Evidence emerges of teachers doing students’ project work

Evidence that some teachers are doing project work for students taking the Leaving Cert Applied has emerged in an inspector's report from the State Examinations Commission (SEC).

The Chief Examiners’ Report 2014 into the applied programme, which blends conventional exams with practical tasks, found “evidence of an inappropriate level of teacher guidance in some centres”.

“This was evidenced by a high level of uniformity of tasks within a class group, a lack of understanding of the aims and purpose of the task, and, in particular, inconsistency between the task report and candidate knowledge and understanding, as demonstrated at interview.

“Some investigation-type tasks lacked originality and were, in the view of the examiners, excessively teacher-led.”

The report comes amid plans to have teachers assess their own students for part of the new junior cycle programme, a move that teacher unions argue will undermine the integrity of process.

The Leaving Cert Applied, which was taken by 2,965 students last year - compared to the 55,000 who sat the conventional Leaving Cert, uses external examiners to assess coursework and presentations.

Teachers must strike “a balance between guidance and student self-responsibility”, the SEC notes, while the school itself has a support role in verifying attendance and project work.

The report says inspectors from the department of education had previously encountered instances of insufficient monitoring of the requirements for attendance and completion of key assignments.

“Appropriate and reliable mechanisms should be established so that credits are awarded on the basis of attendance at individual course modules.”

In addition, the SEC says: “There was evidence that some candidates had continued to work on the tasks after the published completion dates.”

Overall, the report praises teachers, co-ordinators and management whose cooperation is necessary to ensure that credit is claimed “ethically and in full adherence to the programme requirements”.

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“In the vast majority of schools and centres, the programme and all of its assessment elements are clearly being implemented with care and diligence by teachers and school authorities.”

However, there is criticism of a number of practices, including poor record keeping, “over-reliance on photocopied materials, transcription, and indiscriminate use of information downloaded from the internet”, and spoon-feeding students with “a template or list of questions” in reflective tasks.

The report also recommends that schools create opportunities for teachers to work in pairs or groups, and for teachers with experience of the programme to apply for examining work with the SEC as part of the learning process.

“The Leaving Certificate Applied programme involves a large amount of external assessment of a type that is very resource-hungry,” it says.

“The ongoing feasibility of this assessment model relies on the co-operation of all teachers and schools for the availability of these examiners.”

While schools may have difficulty releasing teachers for such work, “the experience gained by teachers through this examining work helps develop their clarity and focus in relation to the aims of the various elements of the programme and the associated assessment criteria, which benefits their teaching”.