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      string(304) "... Minds.Kate O’Hanlon lives in Newry, Co Down, N Ireland. Fortwenty years she taught in schools in Nigeria, Kent andN Ireland, but for the last number of years she has beenAdviser for English/Literacy in the Southern Educationand Library Board area in N. Ireland. She has an interestin a ..."
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      string(3883) "of students in secondary schools in 2009who achieved a Grade C or above in English in secondaryschools was 44.9% and in Maths 38.4%.Tables 6 – 7 above record the results in English and Mathsfor the IE and Control groups. The results are very positivefor the IE group, where 33.3% achieved a C or above, whileonly 7% of the Control group did so. In Maths, 17% of the IEachieved the C or above whereas no students in the Controlgroup achieved at the same level.The outcomes of the research project have demonstratedthat the target group which received a programme of IE forthree years has performed markedly better at the end of theirschool experience as evidenced by their GCSE results. The resultsare encouraging particularly when we look at the baseline dataand appreciate that these were students not normally expectedto achieve so much. It can be suggested that the effect wasas a direct result of their involvement with the InstrumentalEnrichment programme, as that was the only significantdifference noted between the two targeted groups.The following recommendations may be worthy ofconsideration, especially in a situation where education is tryingto find ways to support students who find learning challengingand when challenging targets have been set for schools:IE should be considered for students who have difficultieslearningIt should be accepted that IE could make a great●●Low Achievers Research33Volume 2.2 n Creative Teaching & Learningdifference to those students who are achieving at theaverage or just below average levels of attainmentWhile these students benefited from the programme,more time assigned to the programme each week willreap even greater benefitsIt is important that the whole staff in the school bemade aware of the principles and practices of IE and,in particular, to have an understanding of mediatedlearning experience, which will sit comfortably within thephilosophy underpinning the Revised Curriculum.●●IE students, with some of their teachers, receive their certificates at the end of their Level 3 programme in Armagh, N Ireland.REFERENCES:Adey, P and Shayer, M, ‘An exploration of the long-term far transfer effects following and extendedintervention programme in high school science.’Cognition and Instruction, 11(1): 1-29.Blagg, N. (1991), ‘Can We Teach Intelligence?’ L.Erlbaum Associates.Feuerstein, R., Rand, Y., Hoffman, MB., Miller, R (1980),‘Instrumental Enrichment: an intervention programmefor cognitive modifiability.’ Baltimore: University ParkPress.Romney and Samuels, (2001), ‘A meta-analysis of theimplications of thinking skills’ approaches on pupils.’EPPI Centre.Sharron, Howard, ‘Changing Children’s Minds.’Imaginative Minds.Kate O’Hanlon lives in Newry, Co Down, N Ireland. Fortwenty years she taught in schools in Nigeria, Kent andN Ireland, but for the last number of years she has beenAdviser for English/Literacy in the Southern Educationand Library Board area in N. Ireland. She has an interestin a wide range of programmes and approaches whichsupport and develop thinking. She has taught IE and isa qualified IE trainer, having attended conferences andtraining opportunities in the UK, Europe and in Israel.Email kate.literacy@gmail.comMust see articlesDiagnosing Learning Difficultieshttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learning-difficulties-ttc4.htmWhat Is A Thinking School?http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-a-thinking-school.htmLearning That Lastshttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learningsthatlast.htmThinking for Learninghttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/thinking-for-learning-tcc1.htmCASE Provenhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/tt01-case-proven.htmMust read BookChanging Children’s Mindshttp://www.thinkingonlinecatalogue.co.uk/Research Low Achievers34 Creative Teaching & Learning n Volume 2.2"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Closing the achievement gap in Ulster

26 Jul 2011

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      string(4895) "English and Maths. In a selective system,which is the situation in N. Ireland, the pupils areseparated into grammar and secondary schools at theend of Year 7. In the post-primary sector, while thegrammar schools achieve good standards in terms ofGCSE and GCE ‘A’ level grades, there remains a longtail of under-achievement and low achievement; 1.8%left school in 2009 with no qualifications.The percentage of students in secondary schools in2009 who achieved a Grade C or above in English insecondary schools was 44.9% and in Maths 38.4%.Tables 6 – 7 above record the results in English andMaths for the IE and Control groups. The results arevery positive for the IE group, where 33.3% achieveda C or above, while only 7% of the Control group didso. In Maths, 17% of the IE achieved the C or abovewhereas no students in the Control group achieved atthe same level.The outcomes of the research project have demonstratedthat the target group which received a programme of IEfor three years has performed markedly better at the end oftheir school experience as evidenced by their GCSE results.The results are encouraging particularly when we look at thebaseline data and appreciate that these were students notnormally expected to achieve so much. It can be suggestedthat the effect was as a direct result of their involvement withthe Instrumental Enrichment programme, as that was the onlysignificant difference noted between the two targeted groups.The following recommendations may be worthy ofconsideration, especially in a situation where education istrying to find ways to support students who find learningchallenging and when challenging targets have been set forschools:■ IE should be considered for students who havedifficulties learning■ It should be accepted that IE could make a greatdifference to those students who are achieving at theSummary GCSE Maths GradesIntervention ControlCount % Count %A*-C 8 17.02 0 0.00D-G 39 82.98 51 92.73U 0 0.00 4 7.27TOTAL 47 100 55 100Summary GCSE English Grades AchievedIntervention ControlCount % Count %A*-C 12 33.33 3 7.14D-G 24 66.67 37 88.10U 0 0.00 2 4.76TOTAL 36 100.00 42 100.00Table 6: Summary GCSE English Grades AchievedTable 7: Summary GCSE Maths Grades……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Learning how to learn ■■■■■76References: Adey, P and Shayer, M, ‘An exploration of the long-term far transfer effects following and extended intervention programme in highschool science.’ Cognition and Instruction, 11(1): 1-29. ■ Blagg, N. (1991), ‘Can We Teach Intelligence?’ L. Erlbaum Associates. ■ Feuerstein, R.,Rand, Y., Hoffman, MB., Miller, R (1980), ‘Instrumental Enrichment: an intervention programme for cognitive modifiability.’ Baltimore: UniversityPark Press. ■ Romney and Samuels, (2001), ‘A meta-analysis of the implications of thinking skills’ approaches on pupils.’ EPPI Centre. ■ Sharron,Howard, ‘Changing Children’s Minds.’ Imaginative Minds.average or just below average levels of attainment■ While these students benefited from the programme,more time assigned to the programme each week willreap even greater benefits■ It is important that the whole staff in the school bemade aware of the principles and practices of IE and,in particular, to have an understanding of mediatedlearning experience, which will sit comfortablywithin the philosophy underpinning the RevisedCurriculum.Kate O’Hanlon has taught IE and is a qualified IE trainerEmail kate.literacy@gmail.comIE students, with some of their teachers, receive their certificates at the end of their Level 3 programme in Armagh, N Ireland.Must see articlesDiagnosing Learning Difficultieshttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learning-difficulties-ttc4.htmWhat Is A Thinking School?http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-a-thinking-school.htmLearning That Lastshttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learningsthatlast.htmThinking for Learninghttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/thinking-for-learning-tcc1.htmCASE Provenhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/tt01-case-proven.htmMust Read BookChanging Children’s Mindshttp://teachingtimesbookshop.co.uk/product/changing-childrens-minds/http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learning-difficulties-ttc4.htmhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/what-is-a-thinking-school.htmhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/learningsthatlast.htmhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/thinking-for-learning-tcc1.htmhttp://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/tt01-case-proven.htm"
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Professional Development

Closing the achievement gap in Ulster

17 Dec 2015

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      string(307) "... to 30 in 2015. Additionally, Channel 4 cut their hours drastically in 2015, reducing 49 hours to amere zero.According to the BBC, over the last six years, children’s viewing of TV programmes has dropped by morethan a quarter. In an attempt to revive the children’s sector, last ..."
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e-Learning Update issue 62"
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      string(5198) "e-learning UPDATE  www.teachingtimes.comFEARS OF TECH ADDICTIONIN CHILDREN LIVING DIGITALCHILDHOODThe Internet is now more popular than TV and 25% of toddlers have their ownmedia device, according to new research by Tech and Play. According to thesurvey, 25% of under threes have their own media device, such as a tablet orgames console, and 37% of three to five year olds. Older children, between fiveand 15 years old, are most likely to have the most access to electronic devices.The report outlines the key findings of a co-produced study, developed in collaboration between academicsat the Universities of Sheffield and Edinburgh, the BBC (CBeebies), Monteney Pirmary School and the children’smedia companies Dubit and Foundling Bird (Appendix 1 outlines the project team members and Advisory Boardmembers).The project was co-produced in that all project partners contributed to the development of the project aimsand objectives and were involved in data collection, analysis and dissemination. The aim of the study was toidentify pre-school children’s (aged 0-5) uses of and responses to tablet apps in terms of the impact on their playand creativity.Research conducted by OFCOM has shown that the use of technology amongst children has increasedconsiderably, particularly amongst young children. In 2015, toddlers aged around three to four years old spenton average 6 hours and 48 minutes per week on electronic devices, which soared to 8 hours and 18 minutes lastyear – an increase of 26%. For children aged between five and 15 years old, the average time also substantiallyincreased, from 14 hours and 42 minutes in 2015 to 15 hours in 2016. Children today are becoming increasinglyaddicted to electronics and technology, emphasising the claim that youngsters are living in a “digital childhood”.The OFCOM research has suggested that, due to the increase in technology use among young children,Helping teachers with today’stechnologyAn ICT Update Publicationwww.teachingtimes.come-learningUPDATESeptember 2017http://www.teachingtimes.comhttp://www.teachingtimes.comnewsSEPTEMBERe-learning UPDATE  www.teachingtimes.comonly one in 10 toddlers of the so-called “iPad generation” are labelled as being ‘healthy’ by paediatricians. TheNightingale Hospital, located in central London, has treated children as young as 12 years old for ‘technologyaddiction’. PAARS, a charity from North London has seen a marked rise in the number of children becoming‘addicted’ to electronic devices, such as tablets, games consoles and phones. As a result, they have seen a suddenincrease in the number of children verbally abusing, or even physically hitting them, when they take devicesaway from them, or turn the internet off to prevent usage.Furthermore, starting at a screen, such as an electronic device, can arguably have adverse effects on thebrain and concentration. Technology has a profound impact on the way young children think and feel, and sincetechnology is full of stimuli and often requires paying attention to a number of things at the same time. Childrenwho spend the majority of their childhood online tend to have less of an ability to focus than youngsters whouse technology minimally. Moreover, children as young as seven years old are developing hunchbacks andcurved spines due to long hours spent bending over devices such as phones and tablets.Due to the rise in technology, there has been a noticeable decline in children’s programming times onpopular television channels, such as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. In 1998, repeats of children’s TV showsmade up just 38% of children’s television, whereas in 2011, the figure rose sharply to 91%, according to OFCOMresearch. As well as this, programming schedules among major channels have decreased significantly – with ITVhaving the sharpest decline. In 1998, ITV had an astonishing 424 hours’ worth of children’s shows in a year, whichfell drastically to 42 hours in 2015. Furthermore, Channel 5 saw the second largest drop, with 353 hours in 1998being reduced to 30 in 2015. Additionally, Channel 4 cut their hours drastically in 2015, reducing 49 hours to amere zero.According to the BBC, over the last six years, children’s viewing of TV programmes has dropped by morethan a quarter. In an attempt to revive the children’s sector, last month, the BBC unveiled it will invest moremoney into children’s television as part of the BBC’s first Annual Plan. The new investment will see the budget forchildren’s programming reach £124.4m by 2019-20, up from the current figure of £110m. The BBC claim in threeyears, £31.4m of their budget will be spent online, to appeal to younger generations that are becoming more“tech savvy”, in order to combat competition from American broadcasters such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.MORE…EXPLORING PLAY AND CREATIVITY IN PRE-SCHOOLERS’ USE OF APPS http://www.teachingtimes.comhttp://edtechnology.co.uk/Article/fears-of-tech-addiction-in-kids-living-digital-childhoodhttp://www.techandplay.org/reports/TAP_Final_Report.pdfhttp://static.lgfl.net/LgflNet/downloads/online-safety/LGfL-OS-Reports-Safe-Online-in-2017-Summer.pdf"
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Digital Learning

Over 80% Of London Key Stage 2 Pupils Lack Knowledge To Search For Information Safely Online

14 Sep 2017

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      string(5608) "‹‹ PREVIOUS PAGE n  NEXT PAGE ››This month’sfeaturese-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.comWhat will education become?Bryan Alexander, who spoke at BETT last year, is a researcher, writer, speaker, consultant,and teacher, working in the field of how technology transforms education. Here he looks at thefuture of the educational landscape…curricula.  New technologies challenge every aspect ofhigher education, from classroom practice to scholarlypublication.How can scholars and administrators cope with these pressures?How can students and their families’ best navigate the shiftingeducational landscape?  And what will the university look like next?Guessing the future is usually a mug’s game, but I believe in twoUniversities and colleges are under enormous stressat the present time, whipsawed between powerfulforces.  An ever-growing global population seekstertiary education in unprecedented numbers, whilethe same population clamors against the upwardspiral of university prices.  We expect campuses toprepare students for a rapidly changing twenty-firstcentury, without allowing institutions to let go of prior http://www.teachingtimes.com‹‹ PREVIOUS PAGE n  NEXT PAGE ››This month’sfeaturese-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.comfuturing methods that help us better prepare forwhat comes next.  We can analyze the present fortrends that look likely to drive future developments.We can also create stories of possible futures– scenarios – that let us imagine ourselves intransformed circumstances.I will focus my discussion on the United Statesas a case study.  This is partly due to the huge sizeof America’s tertiary education sector, as well asbecause it is my primary zone of work.Looking into the present for trends can be anoverwhelming experience, especially given thelarge number of information-gathering tools wenow have: RSS feeds, Twitter updates, podcasts,YouTube clips, to name a few.  We can managethat overflow first by creating top-level analyticalrubrics, then by tracking potential trends over timefor their robustness.My opening rubric is the broadest: the non-technological contextfor higher education.  This includes economics, demographics,governmental policy, leading education issues, and others.  In theAmerican setting ,several economic factors loom large.  We’rewitnessing the transformation of our labour force from manufacturingto service (there are relatively few information jobs), and thatworkforce accustoms itself to multiple careers in a single lifetime,multiple employers (often simultaneously).  Many jobs now face thespectre of partial or total automation, eliciting debates about thefuture of work: how many people can a cybernetic society employ?Which careers will survive the full deployment of robotics andartificial intelligence?Meanwhile, state governments have divested from their twentieth-century high investment in public universities, leading these institutionsto effectively privatise themselves, and thereby drive up tuitionrates.  Students take out loans, the total amount of which passed$1 trillion.  Many states are also seeing their under-18 populationsdwindle, while the proportion of over-65 people increases steadily.Conversely, another population, visiting students from other countries,increases steadily.  Also growing is the proportion of faculty who areadjuncts – i.e., part-time and untenurable, and who now constituteroughly three quarters of the American professoriate.A second rubric complements this first: technology.  Again, weface the challenge of too much information, so we must focus onmajor trends that have proven themselves over the past severalyears.  These include: the shift of computing from sedentary to mobileplatforms; the triumph of social media; 3D printing; augmentedreality’s expansion to cover the Earth; the continued growth of thatenormous culture industry, computer gaming.  Policy enters intotechnology at several points, most notably a reborn anxiety aboutinformation privacy following the Snowden revelations. http://www.teachingtimes.com‹‹ PREVIOUS PAGE n  NEXT PAGE ››This month’sfeaturese-learning UPDATE n www.teachingtimes.comCombining technology and educational contexts yields a thirdfield: teaching in the digital world.  A brace of trends have provenpersistent, and include the durability of the learning managementsystem (virtual learning environment to Europeans); the battle over openaccess in scholarly publication; learning’s migration to mobile, always-on devices; continued digitisation of materials.  MOOCs (MassiveOpen Online Courses) obviously loom large, connecting with issuesof competency-based learning, accreditation, sustainability, and openlearning.  3D printing has begun to enter multiple points of the collegecurriculum, driven in part by academic inventions.We can select many of these trends and weave them into a singlemega-trend, or fourth rubric: the higher education bubble.  Thiscontroversial theory holds that American higher education is about toovershoot, as consumer demand starts to undercut overinflated prices.Evidence for this model includes escalating anxieties aboutstudent debt, undergraduate education’s quality, the collapse of thelaw school market, several years of slightly dropping numbers ofenrolled students, and bipartisan political demands that universitiescut costs and improve their accountability.  The bubble concept runsinto one important objection, the persistence of the college premium(lifelong earnings boost).Given these trends and rubrics, we can extrapolate them"
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Digital Learning

What will education become?

5 Nov 2015