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.

Throughout the world today, governments and policymakers stress the urgent need to educate students for the volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous conditions of the twenty-first century. The quest to prepare students for the twenty-first century has raised the question of the role of Literature education in cultivating key skills and dispositions necessary to address the ethical impetus of globalization.

Greater emphasis on helping ''students at-risk'' improve in academic achievements has become a key concern of many countries. The relatively large achievement gaps between high and lower academic groups is an educational issue, and also, a socio-political and socio-economic one as it suggests that a sector of a population is not equipped with the necessary academic qualifications, knowledge, skills, and aptitude to take on certain types of jobs and earn a reasonably good income to sustain their living. In 2008, the school dropout rate in Singapore was 1.6 percent?1 percent was attributed to secondary school dropouts of which approximately 90 percent of these students were from the Normal Academic (NA) and Normal Technical1 (NT) steams (Ministry of Education, March 4, 2008). The dropout rate has decreased over the years. In 2010, the primary one cohort which did not complete secondary school education was 1.0% (Ministry of Education, January 16, 2012). Based on the data drawn from the MOE Education Statistics 2012, NA and NT students make up approximately 29 percent and 12 percent of the secondary school student population, respectively. This research proposal for Examining Normal Academic/Technical Students' Science Learning from a Sociological and Cultural Lens seeks to investigate Singapore Normal stream students' science curriculum experiences. While most science education research focuses on mainstream Express and specialised school students, no studies have focused on how Normal Academic (NA) and Normal Technical (NT) students learn science. As a critical lens on the topic is absent, we are particularly concerned with the lack of deeper insights into the challenges, difficulties, and tensions NA/NT students' experience that may limit their interest and ability to learn science in meaningful and productive ways. The three key research questions we want to address are: 1. How do Singapore Normal Academic and Normal Technical students experience science learning in and outside the classroom? 2. How do structures shape Singapore NA/NT students' science learning? 3. How do Singapore NA/NT students' construct their science discursive identities? We have designed a research study using qualitative methods on case studies and quantitative surveys on a large purposeful sample of mainstream Singapore secondary schools and case studies (one NA and one NT class) in one school to investigate the above issues and identify support needed in the Normal stream science curriculum. Both quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to collect generalised and case specific data. We will apply the sociological and cultural lens, specifically, the theory of agency and structure, to analyse how various cultural schema and resources in the primary and secondary structures enable or limit the students' agency. Related to this, we will also examine the science discursive identities of students using discourse analysis. The overall goal of the study is to improve the teaching and learning of science for all. The short term goal of this research is to gain deeper insights into NA/NT students' experience in science classrooms and include identifying existing schema and resources that they engage with both from within and outside the primary structure (e.g., home, institutional, and social structures) and the secondary structure (e.g., scientific discipline and practice in science classrooms) to make sense of science and to develop their science-related discursive identities. The long term goals of this research are to address current gaps in research on NA/NT students' participation in science classrooms, particularly, how they learn science, how they relate to science, their views about science lessons, the factors and forces shaping their agency, and their motivation and interest to learn and pursue postsecondary education in science-related fields. The intellectual merit of this research is to advance the knowledge base.

Research has shown that the awareness of an individual's ASD diagnosis is linked to more positive affective responses towards their behaviour. For example, in Brosnan & Mills (2016) and Butler & Gillis (2011), college students were found to have more positive responses towards someone demonstrating social difficulties or difficulties with changes when the person is labelled with an ASD, than when they were labelled as a typical student.
In Singapore, despite the availability of specialised services and resources in mainstream schools for students with special educational needs, as well as greater ASD awareness and training for teachers, parents may still be hesitant to disclose their child's diagnosis of ASD, for fear of stigma or negative attitudes from teachers and peers.
Despite the concerns of labelling and prior studies on the effect of diagnostic labels on peers/caretakers, no study has sought to investigate the effects of diagnostic labels on teachers' perceptions of ASD-typical behaviour in mainstream school settings, within the context of students with ASD. As such, this proposed study aims to examine this relationship.

There has been some research into ICT in pre-service teacher training (see Aslan and Zhu, 2014; Teo, 2009; Yücel, Acun, Tarman & Mete, 2010; Aslan & Zhu, 2014). In investigating 1230 Singaporean pre-service teachers' ICT competencies, pedagogical beliefs, and their beliefs on the espoused use of ICT, Chai (2010) affirmed the link between the pre-service teachers' ICT competencies, their pedagogical beliefs and their espoused use of ICT. However Chai (2010) has also highlighted the need to do further research as ‘the relationship between teachers' level of ICT skills and how they would use ICT in classroom is however an area that has not received much attention’ (p. 388).

This is the fifth in a suite of five projects that aims to establish an evidence-base for the continual review and enhancement of pre-service teacher education and early career teacher professional learning and development within Singapore. Some findings emergent from these projects, especially the recently completed OER 14/13 LEL project, suggested that a supportive and sharing school culture, structured mentoring, and beginning teachers’ (BTs) attitude to learning account for their varying degrees of professional growth. During visits to schools participating in the Instructional Mentoring Programme (IMP), officers from Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) also sensed that there existed school variations in the implementation of BT mentoring. Therefore, we collaborated with officers from the Ministry of Education (MOE) and AST to research support for and mentoring of BTs in Singapore.

Transition is difficult for everyone, but it is particularly challenging for youth with disabilities and their families. When these youth transition out of school to post school environments, they will move from a structured environment with clear daily routines, with school personnel who are tasked to teach and support them, to environments where ongoing support and services are not readily available. Some of these youth with disabilities enter work environments that can be impersonal and most of them are unprepared for the level of independence that is required of them (Sitlington, Frank, & Carson, 1992). Many of them will find difficulty forming social networks as an adult and feel isolated in the community (Amado, Stancliffe, McCarron, & McCallion, 2013). Many youth with disabilities leave school with no employment in the near future (Nord, Luecking, Mank, Kiernan, & Wray, 2013) and to further complicate matters, there may be limited places at alternative day activity centres for them (Enabling Masterplan, 2012). These group of youth with disabilities may be inactive, socially isolated, and will continue to rely on family for any social and community interaction (Lichtenstein & Michaelides, 1993; Ow & Lang, 2000).

Premised on situated cognition, this study focused on developing preservice teachers’ understanding and performances in technology-based pedagogies during the formal coursework at NIE and during their field placements. A mixed-method research design was proposed. This study aimed to contribute to the field of technology-based pedagogy and preservice teachers’ education.
The first objective was to track if there were any changes in preservice teachers’ technology competency, perceptions and practice in the use of ICT for classroom teaching and learning. This was done by collecting quantitative survey data from a cohort of 300 preservice teachers in the Diploma in Education (Primary) programme at four different points throughout their initial teacher education programme. The research questions were:
 What are the changes of the preservice teachers’ intentions to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their future teaching?  What are the changes of the preservice teachers’ practices to integrate Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their 5-week Teaching Assistantship and 10-week Teaching Practice?
The second objective was to investigate a small group of 14 preservice teachers’ process of constructing their understanding of technology-based pedagogy throughout their initial teacher education programme.

The Ministry of Education (MOE) recognises the importance of teachers’ professional development (PD) by introducing the Teacher Growth Model (TGM). In line with TGM, our case study, Stanley School, adopts a 5 stage, school-based PD cycle. This study is situated in the third iteration of this PD cycle, focused on differentiated instruction (DI). The key components of DI are the develop students’ critical and creative thinking which relates to students’ 21st century competencies. This study aims to understand the intended conditions for professional growth and teachers’ perceptions of these conditions and ways in which PD informs enactment and sustenance of practice, as well as achieved outcomes of PD such as shifts in students’ learning and teachers’ readiness.

Character, citizenship, and values are areas of education that have received increasing attention in the international community. This is also the case for Singapore (Lee, 2012) with an education system guided by the student-centric, values-driven philosophy (Ministry of Education [MOE], 2011, 2012). In his speech at the 2011 MOE Work Plan Seminar, Singapore’s Minister for Education at that time, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, highlighted, “We need to develop our children holistically, in all aspects – moral, cognitive, physical, social and aesthetic or what is termed in Chinese as 德智体群美 (de zhi ti qun mei)” (MOE, 2011, para. 16) and that, “… between academic achievement and values, it must not be “either/or”. We should strive to achieve both” (MOE, 2011, para. 53).
An important out-of-classroom experience recognised to play an important role in holistic development, character building, and 21st century skills and competencies is co-curricular activities (CCAs; Chong-Mok, 2010; MOE, 2010, 2011; Schwarz & Stolow, 2006). In Singapore, CCAs are an integral part of school curriculum and proposed to offer an authentic platform for (a) development of moral values, (b) acquisition and practice of soft skills, (c) social integration of children from differing backgrounds and ethnicities, (d) provision of safe learning environment, (e) opportunities for character and leadership development, and (f) lifelong pursuit of interests and greater outward expression (Chong-Mok, 2010; MOE, 2011). While participation in CCAs during primary education is not compulsory, CCAs are emphasized in secondary schools and categorized into Core (or Main) and Merit (or Secondary/Optional) CCAs. Core CCAs are mandatory for all students, whereas Merit CCAs are offered as an option for students with an interest in a particular CCA area. In both primary and secondary levels, the range of CCAs offered is categorized into four major groups: Physical Sports, Uniformed Groups, Visual and Performing Arts, and Clubs and Societies. With the increased investment in CCAs in Singapore schools (MOE, 2011, 2012), there is a priority to examine the potential impacts of CCAs on the holistic development of Singaporean students. This study was a timely response to this call.

The objective of this study is to examine how to increase autonomous motivation and academic goal progress through self-autonomy support. We aimed to develop a self-autonomy support intervention that is designed to help people reframe their goals in an autonomy-supportive manner and sustain their motivation. This will consist of them setting a goal and then explicitly giving themselves a rationale for pursuing their goals, giving themselves choices when setting their goals, and empathizing with the difficulties and obstacles encountered in goal pursuit.

Where the notion of education used to be (and still is) prevalently accepted as the teaching and learning within formalized settings, 21st century learners of today are developing highly sophisticated, and reflective literacies through participation and play with digital technologies. With the hybridization of learning with popular media culture, learners expect, and derive, little gratification from institutional contexts such as school. Such development implies an pressing need to understand the kinds of phenomena occurring in these so-called progressive (relative to current school practices) learnings and to consider the implications to present settings. Situating our study within the context of the extremely popular immersive multiplayer game space, World of Warcraft (WoW), this research is focused on the intertwining relationship between individual identity and the collective emergence and regulation of social communities within the activities transacted in the game and its related spaces. These issues are investigated in the informal learning space of online guild structures within WoW, while foregrounding central issues of identity and becoming that are core to contemporary media and literacies. The findings arising from this research are meant to inform design principles that will contribute to strongly coupled learning processes within both formal and informal contexts of learning.

This study seeks to examine the challenges and opportunities faced by schools in facilitating cosmopolitan dispositions or virtues in their students, in particular, through literature lessons. The project is driven by three key research questions:

1. What forms of cosmopolitan dispositions are observed in students in literature classrooms and in sample assignments in the selected schools?
2. How do literary texts develop cosmopolitan dispositions in the teaching of literature in the selected schools?
3. How pedagogical approaches do teachers employ to develop cosmopolitan dispositions in the teaching of literature in the selected schools?

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 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).

This SUG project to determine whether a web-based application better facilitated teacher- inquiry into students’ writing as opposed to manual marking and coding, was situated within a project titled ‘Investigating writing in a primary school’ (IRB Application Code IRB-2017-03- 018, herafter referred to as the IRB project. This IRB project involved i) the review of the current EL P5 writing package of a particular primary school, ii) data collection involving sample student scripts collected at intervention and post intervention stages, iii) grammar coding of students' compositions and iv) reflections from the teacher-producers of the writing package. Through the analysis of student scripts, it aimed to identify the areas of grammar that could be explicitly embedded into the writing package.
A web-based application for the electronic grammatical-tagging of the students’ writing was developed under the SUG project. In order to determine whether such a web-based application, as opposed to manual marking and coding, facilitated teacher-inquiry into student writing, the teachers manually grammatically-coded the student scripts at the intervention stage and electronically grammatically-tagged the student scripts via the web- based application at the post-intervention stage of the IRB project.

This project follows from an earlier NRF-funded project on Statecraft X, a game-based curriculum for Secondary 3 students in social studies. As part of a three-week curriculum, students play the Statecraft X game, which focuses on the topic “principles of governance,” outside of class time. In class, teachers facilitate student learning by means of dialogic pedagogy. They help students make sense of in-game events and distil significant themes and values related to the interplay between governance and citizenship.

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.

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.