May is a busy month for teachers in Ireland. 
Apologies for my failure to post last week! The practical State examinations were taking place and I am responsible for their operation in the school I teach in.
Dr. Harold Hislop, Chief Inspector in the Republic of Ireland’s Department of Education and Skills published a paper (May 2nd), on amongst other things, Evaluation in Irish schools (here 30 pages).
I am very interested in his idea that Principals and senior teachers might be given the opportunity to join “…inspection teams for short fixed periods” (p.25).
He suggests this on two grounds
- to broaden these teachers experience of school evaluation…
- to contribute valuable learning and insights to the Inspectorate…
I am very much in support of the latter, in that teachers who have experience in blending eLearning into their existing practice, have a lot to offer to the Inspectorate by way of insight.
It is not enough that the Information and Communications Technology grants to schools are spent on computers, data-projectors, visualisers etc, simply to display material in a different way but that the technology is leveraged so that teachers and students can collaborate and create, developing critical-thinking skills as they work together.
This will be particularly important in any assessment by the Inspectorate of short-courses and the contents of ePortfolios developed for the new Junior Cycle Framework.
So yes, I am for such an approach and know of many teachers who would value such an opportunity to give such insight to the Inspectorate and to support schools in their eLearning planning.
Hislop, H. 2012. The Quality Assurance of Irish Schools and the Role of Evaluation: Current and Future Trends [Online]. Available from: <http://www.education.ie/servlet/blobservlet/insp_qa_schools_role_of_evaluation_2012.pdf> [Accessed 12 May 2012].
