Teachers' pet Batt delighted to be back in the good books [independent.ie]
- Published: 24 April 2009
Source: independent.ie
By Anita Guidera
Friday April 24 2009
EDUCATION Minister Batt O'Keeffe revelled in a less hostile education environment and even the bishop looked more relaxed as he got back to business and opened a new school.
Last week, Bishop of Raphoe, Dr Philip Boyce sat uncomfortably between the beleaguered minister and an angry general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, John Carr at the union's annual conference in Letterkenny.
Opening a €417,000 extension to St Francis National School in Magherabeg, Co Donegal, yesterday, the minister joked that he had noticed the bishop "not making too many moves" to say hello to him that day.
"The bishop asked, 'What should I do on an occasion like this?" and he was advised by my general secretary: 'Keep your head down,'" he recalled, good humouredly.
But it was all smiles, singing and applause at Magherabeg, where Mr O'Keeffe told teachers: "I may have difficulties over funding but that is not to take from the admiration I have of you."
Later, he visited the nearby Scoil Colmcille in Newtowncunningham, where the board of management had creatively opted to build two permanent classrooms with the €170,000 allocation it had received for a pre-fabricated building.
So far, over 40 schools have taken up that option introduced by the current minister.
"It does not make sense to me to use that money to build a prefab when in many cases a permanent structure can be built," he said.
- Anita Guidera
Maths myth busted as calculators aid success in school [independent.ie]
- Published: 24 April 2009
Source: independent.ie
By John Walshe Education Editor
Friday April 24 2009
The commonly held view that the use of calculators makes students worse at maths has been exposed as a myth.
Far from having a harmful effect, access to calculators has actually improved performance on more complex mathematical concepts and skills and on problem solving. Performance in these areas is still not up to top international levels but is better than it was.
Calculators were introduced into the revised Junior Cert maths syllabus in 2000 and used in exams for the first time in 2003. A team of researchers has been studying the effects of the use of calculators for the past few years.
The researchers -- Sean Close, Elizabeth Oldham, Paul Surgenor, Gerry Shiel, Therese Dooley, and Michael O'Leary -- were drawn from St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, Trinity College Dublin, and the Educational Research Centre, Drumcondra. The final report of phase two of their project has just been published at www.erc.ie/publications.
The first tests consisted of questions where the use of calculators was inappropriate, the second where they were optional and the third where they were appropriate.
For the test of questions for which calculator use is considered optional, the students were divided randomly into two groups. One group did the test with calculators and the other group did the test without calculators. In both years, the students with calculators did significantly better.
"Indeed, the difference in favour of the calculator group increased between 2001 and 2004, indicating that the students were able to use calculators more effectively in 2004" said Gerry Shiel from the Educational Research Centre.
"The results on the third test, containing questions requiring more higher order thinking and problem-solving skills, showed a significant improvement, but were still worryingly low, particularly in the area of applied arithmetic and measure," he said.
Results
"Interestingly, when students' test results were correlated with the level of Junior Certificate mathematics examinations taken, it emerged that Ordinary Level students who had access to calculators on the second test scored as highly as the Higher Level students who did not have access to calculators on the test," he added.
Questionnaires were also given to students and teachers. According to teachers, calculator use saved time, improved accuracy, made it easier to teach certain topics and gave confidence to weaker pupils.
However, teachers also pointed to some disadvantages, including missing or broken calculators, over-reliance on calculators, and a perceived decline in numeracy.
- John Walshe Education Editor
Why teachers need to embrace the web [independent.ie]
- Published: 22 April 2009
Source: independent.ie
Educators could learn from the success of Wikipedia, says software tycoon
Spare a thought for teachers. They are rapidly being superseded by machines. The computer entrepreneur Chris Horn says that Google has replaced the teacher as the prime source of information and knowledge for pupils.
The founder of Irish computer company Iona Technologies says that in the current challenging fiscal times it is unrealistic for teachers to look to the State for help.
Dr Horn says it is time for teachers to seize the initiative and use the internet to their advantage as a shared community resource.
He says teachers need to make their job relevant in today's internet world where "the teacher knows little and Google knows everything''.
He says the profession could copy the example of Wikipedia, and share their knowledge of subjects on the internet.
Dr Horn started his career as a computer science lecturer at Trinity College.
While he was at Trinity, he helped to set up the campus company Iona Technologies, one of Ireland's greatest computer success stories.
Before its eventual takeover last year, Iona had a rollercoaster ride with its fortunes fluctuating from year to year. At its peak it was valued at $1.3bn and employed over 1,000 people.
Although Iona is a midget compared to Microsoft, Chris Horn is perhaps the closest figure we have to our own Bill Gates.
With the economy in the doldrums, the powers-that-be will naturally turn to creative figures such as Horn in order to find a way out.
He believes we should not rely on multinationals, but a new network of small indigenous hi-tech cottage industries.
The software supremo says he never saw a computer when he was at school at the non-fee-paying Newpark Comprehensive in Blackrock in the '70s. He developed a love of machines while playing with Meccano.
"I was inspired by teachers such as John Harris in Maths (Harris was one of the originators of Transition Year), Chris Sealy in Science and John De Courcy Ireland in History.''
At the time Horn viewed teachers as the prime source of information and knowledge.
"Today the situation has changed irrevocably. Teachers are, of course, still fine people, but many students no longer accept their teachers as the prime source of information and knowledge. The internet, and in particular Google, is now the primary way to find out and learn.''
Dr Horn says many students feel that their teachers do not know as much about their chosen subject as Google does -- and they do not find traditional classroom teaching interesting or stimulating.
'It's not that today's students have attention deficit, and are incapable of absorption or focus. On the contrary, they immerse themselves -- for hours sometimes -- in what they find interesting (on the internet).''
The former Trinity lecturer says teachers still have a role in helping students to find the best information from many different sources.
"One thing we must of course continue to do is to challenge students' understanding -- the old 'compare and contrast' technique which my English teacher Derek West drummed into me.''
In this brave new internet world, students have to be taught that no single source of information, including Wikipedia, should be taken as definitive.
Dr Horn says teachers cannot rely on the State to rescue our education system.
"With a ballooning national budget deficit, the worst thing we can now do is to fold our arms, sit back, and wait for some fiscally impotent Minister of Education to put together some study on what on earth should be done.''
Controversially, the entrepreneur says teachers could copy the example of the web encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Dr Horn says teachers could use the collaborative websites known as wikis, of which Wikipedia is just one, to pool their resources.
A Wiki is a website which can be edited by visitors. Groups can use a wiki to produce documents collaboratively. While these websites, including Wikipedia, are open to abuse and inaccuracy, Chris Horn believes accuracy can eventually be arrived at through editing, and the weeding out of rogue contributors.
According to Chris Horn, Wiki websites should be created to help teachers get the best out of the Internet, using methods such as Podcasting. The sites could be set up by groups of teachers in different subject areas.
"I envisage a wiki, created by some maths teachers, on each topic within the Higher Level Leaving Certificate Mathematics syllabus, not only explaining each such topic but illustrating it from real world examples, from applications in society and science as to how that particular mathematical technique can be beneficially used.''
As the incoming President of Engineers Ireland, Horn is concerned about the serious lack of workers trained in certain skilled areas.
"There is a dire shortage of skilled software engineers in Ireland. There is also a shortage of mechanical and electronic engineers.''
Part of the problem is the number of students studying Honours Maths.
"I think teachers could help to encourage more students to continue with Honours Maths, by using the Internet.''
Chris Horn is among the speakers at the Engineers Ireland Annual Conference which starts tomorrow in Tullamore.
Experts savage State policy on teaching Irish [independent.ie]
- Published: 22 April 2009
Source: independent.ie
By Katherine Donnelly
Wednesday April 22 2009
A damning indictment of the treatment of Irish in the education system is contained in a new report on the status of the language.
The report stresses that "change is needed, firstly in the attitude of the Department of Education and Science, and then in all aspects of the teaching of Irish in English-medium schools". While it welcomes a level of competence in Irish that is probably at its highest since the Famine, it suggests official policy and the education system have been found wanting. "The history of the change in the State's policy towards teaching Irish has been far from even or adequate to meet the needs, or even satisfy the expectations of the Irish people over the past 40 years", it states.
It notes that that it was the support of voluntary organisations that "forced" on the Department of Education the parallel system of Irish-medium schools.
Competence
'The Irish Language And The Irish People' report, by sociologist Fr Micheal MacGreil SJ and Fergal Rhatigan of National University of Ireland Maynooth, credits the Irish-medium schools with pushing up the proportion of people expressing a reasonable competence in the language to 47pc -- up 6pc in 18 years.
But it is disappointed at a decrease in occasional and more frequent use of the language, from 28pc to 23pc.
The report was launched yesterday by Gaeltacht Minister Eamon O Cuiv. He said that people's positive attitudes and aspirations for the language have remained very high, with 93pc of the adults wishing to have Irish revived or preserved.
"We have saved our language to the point where it can survive. It is strong enough now to be revived, if the appropriate policies and actions are taken," said Fr MacGreil.
Those expressing reasonable competence in the language are more likely to be in younger age groups, reared in Munster, highly educated and in senior occupations which, it states, bodes well for the future.
The report found that people's view of the language became significantly and substantially more positive after leaving school.
- Katherine Donnelly
Schools around the corner won't ever be the same [independent.ie]
- Published: 21 April 2009
Source: independent.ie
By EIMEAR NI BHRAONAIN
Tuesday April 21 2009
THE construction of a new state-of-the-art school building has commenced under the Department of Education's Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen attended Gallen Community School in Ferbane, Co Offaly yesterday to mark the start of construction work on the new building.
Gallen Community School is part of the first batch of schools being built under the PPP model.
The school is an amalgamation of St Joseph and St Saran's Secondary School and Ferbane Community College.
Mr Cowen said the start of work on the site marked an "important new chapter" in the story of the school.
When finished, the building will accommodate 450 students and facilities will include a multimedia laboratory, library, science labs and a gym.
Mr Cowen encouraged students to "take an interest in science and maths". "We're working to build a new 'smart economy' as the basis for our future prosperity and this is critically dependent on a strong supply of scientists, engineers and technicians," he said.
- EIMEAR NI BHRAONAIN
