ERO has done a report on how the changes to literacy and numeracy are going. It is over 150 pages long, but here are some key extracts:
98% of schools report they have started teaching the refreshed English learning area and the refreshed curriculum for maths
- 88% of English teachers and 85% of Maths teachers say they have change how they teach their subjects
- Over three quarters of parents report their child’s progress has improved in English (77 percent) and maths (75 percent) since one hour a day was implemented.
- Almost half (47 percent) of teachers report improved student engagement in English, and just under three in five (56 percent) teachers report improved student engagement in maths.
- Teachers told us that structured literacy approaches have improved attention and behaviour in the classroom.
David Farrar runs Curia Market Research, a specialist opinion polling and research agency, and the popular Kiwiblog where this article was sourced. He previously worked in the Parliament for eight years, serving two National Party Prime Ministers and three Opposition Leaders.
3 comments:
>"Almost half (47 percent) of teachers report improved student engagement in English, and just under three in five (56 percent) teachers report improved student engagement in maths."
What does "engagement" as used here mean? Sitting down to a task the teacher has ordered the child to do?
>"88% of English teachers and 85% of Maths teachers say they have change [sic] how they teach their subjects"
What does this mean? These changes could be trivial or substantial.
>"Over three quarters of parents report their child’s progress has improved in English (77 percent) and maths (75 percent) since one hour a day was implemented."
Was this measure purely subjective or did it involve objective measurements?
What was the sample size? How representative is it of the system as whole?
Throwing simple descriptive stats at people is kindergarten-level analysis. No wonder educational research has such a poor reputation in academe nowadays.
Having dealt for decades with children who were failing and disinterested in learning I know you can actually see dramatic changes in a child's enthusiasm and engagement for a subject using direct , systematic and cummulative methods. Children become more compliant . Parents observe improved behaviours as well.
Unstructured learning in any subject , I have observed also leads to sloppy , disordered behaviour. as well as lack of academic achievement . During breaks like holidays when there is no structured learning children can noticeably become 'stroppy' for want of a better word.
This shows the foolishness ,educationally , of child -centered constructivist learning aka as self- directed and self- content chosen learning .
Children want to have guidance, direction and structure in their learning. It gives them security and orderliness. It is not repressive as constructivists would claim. Self confidence levels increase and creativity improves according to other studies.
What is happening in our schools is revolutionary and cancelling out a wrong pedagogy. ( teaching method) . We have not only poor achievement but the worst behaviours in our classroom including bullying according to international surveys and the highest by far teenage suicide rate.
I would attribute much of the blame for this on crazy unscientific ideologies progressivism were based on. It was not what we had with 'old school' methods which i agree were sometimes too harsh. but then learning cannot occur in an undisciplined environment.
I notice today that Ms Stanford has announced that teacher training is going to be updated, which can only be of benefit to teaching. Apparently a good percentage of new teachers did not feel confident teaching core subjects!! How has this been allowed to happen? I'm sure they could teach their students all about the Treaty of Waitangi though!
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