A look back at the five major learning issues covered by the Learning Portal in 2017. We wish all our readers the best for 2018.
1. Learning and learning assessments
The question of assessments and the use of learning assessment data was a key theme of our 2017 blog content. Posts included an interview with IEA Director Dr Dirk Hastedt on the use of PIRLS data for monitoring SDG4, how learning surveys inform policies to close the learning gap due to bullying based on data from the Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (TERCE) study in the Latin American region, the Jangandoo barometer in Senegal, and an overview of the IIEP Strategic Debate with OECD’s Andreas Schleicher on the 2015 PISA results. Moses Ngware from the African Population and Health Research Center provided an opinion piece on why we need credible examinations in sub-Saharan Africa.
2. Well managed and motivated teachers
Our 2017 e-forum examined the relationship between teacher education and learning outcomes with presentations from four experts on the topic and a weeklong debate with over 1,000 participants. We also looked at issues of teacher deployment in Africa, the Maestro 100 Puntos initiative recognizing outstanding teachers in Guatemala and featured a debate on the use of contract teachers. Teacher motivation was also a key issue with a post by Sharath Jeevan, Founder, and CEO of STiR Education.
3. The use of ICT for improving learning
The use of technology to improve teacher motivation and attendance was featured in our debates section. Our team covered the 2017 Mobile Learning Week and reported on innovations for education in emergencies and crises. We also featured the Project Hello World looking at digital resources to close the educational deficit.
4. Inclusive education
A number of posts covered issues relating to inclusive education. USAID's Disability Inclusive Education Specialist, Joshua Josa shared 5 things to know about inclusive education, lessons on inclusion from Uganda featured the EmbraceKulture project which trains Ugandan teachers to develop the skills of students with disabilities, and Chi-Chi Undie from the Population Council tackled the subject of learner pregnancy and school drop in Kenya. Professor Pauline Rose from the REAL Centre at Cambridge University talked about getting all children in school and learning at IIEP’s May Strategic Debate, and Aaron Benavot, formerly of the Global Education Monitoring Report, provided an overview of the World Inequality Database on Education.
5. Early grade literacy
Young-Suk Kim one of the authors of the 2016 USAID landscape report on early grade literacy shared highlights from the report and Mary McKenna and Jacob Bronstein reported on the World Scientist open-source literary resources initiative.
In 2018 we look forward to sharing with you our redesigned Learning Portal website and to hearing from you on your news and views for improving educational quality and learning outcomes.