Investor Peter Thiel has generated attention by making some provocative claims about America's colleges and universities. Thiel has labeled U.S. higher education "a bubble in the classic sense," and believes that college degrees are "overvalued." </img> </img> </img> </img> </img>


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Pretoria - The South African school system has officially entered a new phase with the finalisation of the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), which is aimed at improving the quality of education.

A total of 195 CAPS were developed and are now ready to be uploaded onto the Basic Education website for easy access by teachers and stakeholders.

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said through the public comment process, the department processed a total of 1 890 submissions on the development of CAPS, which include the training of teachers and adaptation of textbooks.

"[Friday] afternoon, I will meet with the Ministerial Project Committee to receive a full report and hand-over once the work is completed. We will begin by making available the Foundation Phase and Grade 10 CAPS. The department is currently finalising the design and layout and printing process," Motshekga announced on Thursday.

The CAPS are single, comprehensive and concise policy documents to replace the current Subject and Learning Area Statements, Learning Programme Guidelines and Subject Assessment Guidelines for all subjects listed in the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Grades R to 12.

The CAPS will provide clear guidelines on what teachers ought to teach and assess on a grade-by-grade and subject basis.

The proposed CAPS follow a report released in 2009 by Ministerial Review Committee, which raised questions about the lack of clarity in the NCS.

As recommended by the committee, the department tasked the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements Ministerial Project Committee with developing CAPS for each grade.

Motshekga said a pre-implementation workshop, with a selected group of teachers, nominated by unions to access practical aspects of implementation in the classroom, has already been carried out and received good feedback about the accessibility from teachers.

Meanwhile, the department has received the Annual National Assessments (ANA) results and is currently in the process of analysing and interpreting them to assist in intervention.

Motshekga said parents have received the results and data analysis is currently being done for Grade 3 and 6 learners in Literacy and Numeracy.

"An independent body, the Human Sciences Research Council, was appointed to conduct a verification of results in a sample of 1 800 schools with Grade 3 and 6, which makes it 200 schools per province. Teachers marked the tests according to the department's specifications and school principals had to ensure that parents receive the ANA results of their children," Motshekga said.

The ANAs were written in February 2011 by about six million learners in all public schools in Grades 1 to 6 in Literacy and Numeracy.

Motshekga said the department has developed guidelines to assist stakeholders, particularly teachers in the interpretation and use of ANA results. The results on how learners fared nationally are expected to be announced after 16 June 2011. - BuaNews

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With two weeks to go until this year's Leaving Cert exams, there's little point in rehashing the same old advice that students have been hearing since September. That's why drinkaware.ie has taken a fresh approach in the new Leaving Cert (and beyond!) Survival Guide, launched today and available as a free download from their website.

Conscious that students' minds are focused on the last stretch of study, as well as what they're going to get up to after the exams, drinkaware.ie has made sure that the guide covers all of the Leaving Cert summer's major events. This includes advice on last-minute study from past Leaving Cert students, advice on how to balance final study with some down time, Leaving Cert holiday and festival tips, gap year information, dealing with results and rechecks, and everything in-between.

Fionnuala Sheehan, Chief Executive of drinkaware.ie, explains, "We looked at what Leaving Cert students really want to know, and made that the starting point for this guide. Our goal was to create something of value - not just a booklet that tells people to study harder. It's designed to be a practical source of hints and tips which will not only help students with the next two weeks, but will remain useful right up to the end of the summer".

Rebecca, a very successful Leaving Cert student who is now studying Languages, Literature and Film at the University of Limerick, commented on her involvement in the guide; "At this stage of the year you're sick of guides telling you to study, because you've always known that you need to do that. What you really need is some personal advice from someone who has already gone through the Leaving Cert and felt like you do! This drinkaware.ie guide is a great resource for students because it balances study tips with loads of advice on all the things you've got to look forward to after your exams - the Leaving Cert holiday, festivals, years out, getting ready for college, and the debs".

"What's my advice for anyone facing the exams in a couple of weeks? Timing is everything. Figure out how much time you have for each question and stick to it ruthlessly. You'll get more points for half-finishing two questions that you will for finishing one and leaving the other".

The Leaving Cert (and beyond!) Survival Guide is part of the drinkaware.ie 'survival guide' series, which currently covers Christmas, the festival season, holidays and sport.

Hey

Im a University Student from Flinders University, Australia and I am doing an assignment on the impacts of Social Networking on young children. Please let me know your thoughts on the following question-

Social networking is a great way to contact friends through non-verbal communication. However, if we continue to introduce social networking websites such as Togetherville to children aged 6-11, how will this impact the development of verbal communication skills and social capabilities in young children?

Thanks
Deb

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