Teaching Matters BREDA O'BRIENAt this time of the year, those Leaving Cert students who have merrily sailed along, deluding themselves that they have plenty of time left before the exam, begin to realise that there are mere weeks left.
The panic factor accounts for at least some of the popularity of the Easter courses, which promise, somewhat implausibly, to cover two years' work in days. It may be of little comfort to either those beleaguered students - or indeed the grinds industry - that the entire shape of the senior cycle is set to change in years to come.
In the future, it would be nice to think that the ability to memorise and regurgitate pre-packaged notes will no longer be seen by some pupils as a sure-fire route to success. Instead, the aim is to help senior cycle students become effective learners in a world where the important skill is not how to memorise, but how to analyse and find the essentials in vast amounts of information coming at them at breakneck speed.
The key skills to thrive in this changing world revolve around critical and creative thinking, information processing, communicating, working well with others, and developing personal effectiveness. These five key skills will form the core of the new senior cycle.
Since last September, some 80 teachers from 16 schools all around the country have been actively involved in what is called the School Network. Their freely-given time and work is an important input into the shape of the new senior cycle.
For example, with the guidance of the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), 25 teachers have begun work on looking specifically at how key skills can be embedded in the teaching of English, Irish, modern languages, maths and the science subjects. The initial steps consisted of reflecting on where and how these skills are already practised in these subjects.
There has been some input from the NCCA on the most effective teaching methods to promote pupil-centred learning. However, the teachers involved have declared that one of the most valuable aspects of the process is that they are paired with a teacher outside his or her own subject. Each one of the pair acts as informal mentor to the other and shares best practice. There are very few formal opportunities for sharing what works in teaching, perhaps because of the low priority placed historically on professional and personal development of teachers by the Department of Education and Science.
At first, it was thought that some subjects might lend themselves more naturally to the development of particular skills. Instead, the teachers are finding that, to be an effective learner, all the skills must operate together, and this is as true of biology as it is of English.
Of course, key skills are not the only aspect of reform. It has been envisaged for some time that each student will undertake a programme of study, consisting of subjects (not dissimilar to the subjects now available, but with a greater emphasis on active learning), short courses, and transition units.
In a 2005 NCCA document, it was suggested that transition units might comprise 45 hours of study, a short course of 90 hours' duration, and a subject of 180 hours' duration.
Eleven other schools in the School Network are working on transition units. Film studies, a career investigation, and setting up a "green" school are among the topics being developed. These will be published on the web for other schools to take away. A common template is being developed that will make it easier for all schools to formulate what they are doing, which will eventually result in a vast web-based resource bank.
A further eight schools are examining flexible programmes of study. The first stage has been assessing the needs of their own students. This involves consultation with staff members, students and parents. Eventually, these schools will produce a prototype flexible programme.
To give just one example of the type of thing being looked at, currently both the established Leaving Cert and Leaving Cert Applied are ring-fenced. It is not possible to mix and match to suit the needs of students.
For example, a student taking the Leaving Cert Applied (LCA) might have a natural aptitude for Art, but there is no facility to take, say, Leaving Cert Art along with LCA subjects. In the future, it might be possible to take some of the practical and useful aspects of the LCA, such as the vocational preparation module, and run it as a short course along with more traditional subjects.
The NCCA has a committee structure for curriculum development where all the partners in education are consulted every step of the way. The positive result is that there is a high degree of "buy-in". The negative result is that the pace of change can seem slow. Yet there is no doubt that significant change is underway.
Ciaran Cooke, principal of North Presentation School in Cork, is enthusiastic about his school being involved in the process, and sees it as particularly valuable in terms of professional and personal development for staff.
However, as he says, "it will only fly if it is possible to put it into practice", and he can see formidable obstacles in timetabling and resources.
Perhaps we should leave the last word to a student, who said, "The thing I like most about all this is listening to the ideas of other students and discovering new ways to learn."
bobrien@irish-times.ie
