Quek Choon Lang, Gwendoline

This review is part of a longitudinal study that examines teachers’ beliefs, attitudes and expectations towards teaching and professional development. This is the first in a series of reports that focuses on pre-service teachers’ beliefs and attitudes prior to the start of their teacher preparation programme. Currently, most reported studies were qualitative in nature, at the pre-service level, with participants who have already begun their teacher preparation programme. Data collection methods included interviews, surveys, essays and journals. However, substantial information pertaining to pre-entry as well as the early stages of the programme was available.

This paper focuses on the development and validation of a modified version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES) in a study of high school philosophy classrooms in Singapore that adopt the ‘community of inquiry’ approach. The modified CLES was administered to 1398 high ability students (grades 7-10) from 49 classes in an all-boy school from the central part of Singapore. Data analysis generally supported each scale’s factor structure, alpha reliability, discriminant validity and ability to differentiate between classrooms. Statistically significant relationships were also found between classroom environment and student outcomes.

In the primary school classrooms, students spend almost three terms (20-25 hours) doing project work in groups o f P 5 . In order for any learning task to be conducted effectively, the students need to know how to work collaboratively in their groups, and teachers need to find out how their students perceive one another while working in their groups. This will in turn help teachers help their students build the interdependence and team spirit needed to develop the correct attitude towards project work. The objectives of this study are to assist teachers to better understand how their students collaborate with one another in their groups, and to suggest strategies to enhance students' collaboration in the classroom. Using one of the standard learning environment instruments,the My Class Inventory (MCI), this study assesses students' perceptions oftheir actual and preferred learning environments. This paper reports the results and gives suggestions on how the results can be used to assist in developing appropriate strategies to enhance collaboration in project work classrooms.

This survey study aims to investigate nursing students’ perceptions of educational experience and satisfaction in a blended course. The modified Community of Inquiry (CoI) and satisfaction questionnaires consist of 5-point Likert scale items, were administered to 224 nursing students. Nursing students were found to have good educational experience (social, cognitive and teaching presences) and satisfaction in this blended course.

This study investigates 80 pre-service teachers’ exploration of using a computer mediated communication tool to design interdisciplinary projects collaboratively. Over a period of six weeks, the pre-service teachers assumed their roles as curriculum designers in project crafting. They were engaged in discussions via the online discussion forums and face-toface tutorial sessions. Amongst their project groups of 4-5 members, they carried out brainstorming of project ideas, asking questions and decision making about their views and ideas of projects. Their online activities and discussions were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. The implications and key learning points of their project crafting are discussed in this paper.

As we reflect on the pedagogies adopted in the globally driven digital transformation due to Covid-19 pandemic, it is time for us to take stock of what we have all experienced as educators. With disrupted school attendance, teaching and learning were shifted to the online platform. Teachers devised new teaching and learning strategies to minimise disruptions in schooling and the term Home-based Learning (HBL) became popular. Such lived episodes make us recalibrate our current teaching practices with technology and rationalize and plan for the next leap as educators. How future-ready are we in gearing ourselves towards the adoption of new pedagogies in this digital transformation journey? This chapter aims to provide you the definitions of e-pedagogy and e-pedagogies used in literature and the adoption of e-pedagogy in Singapore. The rationalization of e-pedagogy for Singapore teachers and examples of e-pedagogy and classroom practices will also be covered.

This book is written keeping in mind prospective educators as well as practicing educators who are seeking a good understanding of how technology enables, mediates or enhances learning. This book provides insights into the global trends as well as Singapore’s journey in the use of technology for teaching and learning. Readers will benefit from the various aspects of using technology for teaching and learning, including the theoretical underpinning, design methods, planning, managing learners, and related issues and challenges. Key considerations for integrating various technological tools are also discussed at length in these chapters.

This is a go-to book for anyone who wants to understand how to enhance teaching and learning with technology.

Recent literature has emphasised active and learner-centred learning as opposed to passive and didactic methods of learning. The term "engaged learning" is often used synonymously with active learning, self-directed learning, collaborative learning and other similar canstructivist pedagogics. In this paper, we will track how Singapore's education system has advancedfrorn certain key initiatives in recent years to the next lap of embracing the engaged learning paradigm. We propose a definition and some indicators of engaged learning that are relevant to the Singapore context and advance a framework for bringing about engaged learning. In particular, the Instructional Science Academic Group of the National Institute of Education (NIE) will be developing a programme based on this framework of engaged learning for preservice and in-service teacher education and professional development. While this framework is conceptualised for teacher education and professional development, its components provide the basis for classroom teachers and administrators to design and implement effective instructional programmes that promote engaged learning in Singapore schools.