The Federal Government is moving ahead with plans for an overhaul of the year 12 certificate.
Former education minister Brendan Nelson had been concerned by differing standards across the country in key subject areas such as English, Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. A report he commissioned into establishing a national certificate of education for year 12 students will be released today with the Government's response
From the Queensland Museum
Until 22 June
Thursdays 12.00-1.00pm
This ground-breaking free talk series presents a range of remarkable people, from private enterprise and the public sector, who are leading the charge in a sustainable future for Queensland.Take this opportunity to hear the final four presentations in the series.
Visit the Museum website for a full series program!
educationFrom Doug Johnson…
”Having a partner in any enterprise that seems risky lessens the fear factor and improves one's chance for success. When implementing a new project that uses technology, I whole-heartedly recommend asking your librarian to be your "technology partner." You will find that today's best librarians -- or library media specialists (LMSs) -- have…”
Read on to find the eight qualities …
education
Let's Teach to the Test
By Jay Mathews
All signs point to 2006 being a crucial year for testing in America, with the first national results from the new SAT due, as well as significant changes underway in how states use the tests that rate schools under the No Child Left Behind law. If only, then, we could figure out a way to speak clearly to each other about what we think of the many tests our children are taking. Let's start by trying to clarify what I consider the most deceptive phrase in education today: "teaching to the test."
Tag: education
The following article appeared in the Toronto Sun, Friday, April 7th,2006.
Libraries tied to student achievement
Study makes case for training, funding
"...first Canadian study linking school libraries to student achievement indicates that better libraries improve student testscores and add to kids' reading enjoyment.
The Ontario School Library Association says the research, released yesterday, is the evidence it needs to make a case for more trained school librarians and better-stocked shelves.
"There's such a clear link between libraries and student achievement. I don't know how the minister (of education) can ignore it," said association president Michael Rosettis.
The study by Queen's University professor Don Klinger was based on provincial test scores and attitudinal information collected by the province's Education Quality and Accountability Office. That information was married with data on the state of elementary school libraries gathered by the provincial parent group, People for Education.
Klinger's study of 800 elementary schools and about 50,000 students showed that schools without trained teacher-librarians were more likely to score lower on grades 3 and 6 reading tests. Schools with teacher-librarians had proportionally more students who scored the highest levels on Grade 6 tests.
The study found the biggest difference teacher-librarians made appeared to be in how much students enjoyed reading, said Klinger. The research showed that the presence of a teacher-librarian accounted for a small shift in students' attitude to reading.
It was a tiny variable, but given that researchers haven't been able to identify most of the factors affecting student achievement, it is significant, he said. "If all school libraries were adequately staffed and sufficiently funded, just imagine the impact on student achievement," said Rosettis, a teacher-librarian at St. Augustine Catholic High School in Markham. Teacher-librarians are qualified teachers who've taken more courses to become librarians.
They focus on integrating information technology with the curriculum, and work with teachers to design research units. The $40,000 study was funded by the Ontario School Library Association, but conducted independently, Rosettis said. U.S. studies have shown a link between student achievement and well-staffed, well-stocked school libraries.
The librarians and People for Education say the Ontario government has made small steps to stem a 20-year decline in school libraries with a $17 million book grant last year and another $15 million last month.
Rosettis said he hopes new education minister Sandra Pupatello will find the study compelling enough to consider designating dedicated funds to teacher-librarians and books.
School boards get one librarian for every 769 students, but many schools don't have that many students and even when they do get a library allocation, some principals spend the money on other staffing and specialty teachers in physical education or music.
People for Education research shows that only 54 per cent of Ontario elementary schools had a full- or part-time teacher-librarian last year, compared with 80 per cent in 1997-'98.
At Church Street Public School, full-time teacher-librarian Nancy Woodruff said she works with other teachers, looking for alternative curriculum materials to suit student needs, including those who haven't yet learned English and others with learning disabilities. "These children will have to know how libraries function to the end of their school days," she said, but every year she wonders if the school will be able to keep her in the library position. Principal Judy Gillis said she gets between $6,000 to $7,000 a year to stock the library but it's a struggle with so many competing priorities.
Pupatello was not available for comment yesterday.
Like art rooms in schools everywhere, this virtual art room is meant to be a "special" place.
Within its "walls," kids are offered opportunities to create, to discover, to imagine, to invent, to learn, and to make their thoughts become things.
In short, the @rt room is a place for kids to explore their inner and outer worlds
Just wanting to let you know that the Term 2 rap Worst best friends for Stage 2 will be available from May 15th on our website at http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/schoollibraries/teaching/raps/index.htm
Rap information: Worst best friends by Max Dann. Stage 2. A multimedia unit based on books and films from the television series by the author. This is a cross KLA unit including English and PDHPE which explores issues about friendship, trust and loyalty. Students will share ideas about what friends are like, how they act, things they do and share with friends.
The rap may be used alongside the COGs unit Stage 2: Understanding each other that focuses on exploring different cultures, customs, viewpoints and types of relationships in order to better understand each other.
Resources available from Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF). The Rap will be live for viewing and registering (no cost) week of 15 May 2006.
Rap starts 22 May 2006.
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From resource shelf:
World Wind is a free, open source, 3D interactive geographic application (maps and imagery of Earth) that we've linked to on the blog several times and Gary also posted about on the SEW Blog a year ago.
The first version of the app launched in mid-2004. The program was first developed by NASA's Learning Technologies. World Wind has its own wiki, WorldWindCentral, loaded with tons of info (knowledge base), cool places found using the imagery, user tips, and more. A user forum is also available.
World Wind Moon now offers 3-D interactive imagery of the Moon. It's also worth knowing that many add-ons for WorldWind are available. This page has a good overview of how they work. A list is available here and even more comprehensive list here. Add-ons include:+ Access to MSN's Virtual Earth (Live Local) imagery+ Access to Great Lakes Data+ Access to Imagery of Venus+ NASCAR Tracks+ National Parks+ Near Real Time Satellite Tracker
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Visit my Pivotal Personal Management pages for tips, ideas, articles and courses.
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