Education Testing

Are the current education systems and programmes effective? The debate generated around this topic has increased in recent years. Many experts argue that educational theory and practice implemented in centres is lacking scientific evidence. The effort and resources used in these practices of questionable usefulness force other theories whose effectiveness has been proven to be pushed aside.

In order to deal with this situation, the Bizkaia Aretoa in Bilbao will host the conference entitled “Education Testing” on 17th March from 9am to 1pm, in which various experts will discuss questions related to education from a scientific point of view.

“Education Testing” forms part of a series of events organised by the Chair of Scientific Culture of the UPV/EHU to tackle everyday questions, such as education or art from a scientific perspective.

Entry is free, but an e-mail must be sent to the following address kzk.ehu@gmail.com indicating your name, surnames and work centre.

Speakers:

The conference will consist of a series of presentations lasting between 20 and 30 minutes which will contrast the educational practices currently in use with scientific evidence.

In the presentation entitled “Study into school effectiveness in the Basque Country”, Beronika Azpillaga and Luis Lizasoain, members of the Basque Institute for Research and Evaluation in Education, will present the results of a study carried out to identify good teaching practices used in high performing schools in the Basque Country.

Then, the Doctor in Education, Juan Cruz Ripoll, will question the official protocols to deal with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well as the guidance on the internet portal like leer.es, an initiative from the Ministry for Education, Culture and Sport, which seeks to encourage reading. In spite of the official support for both of them, Ripoll argues that they lack a scientific base and relegate other practices that are better founded on research.

The teacher and disseminator, Albert Reverter, will look at diverse pseudo-scientific questions in education, such as the theory through which people learn better if taught through their preferred learning style. He will also look at the so-called “brain gym” which consists of a series of exercises aimed at activating the brain, fostering neurological restructuring and facilitating the ability to learn. In spite of its great popularity, there are no scientific studies that support its effectiveness.

The presentation by the Doctor in Psychology, Marta Ferrero, will deal with the most extended education misconceptions among teaching staff. She will identify the factors that facilitate or provoke the growing appearance of pseudo-scientific ideas in the school environment and will propose some solutions at different levels.

The conference will conclude with a talk by the teacher, educator and Doctor in Philosophy, Gregorio Luri, in defence of internal and external school assessment, which, in his opinion, is needed to collect data on the errors committed and the real progress achieved, and to draw conclusions that enable the education system to be improved.

Programme:   

• 9 – 9.10am Entry
• 9.10 – 9.20am Presentation
• 9.20 – 10am Beronika Azpillaga and Luis Lizasoain: “Study into school effectiveness in the Basque Country“
• 10 – 10.30am Juan Cruz Ripoll: “The lost science: the curious cases of the ADHD and leer.es protocols“
• 10.30 – 11am Albert Reverter: “From Myth to Fact: Hemispheres, Brain Gym and Learning Styles“
• 11 – 11.20am Break
• 11.20 – 11.50am Marta Ferrero: “Education misconceptions among teaching staff: prevalence, causes and solutions“
• 11.50am – 12.20pm Gregorio Luri: “In favour of objective school assessment“
• 12.20 – 1pm Closing Discussion