils to teachers, figures show.
The damning research reflects the struggle faced by schools coping with an influx of pupils fuelled by an immigrant baby boom and an exodus from private schools in the recession.
It reveals that the investment made by Labour in education appears to have had little impact.
Applications for primary school places have soared 23 per cent since 2008 in some areas and it is estimated that by 2015 an additional 350,000 places will need to be found.
Britain’s primary schools have an average of 19.9 pupils per teacher compared to the European average of 14.5, according to the EU’s statistical agency Eurostat.
Full Story: www.dailymail.co.uk
Class sizes don't matter - it's the teaching that counts [dailymail.co.uk]
- Published: 26 October 2011
Britain's eternal debate about education concentrates on statistics and money. 'Resources' are measured and tabulated to within a decimal point, while the actual content of education - knowledge - is disregarded.
It's a strange phenomenon. When did you last hear an education 'specialist' - a schools' inspector at OFSTED or one of the army of local authority advisers - say anything interesting about Einstein's physics, Cromwell's army or Wordsworth's poetry? Technique and process take priority, and that results in dessication. 'Education' is now a subject in its own right, and in the process it has become strangely un-intellectual.
Class sizes are a case in point. Classes in Britain's primary schools - according to the official figures - are larger than anywhere else in Europe. If the numbers are over twenty-five to thirty per class alarm bells usually start ringing. Teachers' unions get hot under the collar, and solemn advisers urge a reduction in numbers.
Full Story: www.dailymail.co.uk
How to use mobile devices in the classroom [guardian.co.uk]
- Published: 26 October 2011
In an interview earlier this year Education Secretary Michael Gove hinted that he would like to see mobile phones banned in schools. Claiming they lead to "disruption" and can be used for bullying, Mr Gove bracketed mobile phones and iPods in the same category as weapons such as knives. Many objected to this broadside with an online petition.
As a former Director of E-Learning, teacher for seven years, and current educational researcher, I have witnessed transformational learning experiences where mobile devices such as iPods and mobile phones have been key. Modern mobile phones in particular are more like pocket computers and can connect young people to a world of information and learning. Parents such as myself could only dream of having such opportunities when we were at school.
Part of the problem stems from the fact that all of us own a mobile phone and all of us went to school. Unfortunately, doing or using something often does not qualify one as an expert. I travel on trains and aeroplanes reasonably often, but I have no idea how to successfully pilot one from A to B. Similarly, teaching looks like a straightforward job when done well but depends upon layers of pedagogy and practice which can remain hidden to parents, children and the general public.
Full Story: www.guardian.co.uk
Critical Thinking Skills Learned With Destination Imagination Arkansas [marketwatch.com]
- Published: 26 October 2011
Kids who are exposed early to the STEM subjects have an advantage in getting into college and getting good jobs later on, studies show. Parents, teachers, school administrators and youth leaders can log onto www.startateam.org to take the first steps to getting their youth involved in a creative problem solving and critical thinking skills program experienced each year by more than 100,000 kids all over the world.
By participating in the team-based competitive program, children can achieve lifelong benefits, improve self confidence, and learn the creative problem solving process and develop critical thinking skills.
Destination ImagiNation is an after school program that is easy and fun, and it teaches children the creative thinking process through its hands-on educational challenges. Teaching students these skills is now a strategy for schools to reduce bullying, intimidation and harassment.
Full Story: www.marketwatch.com
