Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As has already been articulated in other answers by the Minister, Deputy Quinn, we are moving away from a rote learning framework to one which is inquiry-based and which puts the student at the centre of problem solving. Therefore a paradigm shift is going on.

I cannot give the Deputy an answer regarding the cost of the digital strategy but I will revert to him with that information. There will be significant improvements in ICT infrastructure with the roll-out of broadband being available to all second-level schools in the autumn. The priorities and challenges of the digital strategy are currently being examined as part of an ongoing consultative process.

There is a school of thought that says we may have to look outside the Department concerning the digital strategy and maybe incorporate more stakeholders, including students themselves, in meeting head-on the challenges of PISA and learn from them.

As regards the methodologies involved, there is a marked difference between paper-based and computer-based problem solving. We have done extremely well vis-à-vis PISA on paper-based problems. However, there is clearly a deficit in the presentation of scenarios to students for the purposes of PISA marking.

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