Quek Choon Lang, Gwendoline

In Singapore schools, Project Work (PW) is implemented in grades 3 - 5, 7 - 9 and 11. The purpose is to help students develop thinking skills, communication, collaborative learning, self-directed inquiry and life-long learning skills. When PW was first implemented, teachers were provided detailed guidelines and resource packages to help them get started. After that period, teachers were expected to design authentic project tasks independently. They would therefore have to schedule and hold numerous face-toface discussions with their colleagues to discuss the requirement, scope and depth of each project task. This was still manageable if all of them are in the same school. However, with an increasing number of inter-school collaborations, such face-to-face meetings became more difficult to schedule. This is where technology could be deployed to help teachers hold such discussions more effectively. This paper reports how a group of high school teachers from different disciplines and schools used the Knowledge Community (KC) e-learning platform to collaboratively design project tasks for their students. The activities they engaged in and the feedback obtained from focused group discussions will be shared. Suggestions and the feasibility of adopting such an online learning approach for PW in schools will also be discussed.

The current challenge faced by most beginning teachers is the disparity between the theories of classroom management exposed to in pre-service, and the practices in complex and ill-structured classroom situations. Such a theory-practice gap has led to the need to re-examine the existing instructional approach used in teacher learning and helping them develop deep understanding and meaningful learning for teachers. This proposed study explores case-based learning and related areas, beginning teachers’ case-based learning for self-analysis, discussion and reflection. It also explores how technology can be used to support teachers' case-based learning. The affordances of technology and design of technology-mediated learning environment will also be presented.

Online learning environment is a complex and dynamic learning space for learners to experience social and cognitive processes of knowledge and meaning construction. It has brought about educators’ re-designing of instructional approaches for the emerging constructivist environment Heinich, Molenda, Russell & Smaldino, 2002),translating classroom-based instructions to the Web, incorporating of asynchronous and synchronous communication as well as evaluating web-based instruction (Lynch, 2002). This study investigated 19 pre-service teachers' learning in an online learning environment. These teachers’ online activities were analysed using their individual written reflection logs (end of the module) and a planned forum of discussion notes (out of the three planned forums). Out of the 17 emerging facilitation strategies used by these teachers in this planned forum, 3 highly rated strategies were: Initiating discussions (15.22%), prompting (14.13%) and summarising discussions (10.87%). These teachers also reported 20 facilitation strategies learnt (either by observing their peers’ action taken or acquiring on their own through readings as well as trials and errors) and of which 3 were highly rated: Asking questions (14.71%), summarising (12.75%) and demonstrating leadership (9.8%). It was also found that teacher-facilitators used more strategies than the five strategies introduced to them and they also learnt other facilitation strategies from observing their peers rather than those that they used to facilitate.

This online collaborative project enhances the traditional face-to-face teaching and learning in a typical classroom. It provides an avenue for innovative teaching and learning in the borderless world between Singapore and German secondary schools. Using this cross-cultural context, the project focused on two parts. In the first part, the students from both countries learnt the project skills of argumentative writing, researching on genetically modified food and its related issues. They also learnt to work in collaborative groups in the planning of debate with their overseas counterparts. In the second part, the students engaged in the debate culminating in a "live" exchange using Microsoft Network (MSN) Chat. The local sample consisted of 32 students (aged 13-14)from one class in a typical Singapore high school, while the German sample consisted of 16 students (aged 15-16)from one class in a high school in Neustadt i.H., Germany. The students' responses in this online learning approach were analysed qualitatively. A teachers' resource file was written and a website recording of the exchanges was created. The implications and key learning points of this project will also be discussed in this paper.

We will be using content analysis to further the understanding of teaching and learning in two philosophy classroom discussions that adopt the ‘community of inquiry’ approach. Our sample consisted of 35 high ability students (aged 14) from one class in an all-boy high school in the central part of Singapore. For the purpose of this study, a video recording of the discussions was used. The students’ responses were categorized quantitatively, and interrater reliability determined using the percent agreement statistic. The implications and key learning points will also be discussed in this paper.

The Project work (PW) initiative was introduced by the Ministry of Education, Singapore, to provide students with the opportunities to foster collaborative learning skills, to improve both oral and written communication, to practise creative and critical thinking skills, and to develop self-directed inquiry and life-long learning skills (Ministry of Education, 1999). Although PW has been introduced for a few years, there has not been much research done in the Singapore context, especially in terms of its effect on students’ motivation. To fill the empirical gap, this study examined the extent in which PW promoted students’ intrinsic motivation, as well as satisfied students’ needs for competence, choice and relatedness. Specifically, data was collected from 7 classes of Secondary 2 students with the use of a modified version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI, McAuley, Duncan, & Tammen, 1989) to assess students’ intrinsic motivation and their perceived choice, competence and relatedness in the PW context and in their normal mathematics or science lessons. Comparisons were made to establish whether there was any significant difference in terms of the students’ experiences in the different learning contexts.

This paper reports an empirical study on the use of a teacher noticing approach to investigate how two teachers managed students’ classroom behaviours. We examined the integration of data from an eye-tracking device and video cameras, focusing on what the teachers paid attention to in classrooms with their corresponding managing practices. Our findings show that the experienced teacher was able to advise her students calmly and smoothly resume the lesson to preserve the welcoming environment for the students. The novice teachers constantly scanned for misbehaved students and at times used strong words and a stern voice that betrayed her emotions. The awkward silence of the class ensued, suggesting a break in the flow of the instruction.

The present study investigated the impact of the chemistry laboratory environment and teacher-student interaction on student attitudes towards chemistry for 200 gifted secondaryschool students in Singapore. The data were obtained using three instruments: the 35-item Chemistry Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI), the 48-item Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and the 30-item Questionnaire on Chemistry-Related Attitudes (QOCRA). The study confirmed the reliability and validity of the Science Laboratory Environment Inventory (adapted to create the CLEI) and the QTI for use in gifted chemistry laboratory classrooms. Statistically significant associations were found between the nature of the laboratory classroom environment and students' attitudes towards chemistry. Associations were also found between the interpersonal behaviour of the chemistry teachers and students' attitudes towards chemistry. Based on the findings, suggestions for improving the chemistry laboratory classroom environment and the teacher-student interaction for gifted students are provided.

Computer mediated communication (CMC) tools have marched into schools to provide borderless teaching and learning to complement existing face-to-face interactions. This article describes how teachers have used CMC to facilitate asynchronous online communication among students' collaborative project groups in project-based classrooms. Secondary school teachers used the CMC tool to facilitate and manage students' learning in terms of brainstorming and challenging student ideas, building resources, and working collaboratively to complete group projects.