Teachers have their say in the National Survey of Personalising Learning4 November 2005 - With Personalising Learning high on the agenda for schools, Granada Learning and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) are working in partnership to find out teachers’ views on the subject. Today, Granada Learning and the SSAT will launch the National Survey of Personalising Learning - an online questionnaire that is designed to take a national picture of personalising learning, and to identify schools’ visions and aspirations for the future. But what is personalising learning? The recent Education White Paper, Higher Standards, Better Schools For All, describes it as “tailored education for every child and young person, that gives them strength in the basics, stretches their aspirations, and builds their life chances.” Whilst elements of this have always been integral to education, the combination of new learning technologies and the changing nature of society has generated radical new thinking about what 21 st century learners really need. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) has been working closely with Professor David Hargreaves to develop strategies for personalising learning with schools. Professor Hargreaves believes that “Personalising Learning is a journey for both teachers and students.” The journey can begin through any one of the nine gateways. Through his work with 250 school leaders, Hargreaves identified the gateways as student voice, curriculum, workforce reform, mentoring and coaching, advice and guidance, organisation and design, learning to learn, assessment for learning and new technologies. Granada Learning has also incorporated the principle of Personalising Learning into the range of services it offers. Andrew Thraves, Publishing Director at Granada Learning explains: “The learner, not the technology, is at the heart of our development strategy. Our wide portfolio includes resources that can help learners to achieve their potential at their own speed, in the way that they learn best, and at the most appropriate time and place. This survey will give us insights into how schools are creating a more tailored experience for their students, and teachers’ views on the support they need to take this initiative forward.” The National Survey of Personalising Learning is being conducted on Granada Learning’s e-assessment platform, Testwise. Questions are predictive and the survey is quick and easy to complete. For teachers who want to say more, there are optional opportunities for free text responses. Kai Vacher, the Head of Personalising Learning at the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, said: “We are highly committed to helping schools progress in their personalising learning journey, and to support school leaders in developing the agenda. We are pleased to be working with Granada Learning on this survey and look forward to seeing how its findings can help both the Trust and schools move the agenda forward.” The survey is available on www.personalisinglearning.co.uk . All teachers who take part are being entered into a draw to win a year’s free online assessment from nferNelson, Granada Learning’s assessment division. Runners up will receive annual licences for e-assessments of learning styles. The findings of the survey will be published in January 2006 at the final conferences in the popular SSAT and Secondary Heads Association event programme and on the personalising learning website. - ends -
About nferNelsonPart of the Granada Learning Group, nferNelson is the UK’s leading independent provider of tests, assessments and assessment services for education. nferNelson publishes assessments for the 0-19 age group, with the majority of assessments aimed at 5-14 year-olds. URL: www.nfer-nelson.co.uk
About Testwise Testwise is nferNelson’s powerful online assessment tool, designed to provide high value computer based assessment, and to take the work out of administering, scoring and analysing tests. It presents assessments in rich visual formats and supports randomisation and time limits. It also features easy-to-use question authoring that lets you classify and add metadata to each question and group items together in question banks that can be managed across departments or institutions. URL: www.nfer-nelson.co.uk/onlinetests
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