That Final One-Third
REGISTER FOR THE EDUEXCHANGEFor our first EduExchange discussion for 2011, we have chosen to examine the performance of our children in the Grade Four Literacy Test. The data shows that in spite of a raft of interventions over the more than a decade of this Test, we are still about 15 per cent short of our national target of 85 per cent mastery by 2010 and ultimately to have all Jamaican children master this test.Share your views with us; tell us what is happening in your school and classroom to move children from non-mastery to mastery. Join us as three of our experienced educators and literacy specialists held us identify the gaps and sharpen our skills to address them.Day 1: Performance FactorsDiscussion topics on various factors impacting students' performance on the Grade Four Literacy Test.Day 2: Ensuring High AchievementTopics will include center on what educators and other stakeholders can do to ensure high achievement on the Grade Four Literacy Test.Day 3: Equity for AllWhat options can educators and stakeholders provide for those who fail despite the interventions?
<p><strong>DR. MAUREEN BYFIELD</strong> is a literacy specialist who worked in various capacities in the field of education. She served as Literacy Lecturer and Vice Principal at Moneague Teachers’ College in St. Ann, External Examiner for Literacy Studies for the Joint Board of Teacher Education, and Literacy Specialist for the Expanding Educational Horizons Project.</p><p>She holds a PhD in Education from the University of the West Indies, a Masters in the Art of Teaching with a specialization in Language Arts and Literacy from Oakland University, and Master in Education and Bachelors in Education, with a focus on Education Administration from the University of the West Indies. She also received a certificate in reading from the University of the West Indies and Teacher Certificate in Primary Education from Moneague College.</p><p>Dr. Byfield is the coauthor of the Macmillan Primary Integrated Studies Grade 1 – 3 textbooks, which are currently being used in primary schools. She is currently working as a Literacy Advisor to USAID’s Jamaica Basic Education Project and is involved in planning and conducting training in literacy.</p>
<p><strong>MRS. NOVELETTE MCLEAN FRANCIS</strong> has been a Language Education Officer assigned to the Core Curriculum Unit, Ministry of Education, since 2002. Her job entails special responsibility for the design, development and review of English Language curricula, as well as for the monitoring of the curriculum implementation process at both the primary and secondary levels. In April 2010 she was seconded to the USAID/Jamaica Basic Education Project where she currently serves as Literacy Advisor and one of the Regional Advisors for Region 6.</p><p>Mrs. McLean Francis is a Trained Graduate teacher with fourteen years of teaching experience. She has taught at both the primary and secondary levels. She holds a Masters in Linguistics; A Bachelor of Arts in Language &Literature with Social Science; A diploma in Teaching; An Advanced Certificate in Management; and a certificate in Testing & Evaluation in Second Language Teaching. She is also a certified Peer Coach.</p><p>She has been the Ministry of Education Representative on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Teachers of English (NATE) since 2004. She also served in the same capacity on the board of the Jamaica Reading Association from 2006 to 2008.</p>
<p><strong>JENNIFER SILVERA</strong> has served in various capacities in the field of education for fourteen (14) years. Her experiences include teaching at the early childhood, primary and prevocational levels, as well as monitoring of community based training institutions. She was recently the literacy consultant in the review of the Early Childhood Curriculum.</p><p>Initially trained in the field of special education at Mico Teachers College, Mrs. Silvera is also a graduate of the University of the West Indies. She holds a M. S. in Educational Leadership from Central Connecticut State University, and a Post graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management from MIND.</p><p>Jennifer is the proud mother of two children- Ian and Johanna. She is currently employed to the Ministry of Education as Literacy Advisor on the USAID/ Jamaica Basic Education Project.</p>
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