If we want better maths exam results from our children, we should stop teaching it like we did 40 years ago, argues Jan O'Sullivan
In the 1960s the average computer would have filled an entire classroom. Now the same computer can fit in the palm of your hand. Here in "the Silicone Valley of western Europe", where many of these high-tech devices are made, we are training students using a maths curriculum that is 40 years out of date. This is an irony which we ignore at our peril. Our unwillingness to address weaknesses in our maths and science education has implications which extend far beyond the classroom.
Our young, well-educated workforce has been a significant contributory factor in our economic prosperity. However, if we want to continue to compete for foreign direct investment in high-tech areas such as pharmaceuticals, computers and technology, we must ensure that our young people can compete with their global peers in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Science and technology are the oil of the modern global economy, and everyone is looking to strike it lucky. Yet according to the OECD, Irish students' performance in mathematics and science is below average. Meanwhile, the percentage of Ireland's economic growth that is being driven by the high-value, high-technology sector continues to fall. In short, the sums do not add up in our favour.
Of course, economic success is not the only reason why quality maths education is important. This year, 12 per cent of ordinary level students failed maths. We let them leave secondary school without the skills to balance a household budget or understand mortgage repayments, let alone participate in the knowledge economy.
The alarm bells set off by this year's Leaving Cert results are fast becoming a crescendo. Numbers taking higher level maths are too low, while ordinary level students are asked to make do with a watered-down version of the higher level course that sees over a third of students failing to achieve an honour. Numbers taking science subjects are dwindling at an alarming rate.
Over the coming days the "poor image" of these subjects will be trundled out as an excuse for the declining popularity of maths and science. This is a shameless cop-out which places blame squarely at the feet of teenagers, while exonerating those charged with their education.
Instead we need a solution that focuses on student ability rather than the perceived difficulty of "problem subjects". For example, only a radical root and branch reform of maths that challenges the way students learn as well as what they learn can hope to have a meaningful impact on students' experience of that subject.
We need to shift the focus of maths away from rote learning and towards transferable skills for everyday life, for third level and for work.
Most fundamentally, we need a joined-up approach to mathematics that encourages students to have confidence in their own ability.
For example, in order to allow students to think for themselves, we need to change the way we teach them. We need to teach teachers to focus on students' problem-solving skills instead of just "getting through the course". This means in-service training that is more frequent and which offers consistent support and feedback mechanisms for teachers. Furthermore, the litmus test for its success or failure must be how well students understand what they are learning.
We also need to change the content of the maths curriculum to provide students with more real-world examples, both to spark interest in maths and also to enable students to apply their knowledge beyond the classroom. This is the most technologically savvy generation of Irish people yet. It is time we started treating them as such.
Finally, we need an exam that brings out the best in the widest range of students. None of the recommendations above should be interpreted as a call to "dumb down" maths or any other subject. Rather we should put our minds to "skilling up" our students.
The 4,600 students who failed maths this year have to look again at their options as they prepare to enter adult life. But who has failed who?
It is time the Government faced up to the complacency so endemic in our education system. They can begin with a radical overhaul of maths and science education. Our economy demands it, our education system is crying out for it, and most importantly, we owe it to future generations of students.
Jan O'Sullivan is a Labour Party TD for Limerick East and the party's spokeswoman on education