Reflection of teaching: A glimpse through the eyes of pre-service science teachers
This paper examines pre-service teachers‟ reflection on teaching after participating in an online course using teaching videos of micro-skills coupled with self-reflection and group blogs. A total of 137 online entries were collected from 26 participants. Larrivee‟s (2008) four levels of reflection (pre, surface, pedagogical and critical) were used to code the reflection by the participants. The findings showed that 67% of the reflection by pre-service teachers falls in the pedagogical category and 2% in the critical category. These findings show that pre-service teachers are capable of engaging in reflection beyond a surface level even with limited actual classroom experience, and micro-skills teaching videos coupled with self-reflection and online blogs can serve as stimulus for reflection about actual teaching practices. The resources that the pre-service teachers used to make sense of teaching are (1) their knowledge of learning theories; (2) their ideas of teachers‟ roles and responsibilities; and (3) existing ideas of what makes good teaching. The pre-service teachers reflected upon their learning and showed evidence of willingness to incorporate the learnt ideas of good teaching into their future classroom teaching. The use of videos and reflection allowed them to restructure their teaching knowledge through identification, comparison, modification and synthesising.
Teaching analytics: A multi-layer analysis of teacher noticing to support teaching practice
This paper, as part of a larger ongoing study, presents the use of a multi-layer approach to analyzing teacher noticing for the improvement of teaching practices. Situated in the field of teaching analytics, the use of multimodal sensors and analytics, especially for teacher noticing research, has provided affordances to discover deep insights for improving teaching practices. We collected data from a case study of one teacher over three lessons of science teaching in a secondary school. Multimodal sensors including an eye-tracking device, a microphone, and multiple video cameras were deployed in a classroom. The various sources of data were integrated and a multi-layer analysis was performed to uncover insights into the teaching practice. The findings show that a novice teacher in our case study was able to attend to events in her classroom, with some interpretations and sense-making of the events; some necessary actions were taken based on the teacher’s analysis but in some instances, necessary action was found to be lacking. Prior knowledge and the wealth of experiences or the lack thereof, together with visual cues in the environment, can affect the decision of novice teachers in executing certain actions in a classroom.
Assessing students’ learning of primary science in the multicultural context of Singapore: Considerations influencing task selection for formative assessment
This research reports the considerations influencing task selection for formative assessment among 30 primary school science teachers. Education and assessment are high stake enterprises in this multicultural city-state of Singapore. The 39 participants were chosen through random sampling from six primary schools located at different parts of Singapore. The participants responded to an instrument comprising of activities on the concepts of electrical circuits and conductors. The activities, set in different contexts but based on the same learning outcomes, were presented to the participants as possible tasks to assess students' learning. The participants’ responses to the questions were analysed. The findings revealed that the teachers prioritised students' abilities and their learning over and above other factors. The writers argued that the teachers' focus on students’ abilities may work against the current initiative of inquiry approach towards teaching and learning. While studies on teachers' conceptions on assessment have been undertaken, the contribution of this paper lies in illuminating influences on the implementation of formative assessment in Singapore primary science classrooms.
Science teachers’ engagement with ICT in Singapore: Different perspectives
In this paper, we present narratives of three in-service biology teachers in their journey with the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their practices. These narratives provide useful insights into the in-service science teachers’ ideas, dilemmas and actual usage of ICT. The use of narratives to present perspectives of biology teachers’ engagement with ICT is a deliberate one ─ different teachers have different experiences with their students and across different schools. As such, the stories generated are different but personal and real to each participant. The in-service teachers are purposively sampled: all of them having taught science in secondary school for at least three years and had shown a keen interest in technology during their pre-service teacher program. A series of questions was used to help the participants reflect on their experiences and craft their narratives. These narratives were then analysed using content analysis of recurring themes. From the narratives, we found that generic ICT tools could be used for evaluation of students’ learning while specific ICT tools such as sensors were used for the teaching of specific scientific concepts and to support scientific inquiry. Further, in deciding which ICT tool to adopt for their lessons, teachers took into consideration external factors such as availability of wireless networks, school infrastructure, ease of setting, and students’ motivation. In terms of professional development on the use of ICT, we found that sharing sessions on what works, time and space for experimenting with new ideas, and in-depth implementation of fewer ideas rather than many ideas worked for the teachers.
Solving ill-structured problems mediated by online- discussion forums: Mass customisation of learning
To foster students’ learning of critical-thinking skills, we incorporated ill-structured problems in a Human Diseases module for third-year Life Sciences students. Using a problem-solving rubric and working in groups of three, students attempted to solve problems presented to them. We mediated their discussions by asynchronous online discussion forums (AODFs) as part of mass customisation of learning for 40 students where personalised learning was constrained by structure of the module. We examined the quality of students’ discussion, focusing on the feedback group members provided to one another, using an interpreted Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy to code students’ feedback. Our analysis indicated that the students were able to provide uni-structural and multi-structural level in relation to solving an ill-structured problem, even though they are not used to solving ill-structured problems. This indicated that in a mid-size class, while personalised-learning is not always easy, it is possible to mass customise learning for students using common ill-structured problems in a class by mediating problem-solving using student discussions as feedback. However, more can be done to scaffold peer feedback on solving ill-structured problems so that the level of collaborative-learning can be improved in a mass customised model that approaches personalised learning.
Factors affecting primary science teachers’ enactment of formative assessment: Reality and professional decision making
Practices of science teachers: Evidence from teacher noticing
Teacher noticing patterns offer insights into in-the-moment decisions and actions of teachers that have a direct impact on students’ learning. However, research on differences between novice and expert teachers’ vision in lessons remain limited. Using a mobile eye-tracker, we collected and analyzed data from two science teachers. Findings showed that the expert teacher focused her attention on relevant information across the classroom, while the novice teacher’s attention was restricted to specific problematic areas. As a work-in-progress, this paper provides valuable insights that we can build onto existential work for further studies.
A review on plant science education in Singapore
Plants are fundamental to the existence of our green planet, but the understanding of plants and the willingness to understand them is deficient. Teachers, students and curriculum developers are mindful of the lack of knowledge and ability to notice plants in our environment. In Singapore we are facing a paradox in plant science education. Known as a garden city, and having a hybrid of an orchid as our national flower, many of our citizens ironically remain blind to what are growing and cultivated around them. Our pupils are not able to name the common plant species. They would prefer to dwell in the air-conditioned comfort of their homes and learn through the computer or the television rather than to have a walk in the forest. Further, our educators merely set limited plant contents in Biology syllabus, and teachers are reluctant to bring plants to the classroom. In this review, we reflect plant science education in Singapore based on the current syllabus at the primary, secondary and junior college levels. We also list a few case studies of specific terms in plant science using various science textbooks and questions from national exams to allow a greater understanding on how plant science is taught and tested. Finally we propose suggestions to improve plant science education in Singapore.