OER - Reports

The project has reached the final of its cycle, and the team has presented to the eduLab committee on 12 July 2018. There were two major objectives in this project, namely to find out about: (a) how the eduLab projects, both from schools across Singapore and the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), have influenced the landscape of teaching and learning in Singapore, particularly how those who were involved in the eduLab projects perceive the influence of eduLab’s learning innovations in shaping innovative practices, teacher capacity and student outcomes; and (b) how can we create the contextual readiness that can support the diffusion of innovations, both within and across schools. Data has been collected from eduLab projects, with detailed data collection for 11 in-depth case studies that were chosen in collaboration with ETD. We compared the intended versus the enacted of each of the innovation projects and this allowed us to draw a holistic picture of how innovation diffusion is taking place in Singapore’s educational landscape. Three models of diffusion have been observed, namely, the spread model, the deep roots model and the network building model. Practical steps to promote innovation diffusion is provided.

The role of language in science learning and teaching has been a focus of science education research for over three decades. This rich body of research has led to the insight that learning the language of science is constitutive of learning science: simultaneously with participating in classroom activities and conversations, describing observations and constructing conceptual understanding, students must begin to appropriate the language of science.

The goal of this proposed study is well-aligned with MOE and OER’s focus on assessing 21st century competencies which are crucial for student academic success and holistic development. This study involves the development of new instruments for the large-scale assessment of student thinking. This study is grounded on the needs of MOE to provide evidence-based policy formulation to help improve pedagogical practices in schools.

Creativity, collaboration and critical thinking are recurrently featured in contemporary global learning frameworks as capacities essential to 21st century (21C) living and thriving. While these competences have long been upheld as integral to human progress, they were historically regarded as expressive affordances and educational aspirations ascribed to more elite groups in society. However, in today’s knowledge economies characterised by complexity and rapid change, these no longer remain the province of the privileged, but are central to one and all’s productive participation in local, global and virtual societies. This is now more of an empirical fact than rhetoric. Economists have shown in a suite of recent studies that cognitive academic skills only account for 20 percent of labour-market outcomes, while 21st century skills such as collaboration and creativity emerged as much stronger drivers of workplace and life success (Levin, 2012).
Yet, there is little doubt that the dynamic and non-linear nature of 21C skills and their constitutive interactional processes are posing significant challenges to conventional practices of teaching and assessment today. Despite notable international efforts in the teaching, learning and assessment of collaborative and creative problem-solving skills in recent years, clear empirical insights that illuminate the relationships between students’ creative competencies and their problem-solving success on ill-defined collaborative tasks remain elusive.
Our research project aimed to address this knowledge gap by turning the lens of inquiry towards the interactional dialogic processes through which Singapore secondary school students accomplished their collaborative and creative problem-solving tasks online. By (i) using secondary data generated from the international Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills (ATC21S) research programme’s Singapore school trials that captured student-pairs’ chat logs as they jointly solved ill-defined problem tasks online, and (ii) drawing from theoretical and methodological advancements in the fields of creativity and computer-supported collaborative problem-solving (CPS), we sought to first develop and validate a discourse-based analytic framework for characterising and measuring collective creativity (CC) competencies; then to explore the empirical relationships between CC competencies and collaborative problem-solving (CPS) success among Singapore secondary school students.

This study seeks to address the problem of providing additional support to pupils with reading difficulties by raising teacher competence in providing high quality reading instruction so that teachers can address the needs of struggling readers as early as possible. If classroom teachers assume active responsibility for delivering reading instruction consistently prior to referring pupils for psycho-educational assessment, struggling readers can be helped before their difficulties impede their learning.
Results of a pilot study conducted in 2013 by the principal investigator of the current proposed study using a Start-Up Grant (SUG) provide further insights into the current situation in school. A peer tutoring programme was modified from the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS) programme (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes, & Simmons, 1997 ) based on feedback from teachers. It was implemented in three classes using STELLAR (or Strategies for English Language Learning and Reading) materials in a pilot school. Findings from the study suggested that peer tutoring generally benefitted pupils who were able to read fairly independently. However, for pupils whose reading ability was significantly below that of their peers, another tier of support was needed. Based on the results of SUG study, a two-tiered approach was proposed as a framework to support pupils with reading difficulties. What is unique about the current study compared to other learning support programme available in schools in Singapore is the application of academic problem solving. The LSP and Reading Remediation Programme use a standard protocol approach. While the standard protocol approach is generally effective, the data-based decision making component of the academic problem solving allows teachers to provide interventions which are targeted to address individual students’ reading difficulties based on their progress monitoring data. Using academic problem solving, we were able to use progress monitoring data to determine students’ reading difficulties and the extent to which they were responding to interventions. Interventions which were targeted to address specific reading difficulties were then delivered and monitored.

The study follows up on prior research on the key role of negotiation for meaning (NFM) in increasing second language learning and oral comprehension (e.g., Ellis & Heimbach, 1997) and on reading comprehension (Van den Branden, 2000). The investigation described in this report considers whether and in what ways classroom discussions can encourage the types of interactions that are beneficial to language and literacy learning, especially reading comprehension. The intervention encourages a more thoughtful, questioning approach to reading comprehension, integrated with oral interaction that encourages NFM.

This project is a cross-discipline mix-method study which aims to explore and develop a package of alternative approach to teach Lower Secondary Normal (Technical) mathematics using story-telling, comics, and other graphic stimulus in context. It will study the effect of this alternative approach on students' mathematical self-concept, motivation to learn mathematics and achievement in mathematics. As an outcome of this project, a package (MAGICAL) will be developed to teach three main topics in N(T) mathematics. The package will be presented in (i) print form; (ii) web-based material; and (iii) mobile apps for use by schools. For data collection, both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used. A series of professional development will be provided for participating teachers as an essential by product

This research seeks contemporary understanding of how we can develop teachers' Technological-Pedagogical-Content Knowledge (TPACK) when scaling pedagogical innovation to different contextual situations. Teaching with technology has long been a wicked problem as the nature of technology is ''protean'' (used in versatile ways), ''unstable'' (rapidly changing) and ''opaque'' (elusive backend mechanisms), resulting in multifarious complexities which are exacerbated when its use is scaled and situated within the broader socio-cultural context of diverse learning ecologies. Scaling innovations to new contexts is rarely a mere supplanting of what works at the seeding school to new pedagogic sites with less hospitable conditions. It entails the perpetual marshalling of resources to mitigate the enfolding tensions that can emanate from many incompatibilities at the new site. Herein lies the tensions of diffusion: the conflation between fidelity adherence and localised accommodation. The purpose of this research then is to study how teachers' three knowledge bases - technology, pedagogy and content - can be holistically developed so that the core ingredients of success at the seeding school can be sustained and not ''amputated'' at new innovation sites. Informed by complexity theory, the qualitative case study will employ the complexity constructs of ''distribution'', ''enaction'' and ''emergence'' to examine how teachers' epistemic resources are distributed during the knowledge creation process and how teachers leverage on TPACK to enact co-designed lessons or improvise their lessons in-situ. More importantly, by studying the diffusion process of Seamless Science Learning project from the seeding FutureSchool (ICT prototype school) to another non-affiliated mainstream primary school, the study aims to articulate how teachers' reified TPACK can emerge through feedback loops between components of TPACK and interaction with other actors in an ecological complex adaptive system. The study will also articulate the implications of such interaction on the translations of teachers' professional learning and the conceptual model related to challenges of nurturing readiness. It has the potential to inform policymakers on the theoretical principles of professional learning support which may culminate into ensuing successful uptake of innovations. By inter-meshing three domains: complexity theory, TPACK and scaling, this project can provide novel methodological perspective to how the inter-locking influences underpinning teacher's TPACK can be studied. Through cross-case analysis, the proposed study aims to reify both ''local divergence'' and the ''noncontextually bounded'' theoretical principles about scaling school-based intervention.

This research was positioned against two recent movements in Singapore’s education landscape: the move for schools to develop their own curricula, and the move to empower individuals for lifelong learning.
Schools developing their own curricula: Since the onset of the Teach Less Learn More (TLLM) movement, schools have been involving teachers in “designing, implementing and studying different approaches for engaged learning” (MOE, 2008) through the school-based curriculum innovations (SCI).
Empowering individuals for lifelong learning: In his speech at the 19th appointment and appreciation ceremony for principals, the Minister of Education reminded that the “purpose of education must … be beyond just academics. It must be to prepare our students for life, for work and for citizenship”. He emphasized that to “prepare our students for life in an uncertain world, being self-reliant and having the resilience to bounce back after setbacks will be increasingly important” (Ng, 2016). This includes “entrepreneurial dare”, which is “an attitude, a mindset of pushing boundaries, of wanting to innovate and to find a breakthrough” (Ng, 2017). Dweck (2006) described such a mindset as the growth mindset. The converse of the growth mindset is the fixed mindset, which leads to behaviours that inhibit learning (e.g. worrying about looking smart and not making mistakes; being discouraged or defensive in the face of setbacks and failure).

The purpose of this project was to follow-up on a prior project1 which investigated the use of Questioning-the-Author (QtA) (e.g. Beck & McKeown, 2002; Beck, McKeown, Sandora, Kucan, & Worthy, 1996) with negotiation for meaning (NfM) (e.g. Pica, 1994) in Singapore Primary 4 (P4) reading lessons (OER 29/08 RS). A 2-year collaborative project was undertaken to assist teachers in understanding and using QtA and negotiated discussions. The intervention also intended to lead to sustainable, school-based teacher development through introducing different ‘generations’ of teachers to join the project year-by-year and by encouraging the first generation (Gen 1) of teachers to act as mentors and leaders to the second generation (Gen 2).
Research Questions 1. How do teachers understand reading comprehension in the local, P42 school setting (i.e. what do teachers understand reading comprehension to be and how do they understand the development of student reading comprehension)? 2. In what ways do teacher understandings of reading comprehension change through participation in a long-term (3 year) professional development project? Specifically, in what ways do teacher understandings change at different points of time (1 year, 2 years, 3 years) and when engaged in different roles (trainee, trainer, observer, evaluator)? 3. How successful are the different stages of the intervention (Direct Instruction, Reflection & Adaptation, Lesson Study) in changing teacher classroom practices for reading comprehension?

All over the world, governments and policymakers continue to proclaim the need to educate students for the 21st century. In this study, we argue that the impetus for 21st century education should be more accurately termed, 21st century global education which refers to education that seeks to equip students with the knowledge, skills, and sensitivities to compete and navigate the challenges caused by globalization in the 21st century. Based on this initial definition, we examine three theoretical models that may inform the conceptualization and enactment of 21st century global education in schools.
The first model is Human Capital Theory (HCT) which focuses on economic globalization resulting in economic reasoning used to justify policy initiatives and reform. HCT reinforces economic utilitarianism resulting in educational goals prioritizing the teaching of competencies. The second model is the Human Capabilities Approach (HCA) that emphasizes the importance of the intrinsic goods of education (as opposed to its mere instrumental utility). HCA argues that the development of human well-being is deemed the highest end which individuals should seek to attain and which government and public policies should be directed towards. HCA draws attention to the ends of education centred on the development of capabilities to support human flourishing, which involve opportunities for individuals to pursue what they value, freedom to choose among the opportunities given, and agency to construct one’s goals and values. The third model the Cosmopolitan Capacities Approach (CCA) is an extension of HCA. CCA is premised on the philosophy of ethical cosmopolitanism entailing questions about what it means to equip students as cosmopolitans or citizens of the world. CCA perceives that capabilities should not merely foster an individual’s well-being but that in doing so, the individual is then empowered to use his knowledge and skills to empower others. Thus, CCA focuses on the ends of cultivating capacities which denotes the ability or power to perceive, understand, empathize with and defend or find solutions to addressing the concerns of others.

Electromagnetic induction is a difficult physics concept among junior college students because of the abstract nature of what is happening (Bagno & Eylon, 1997; Chabay & Sherwood, 2006; Planinic, 2006; Saglam & Millar, 2006). Imaging and visualizing two-dimension and three-dimension images in the spatial domain is an essential skill that junior college students need to develop in order to understand the concepts of the topic. However, little attention is given to the use of visualisation as a cognitive tool to concretize abstract phenomena (Rieber, 1995) Accordingly, this study explores the use of vissalization tools to facilitate construction and comprehension of internal visual representation associated with the abstract concepts of electromagnetic induction. The visualization-based instructional package, grounded on constructivist perspective of learning, will be designed to help students make sense of abstract and unobservable process of electromagnetic induction. It aims to scaffold students in conceptual learning and to deepen their conceptual understanding through multiple visual representations. The objectives of the studre: 1. To design an IT-based instructional package to facilitate students constructing and comprehending an internal visual representation while learning the abstract concepts of electromagnetic induction. 2. To investigate if the use of an IT-based instructional package into visualisation-based interactive instruction would have a significant effect on conceptual learning. 3. To investigate how students make use of visual representation in developing conceptual understanding of electromagnetic induction The proposed study will take an iterative design approach in which the package will be designed, implemented, evaluated and redesigned based on findings of its effectiveness in facilitating junior college students develop deep conceptual understanding of electromagnetic induction and understanding of students' meaning making process. The study will involve the collaboration of junior college teachers over a period of two years, with the package implemented with junior college students according to their curriculum schedule. Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected. Pre- and post-tests will be conducted to measure students' conceptual change in electromagnetic induction. Qualitative data in the form of video data and interviews will be collected to understand how students make meaning of visual representations and how the sense-making of visual representations helps in generating a deeper understanding of electromagnetic induction. Statistical and content analysis methods will be used to analyse the data collected. The outcomes of the study will provide teachers with an instructional package to engage junior college students in learning electromagnetic induction and develop a deeper understanding of how visual representations help students in making sense of abstract concepts. The latter outcome will, in turn, help teachers and instructional designers to the use of visualizations for learning abstract physics concepts.

The first purpose of this study examines the extent of career indecision among 16 year old students in Singapore. Although important career development processes emerge during the developmental period of late adolescence (aged 16-17 years or Grade 11), career decision-making difficulties also intensify. In pursuit of this research aim, we ask the following questions:
i) What types of educational and occupations goals do students intend to pursue after they leave secondary school?; ii) What is the extent of career indecision among Singaporean students; and iii) Does career indecision vary across family and academic background characteristics?
The second purpose establishes external construct validation of career indecision using a range of 21st century competency measures. For this purpose, thirteen variables will be selected and conceptually organised according to the Singapore Desired Outcomes of Education Framework. The research questions for this section include: iv) Do students who are indecisive about their career goals report lower mean scores across measures of 21st century competencies? v) Do clarity of students’ career goals predict higher levels of 21st century competencies?

Since the launch of the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (1997) and Teach Less, Learn More (2004) initiatives, the CORE Research Programme has aimed to provide a systemic description and measurement of curriculum and reform initiatives. CORE 1 (2004-2007) focused on lesson observations and surveys in English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Mother Tongue classrooms at the Primary 5 and Secondary 3 levels. The study however, was unable to examine specific classroom pedagogical and assessment practices centred on epistemic, cognitive, metacognitive, disciplinary and domain-specific intellectual work. CORE 2 (2009-2014) focused on pedagogical beliefs, classroom practices and assessment practices (Hogan, Towndrow, Kwek, & Chan, 2013). Currently, CORE 3 is centrally focused on the questions: “How do teachers teach?” and “Why do they teach the way they do?” The project in focus is a baseline investigation of Social Studies (SS) and Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) pedagogy (2016-17).

Singapore has intensively focused on the quality of early childhood education programs to guarantee the development of the Singaporean society and wealth (Lim-Ratnam, 2013). Internationally, within the past decade, countries with well-developed or developing Early Childhood Education (ECE) systems have witnessed a range of reviews, public policies, inquiries, and research into what constitutes quality in ECE curriculum and curriculum implementation (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD, 2006). The Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project (SKIP; OER09/14RB) has conducted longitudinal and in depth research on the child development and over all the implementation of the curriculum. This proposed SUG study utilized the research results from the SKIP. Teachers' pedagogical choices and reasoning have been identified to be influenced by values in education nationally and internationally (Bautista et al. 2016). Despite the push of current ECE curricula towards child-centered approach in Singapore, the research has indicated that preschool teachers tend to prioritize certain learning areas over others, especially under the pressure from the parents (Bautista et al., 2016; Lim-Ratnam, 2013).

There were three objectives to this proposal: (i) to develop an ecologically valid match­fitness test for badminton players -the badminton intermittent shuttle test (BIST); (ii) to determine the reliability and physiological validity of the test; and (iii) to examine the influence of fatigue, induced by the BIST, on badminton performance.

Prospectives teachers are formally introduced a variety of conceptual (e.g., learning theories) and pedagogical tools (e.g., teaching strategies) for teaching in their teacher preparation programmes. The goal is for them to adopt these tools and to internalize ways of thinking endemic to the cultural practices of using the tools. However, teachers have been found to develop conception of these tools that are at odds with their intended purpose. This study seeks to understand this phenomenon by examining the cultural part of cognition of three beginning teachers.

The objective of this study was therefore to encourage pre-service students to position cinema in the classroom as a form of social learning in order to help adolescent girls speak about what constitutes love, desire, meaningful relationships and informed sexual decisionmaking. In terms of the socio-political background, the study therefore supports MOE’s existing ideological framework for sexuality education, which aims to enable young people to “acquire social and emotional skills of self-awareness”; “manage their thoughts, feelings and behaviours”; and to demonstrate “effective communication, problem-solving and decisionmaking skills” (MOE Sexuality Education Programme 2017).

Since the launch of the Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (1997) and Teach Less, Learn More (2004) initiatives, the CORE Research Programme has aimed to provide a systemic description and measurement of curriculum and reform initiatives. CORE 1 (2004-2007) focused on lesson observations and surveys in English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and Mother Tongue classrooms at the Primary 5 and Secondary 3 levels. The study however, was unable to examine specific classroom pedagogical and assessment practices centred on epistemic, cognitive, metacognitive, disciplinary and domain-specific intellectual work. CORE 2 (2009-2014) focused on pedagogical beliefs and practices, classroom practices and assessment practices (Hogan, Towndrow, Kwek, & Chan, 2013). Currently, CORE 3 is centrally focused on the questions: “How do teachers teach?”and“Why do they teach the way they do?” The project in focus is a baseline investigation of science pedagogy (2015-16).

In all Singapore public schools, English is taught at the L1 level through a Standard English (StdE) immersion approach. However, studies suggest that bilingual and bidialectal programs may be more effective than monolingual English-immersion programs in promoting English proficiency among English as Second Language learners (ESL). Such programs aim to accommodate the use of nonstandard Englishes – such as Singlish / Colloquial Singapore English (CSE) – as pedagogical resources in the teaching of Standard English, with the aim of raising student achievement and motivation. This study sought to investigate the extent to which language awareness pedagogies that accommodate CSE in the teaching of writing for Secondary 3 Express and Normal stream classes might improve student outcomes on measures of StdE proficiency and learning motivation. The study was modelled on a mixed methods design with two concurrent quantitative and qualitative strands: (1) a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study yielding quantitative data for hypothesis testing; (2) an ethnographic study of classroom teaching practices in both experimental and non-experimental groups. The overall aim was to obtain locally contextualized, empirical evidence that could corroborate the benefits of accommodation pedagogies documented in the international literature.