Analysis: as the primary curriculum faces major reform, two recent reports can guide our thinking on teaching and learning
By Paula Lehane and Patrick Burke, DCU
What did you do at school today? is a question often asked by parents and usually left unanswered. But what are (some) of the other questions we should ask about primary school classrooms around Ireland? One of the biggest questions being asked right now is 'where have all the teachers gone?' As the Primary School Curriculum is moving into a period of major reform and redesign, how should some of the research examined by two recent reports guide our thinking on three big questions about teaching and learning?
Do we still need subjects?
You might have strong memories of learning Irish every morning after the roll was called, religion just before lunch or art on a Friday afternoon. Traditionally, subjects have been used to carve up and sequence the school day. From time to time, calls are made to ditch subjects and move towards a curriculum that ties subjects together in a single lesson to explore topics or themes. Given the importance of drawing on thinking from multiple subjects to solve some of today’s biggest problems (e.g. climate change), this seems a natural progression.
This approach (often called curriculum integration) is most successful when subjects are meaningfully connected. When examining the topic of climate change, children could investigate the impact of flooding in their local environment in geography, explore living patterns in history and learn about how renewable energy works in science. They might look at how artists have responded to and communicate findings about climate change or develop their ability to read critically across reliable and unreliable climate science sources in literacy.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, is it time to call a halt to homework for primary school children?
There is rich potential to join the dots of the curriculum in integrated units of work. Because primary schools are not constrained by a strict single-subject timetabling approach found in post-primary schools, these connections across subjects can be reinforced and repeated by the teacher throughout the school day through different types of activities.
However, the research points out that the ‘integration’ of subjects is not always straightforward. Some concepts need to be learned in a particular order (e.g. mathematics) and there is evidence to suggest that deep knowledge of a topic within a subject is necessary to support critical thinking. This can be challenging to achieve when multiple subjects are being taught together. Teachers need considerable time and resources to rearrange the curriculum in this way. Thus, a middle path that includes subjects but also integrated learning is likely the most sensible decision at this point.
Technology in the classroom - a help or a hindrance?
Very little of what we do remains uninfluenced by technology in some way - smartphones are a central part of our everyday lives. Yet, much has been made of Minister for Education Norma Foley's plans to discourage parents from buying smartphones for primary school children.
So what role should technology play in primary classrooms? We know that technology can provide additional opportunities for learning. Online games and apps like MangaHigh, can be a highly motivating and fun way for learners to practise their skills. They are also able to offer immediate feedback to learners so that they can progress independently. Technology can also make classroom learning and assessment fairer for all learners through the use of common accessibility tools like text-to-speech.
Read more: why children's literacy development is anything but as easy as A, B, C
But the way in which technology is deployed in classrooms needs to be carefully considered, particularly given how easily technology can distract even grown adults. Recent research has concluded that educational technology interventions only show small to medium positive effects for learning and usually under specific conditions. Commercial interests in advancing (or selling) particular devices and software must also be added into the equation. It is important to disentangle a company’s interests in selling a technological product and the actual dividends the product plays in children’s learning.
It is probably best to say that technology will not automatically improve teaching and learning in classrooms. While it may be a huge support to teachers’ planning (particularly as AI tools become more sophisticated), its use for learning should be informed by what children need rather than what technology happens to be available.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's News At One, 800 posts currently unfilled due to teacher shortage, according to INTO
What does it mean to be a ‘good’ teacher?
A recent survey carried out for the Medical Council revealed that teachers are the most trusted professionals in Ireland. This is hardly surprising given how skilled and talented our teachers need to be to support all of the children in their classrooms.
The immense range of research on effective teaching highlights the level of skill needed to sequence and structure new learning or carefully introduce, explain and demonstrate new concepts. Teachers must know when it is most appropriate to use more exploratory approaches (e.g. projects or play) and when more explicit and direct teaching is needed.
Knowing how to strike this balance relies on teachers prioritising children’s learning and development at a particular time and understanding how research should inform classroom practice. Lots of popular ideas about teaching have little to no research basis. For example, the idea that we all have individual learning styles (e.g. visual, auditory) is very common, but research shows this is neither helpful nor true.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor, Katriona O'Sullivan talks about her memoir 'Poor'
Yet teachers need to be more than knowledgeable and skilled. In her memoir Poor, Katriona O'Sullivan provides a powerful account of the supportive role of a teacher in a young child’s life. We know from anecdotal accounts like this and empirical research that relationships matter in classrooms.
While newly qualified teachers are often told not to smile until Christmas, they should be encouraged instead to prioritise a positive, respectful and nurturing learning environment that reflects a sense of trust, co-operation and care. Indeed, the relationship between a teacher and a child can have far-reaching consequences on a child’s relationship with their peers. Negative interactions between a teacher and a child can harm a child’s relationship with other children in the classroom.
Crafting a new primary school curriculum begs lots of questions about our vision for children and teachers in the next decades. Unfortunately, answering most of them is unlikely to be straightforward or easy. They may even be as hard as answering ‘what did you do in school today?’
Dr Paula Lehane is an assistant professor in the School of Inclusive and Special Education at Dublin City University Institute of Education. She is a former Irish Research Council awardee. Dr Patrick Burke is an assistant professor in the School of Language, Literacy and Early Childhood Education at the DCU Institute of Education.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
