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US firms call for overhaul of Irish education
“American multinational employers have delivered a stinging attack on the Irish education system and called for a fundamental change to the Leaving Certificate points system. The US companies want...
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In memoriam
“If you were to ask me whether I applaud the key learning methodology of many school examinations – learning by rote – I would argue strongly that it is counter-productive and dangerous and doesn’t...
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Lotteries and the points system
“Madam, – A university head, Ferdinand von Prondzynski, tells us (Education Today, May 10th) that the Leaving Certificate ‘isn’t fit for purpose’, ‘doesn’t attract any respect’ and that ‘rote learning...
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Rote learning for the Leaving
“Sir, – It is now widely accepted that the Leaving Cert motivates and rewards rote learning (Joe Durkan quoted in “Europe facing ‘1930s rerun’ if ECB fails to act”, Home News, December 15th) …” (more)...
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Rote learning for the Leaving
“Sir, – The education specialists who composed a recent Higher Education Authority and National Council for Curriculum and Assessment report say: ‘The notion that Leaving Certificate questions are...
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Focus on rote learning causes problems for Leaving Cert students
“The focus on accumulating CAO points causes Leaving Certificate students to struggle with the transition to third level education, a conference has heard …” (more) [Dan Griffin, Irish Times, 4 March]
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What the Minister could learn from Third Level
“The Minister is hell-bent on making an impact as he winds down his time in politics. He talks a lot about rote learning – in fact he tends to lecture us in an annoying kind of way on the evils of it...
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The Future of Third Level Education in Ireland – 4. The second level link
“The media is full of discussion about the proposed changes to the grading scale to be employed in the Leaving Certificate, essentially back to the 1992 situation. So, I’m going to focus today on the...
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Rote learning is bad – and other myths about education
“There are all sorts of statements in education that are taken as fact: rote learning is a bad thing; the 21st century changes everything when it comes to education; we should teach transferable...
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Rote learning and fostering of memory
“Sir, – Daisy Christodoulou’s observations, as reported by Gráinne Faller (‘Maybe rote learning is not such a bad thing’, Education, May 13th) on the importance of rote learning and of the fostering of...
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The Leaving Cert and ‘rote learning’
“Sir, – In line with what is now an annual event the ‘Girls beat boys to the honour in all but nine of the 59 Leaving Cert papers’ article (August 15th) will probably evoke the usual explanatory...
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Beyond the points race?
“Sir, – The Leaving Certificate is not structured to allow for creative thought, rather it is a two-year cycle focused on a two-week regurgitation of what has been ‘learned’. Teachers are not to be...
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Jobs that don’t exist and all that xxxxx
“Foolishly (I should be doing other things), I’ve just been watching some of the talks from the Global Education and Skills Forum summit being held in some exclusive resort in Dubai where everyone was...
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Rote learning and education
“Sir, – Prof Ted Hurley highlights a key advantage associated with the accumulation of information, including rote learning of facts (‘The war on rote learning just doesn’t add up’, May 12th) …” (more)...
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Rote learning is failing science students
“One of the strongest predictors of a science student’s academic performance is their level of engagement with their learning. There is considerable published evidence showing how inquiry-based,...
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Maths, memorisation and understanding
“Much of the debate around the Leaving Certificate in Ireland centres on the issue of ‘rote learning’. Many commentators will express a desire that education should emphasise ‘understanding’, ‘critical...
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Leaving Cert and rote memorisation
“Sir, – Your Editorial (‘A signpost, not a destination’, August 15th) says in relation to our two-year Leaving Cert course: ‘A new study by Dr Denise Burns of DCU indicates that rote learning (sic)...
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Age, Memory and Learning
“Today’s a big day for prospective students at Irish universities. It’s the day when the Central Applications Office (CAO, the equivalent of the UK’s UCAS) makes offers of places to students based the...
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Is there a role for rote learning?
“So here we are, then, back to work here in Maynooth for the last week of teaching. Or, to be precise, the last four days – yesterday was a Bank Holiday. With university and school examinations...
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Thoughts on ‘Rote learning’
“Examples of rote learning. A student writing ‘menagerie lion’ while explaining what the equator is. A student saying ‘5.cerivisiae’ instead of ‘S.cerevisiae’ when answering a question on yeast biology...
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