Tan Chee Soon

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.

This proposal seeks to investigate the beliefs and perceptions held by student teachers regarding student-centred learning (SCL). Specifically, we will seek the views of 15 student teachers enrolled in the PDGE (Primary) programme in 2016. They would have received an education that placed an emphasised on SCL as they were in secondary schools or junior colleges when the Teach Less Learn More initiative was introduced in 2005. These student teachers will in future be teachers who will hopefully make use of student-centred pedagogy and instruction in their classrooms. It is therefore important and useful to find out more about their beliefs and perceptions about student centred approaches. In addition, we are also interested to find out the impact of the Teaching Practicum experience on these beliefs and perceptions. Hence, we will gather information on student teacher perception and beliefs prior to and after their Teaching Practicum stint. In Phase 1 of the 2-phase research, participants will be identified and their consent to participate in the study will be obtained prior to the Teaching Practicum. The interview questions pertaining to their beliefs about SCL will be sent to be completed by participants and returned to the researchers. Individual participants will then meet a researcher for a more in-depth interview. Phase 2 will take place after the Teaching Practicum. As in Phase 1, participants will provide written responses to the interview questions based on their observations of SCL practices in the classrooms. Researchers will subsequently meet individual participants to further probe their responses. To analyse the data, an inductive approach will be used to identify general codes and themes. Results from this study will provide insight into how student teachers' prior experiences in the classroom has influenced their beliefs and perceptions. It will also look at how the training they have received in NIE as well as during their Teaching Practicum have further shaped their beliefs and perceptions.

This paper draws from international literature and local studies in Singapore on low progress students to delineate the present state of local knowledge and practice, and suggest future directions for research and policy. The needs of low progress students vary and they may not perform as well as their peers due to a variety of reasons. According to local research, there is a range of learning orientations, motivations and talents, non-academic capabilities and psychological needs among these students, which should be considered in efforts to level them up. Besides individual factors, this paper also recognizes the importance of addressing both school- and education-system-related factors, as well as broader societal factors that could contribute to low progress. However, for the purpose of a more focused discussion, this paper looks more closely at the contributing school- and education-system-related factors to low progress. These factors can be categorized into areas of curriculum, instruction and pedagogy, assessment, teacher quality and attitudes, and school culture and structure. They are examined for constructive ideas, strategies and practices of which implications can inform and better the teaching and learning of local low progress students. We also seek to prepare students to face the new challenges in the 21st century as well as to fulfil the vision of achieving a student-centric education where each student matters and where education is positioned as a means by which meritocracy is implemented and social inequalities mediated. Therefore, this paper proposes that it is timely to revisit some long-held beliefs and practices, from preschool education to teacher education, from education policy to micro-classroom pedagogies and management, from curriculum to assessment, and from the school level to engagement of community and family as stakeholders.

This study examines gifted students' perceptions and attitudes towards the "gifted" label and its effects on their social relationships. A questionnaire was administered to 97 gifted 14 year old students in three secondary schools. Findings suggest that more male gifted students accept the label "gifted" compared to female gifted students. The culture of school where the gifted students are housed appears to be a factor in influencing the perceptions of the gifted adolescents. The students reported personal and academic advantages but pronounced social disadvantages of the "gifted" label. Some of the disadvantages include high expectations from parents and teachers and being discriminated by peers in the mainstream. Results of the case studies parallel these findings.

This research had a two-fold objective. The first objective was to develop an intervention programme that was grounded on positive psychology and tailored for academically at-risk students, that is, students who, by and large, achieved lower aggregate scores than the cohort mean in the national test given at the end of primary education. The second objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the components of the intervention programme in terms of improving positive emotions, well-being, and academic outcomes of academically at-risk students.
Three positive psychology interventions (PPIs) were developed to form the intervention programme. Each PPI comprised five core activities, with a wrap-up session that was conducted after the core activities. The Gratitude PPI comprised the following activities: Gratitude Collage, Counting Blessings, Mental Subtraction, Facing Challenges with Gratitude, and Gratitude Card. The Hope PPI featured activities such as Goal Setting and Goal Mapping, Journaling, Best Possible Self, Savouring Success, and Sharing Formula for Success. The Strengths PPI involved activities such as Identification of Top Strengths, Journaling about Top Strengths, Identification of Signature Strengths, Journaling about Signature Strengths and then Create a Superhero.
The evaluation of the effectiveness of the PPIs involved six sub-studies, with two sub-studies tied to each PPI. For each PPI, the first sub-study, which utilised a quasi-experimental design, served as the first trial to test the impact of the PPI and identify areas for improvement; the second sub-study utilized a split-plot experimental design (i.e., each participating class was randomly split into group A and B and all students in group A formed the intervention group while all students in Group B formed the control group). The six sub-studies involved 305 academically at-risk students.
The results of four sub-studies support the potential of two (i.e., Hope and Gratitude PPIs) out three PPIs in cultivating positive emotions and well-being, and enhancing adaptive motivation and learning strategies. In terms of promoting students’ well-being, the effect of the Gratitude PPI was found to be more consistent and stronger than that of the Hope PPI. Specifically, the Gratitude PPI has generated greater increase in students’ life satisfaction and reduction in depressive symptoms than the control activities did. The Hope PPI seems to be more effective in terms of preventing the worsening of the students’ self-reported depressive symptoms, rather than directly reducing them. Concerning academic achievement, the effects of the PPIs were generally weak.
All the PPIs did not generate a significant effect on academic engagement; however, when it comes to academic motivation, results associated with one PPI was promising. In particular, the Hope PPI was found to have beneficial effects in terms of preventing the decline in students’ intrinsic motivation.
The general results of the present investigation also point to the effectiveness of the Hope PPI, but not the other two PPIs, in increasing students’ use of deep learning and elaboration strategies. The Hope PPI was found to be more effective than the usual CCE activities in enhancing the students’ use of these adaptive learning strategies. The effects of the Hope PPI on these outcomes were not significantly mediated by the students’ academic hope (i.e., positive expectations to achieve school goals). These results suggest that the Hope PPI may operate directly, rather than indirectly through enhancing academic hope levels, in improving adaptive school outcomes.
The benefits that can be derived from the PPIs appear to be stronger and more amenable to measurement when a considerable period has passed after the students’ exposure to PPIs or after booster sessions were conducted. These results suggest that some effects of the PPIs may take a while to manifest and that state-like measures may be more appropriate in capturing the effects of such PPIs accurately.
Overall, the results of the six sub-studies have shown the potential benefits of PPIs, particularly the Hope and Gratitude PPIs, in enhancing adaptive school and well-being outcomes for academically at-risk students in Singapore. The Gratitude PPI appears to have relatively stronger effects on well-being while the Hope PPI seems to be more effective in promoting the use of productive learning strategies and in preventing the decline in intrinsic motivation to study. Educators and interventionists may select the PPIs that suit the needs and profiles of their subjects, or implement the PPIs in combination and in longer duration to generate optimal impact.