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Minister Sherlock welcomes the announcement of the major reform of the Junior Cycle
The Minister of State for Research and Innovation, Seán Sherlock TD, has welcomed today’s announcement by Minister Quinn of major reform of the Junior Cycle.
Plans unveiled today by Minister Quinn will see students, rather than examinations, at the centre of the new approach to assessment. Schools will be expected to deliver a programme that will enable students to develop a wide range of skills, including critical thinking skills and basic skills such as numeracy and literacy.
Minister Sherlock welcomes the important role of STEM subjects in the new junior cycle programme. "The new programme will enable students to recognise the potential uses of mathematical knowledge, skills and understanding in areas of learning, to value the role and contribution of science and technology to society, and their personal, social and global importance and to use appropriate technologies in meeting a design challenge," said the Minister.
The existing science and technology suite of subjects will be retained but will be updated to reflect the new programme. From 2016 standardised testing in Science will also be included for all students.
Standardised testing will provide a clear indication of the student’s progress in the middle of the junior cycle programme. This will in turn assist parents and teachers in understanding how well students are performing in particular skills or areas of study.
In addition there will be short courses available in the new junior cycle. The NCCA are currently developing short courses in Programming/Coding and in Digital Media Literacy which will be available to schools for implementation in 2014.
"Schools will also be able to develop their own short courses and I would hope that a number of these will be in the STEM areas. These short courses will be vital to the promotion of STEM subjects in the new junior cycle programme. We need our younger generation to understand the importance of STEM subjects, not only for their future careers, but for everyday life," continued Minister Sherlock.