Chang, Chew Hung

This paper describes a baseline empirical study of Singapore secondary students' understanding of climate change . It reports that despite evidence of significant awareness on the topic , what learner's think they know does not match up with what they really know. Like other students around the world, their understanding of the phenomenon is not deep enough for accurate definition, explanation and linking of critical concepts together coherently and correctly. The paper critically examines how the introduction of a new national syllabus in geography in Singapore at grade 9level considers current developments in scientific discourse and affords the opportunity to help students develop values , knowledge, and skills to engage the climate change topic. The study argues for geographic education to be responsive in addressing gaps identified through updating the curriculum with current scientific discourse and by providing skills for students to engage a growing volume of information on climate change from various media.

A reflection on using iTunes U as a platform for teaching and learning Geography will be presented. Arising from an altruistic interest in exploring the affordances of new technology, as well as balancing the pragmatic needs of developing innovative approaches to conducting eLearning lessons, the author developed one of the first iTunes U courses for the National Institute of Education, Singapore - a topic on atmospheric circulation. Available free on the iTunes U store, the free–access course has been subscribed by the public in the order of threefold the number of students in the author’s class. This exposition will consider the issues of the rationale for developing the iTunes U course, the design considerations in relation to the affordances of the technology, and most importantly the limitations and recommended improvements. The presentation will also include a very short demonstration on the functionalities of using iTunes U for learning Geography.

How school geography should be taught has been a longstanding issue for geography educators. In some countries, state or national level curriculum predicates how the subject should be taught in schools. This paper examines these questions in relation to existing frameworks of conceptualizing school geography, such as the International Charter on Geographical Education. School geography in Singapore has evolved from regional geography to thematic geography to systematic geography. A review of the curriculum in 2007 resulted in a distinct form of school geography unprecedented in Singapore’s education history. Today, school geography in Singapore is learnt conceptually with national level assessment designed to that end. To what extent is this evolution in curriculum design in step with changes in our world? In response to the changes in school geography, pre-service and in-service teacher training has also responded by focusing on conceptual learning and inquiry. This paper will explore the state of school geography curricula in Singapore today, and the curriculum of teacher training, with the intent to critically discuss the state of geography education in Singapore. Although geography has remained a disciplinary subject whose place has yet been disputed, the big question of why study geography in the first place needs to be answered to ensure its continued survival. In particular, school geography will be examined for its relevance to a fast changing world. This critique ends by offering a reason to how geography plays an important role in education for sustainable development, and its relevance to Singaporeans or even any citizen of the world.

Arising from the metaphor and methods of the design and engineering fields, design experiment is a methodology whereby an artifact or intervention is designed based on a known theory with the goal of improving the artefact or intervention thrqugh the inquiry. Experimental design, on the other hand, refers to an investigative method in which variability in the experimental subjects or objects are compared. In developing a methodology to investigate if Geographic Information System (GIS) use with the problem based learning (PBL) approach will result in higher order learning outcomes, the concepts of design experiment or design-based research (DBR) and experimental design were considered. A combination of both approaches was adapted into a hybrid methodology that draws on the benefits of these two approaches to address the research question raised. In particular, experimental design was used in combination with microethnography to inform the design process of this study. The experimental design part of the study found that GIS use with PBL resulted in higher order cognitive skills use , such as applying and evaluating, while the use of recall reduced. Studying the preliminary results of the micro-ethnography showed that the affordances of the GIS technology such as spatial analysis tools helped students develop cognitive skills of analysis and evaluation. While initial conception of the methodology was a hybrid of both experimental design and design experiment, the resultant methodology was primarily a DBR which addressed the process of learning and the way that learning is supported by GIS. A key outcome in this methodology evaluation process is the importance of having a practitioner on the research team.

This study identified secondary school students’ alternative conceptions (ACs) of climate change and their resistance to instruction. Using a case-based approach, a diagnostic test was administered to Secondary 3 male students in a pre-test and post-test. The ACs identified in the pre-test were on the causes of climate change, the natural greenhouse effect and its properties, the enhancement of the greenhouse effect, the elements involved in heat-trapping and their characteristics. There were also notable ACs on the effects of climate change, mostly on how the phenomenon is related to non-atmospheric events such as tsunami, earthquakes, acid rain and skin cancer. The students confuse the Montreal with the Kyoto Protocol as the primary treaty aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions. Whereas there was significant improvement in students’ understanding in the post-test, the distribution of responses for each of the ACs showed that the reduction in erroneous responses was not sufficient to reject the ACs fully. The authors recommend that instruction should move beyond patchwork pedagogy to a more explicit acknowledgement, incorporation and direct refutation of misconceived knowledge structures.

Vietnam’s tourism industry has high growth potential with forecasts of double digit growth in the next few years, as the tourism industry contributed more than 13% of its GPD even during the global economic recession in 2009 (RNCOS Market Research, 2010). With this unprecedented rate of growth in the tourism industry, two important questions arise. What are the causes of this growth and what is the impact of this growth? The Singapore Teachers’ fieldtrip offers opportunities for teachers to deepen their content and contextual understanding of Hanoi, as well as a chance to foray into conducting field based enquiry. In Singapore, a revised Geography syllabus will be implemented for the GCE ‘O’ levels in 2013 for Secondary 3 students. A key feature of this revised syllabus is the use of an enquiry approach in the teaching and learning of Geography to engage independent learning, critical thinking, reflective thinking and enquiry. In particular, the “enquiry approach” proposed in this revised syllabus is contingent on both fieldwork and classroom learning. This workshop draws on the experience in the field to advance the discussion on the enquiry process.

This presentation provides a brief overview on some key concepts in determining the outcomes of climate change education including the knowledge domains on the science, impacts and management of climate change, as well as taking into consideration the cognitive domains of outcomes such as factual recall, deep understanding, skill in analyzing climate change information, for example. The presentation will also discuss the concepts of awareness, knowledge, attitude and action in developing curriculum for learning about climate change. The ultimate aim of education is not just to “inform people, but to change them” (UNESCO, 1997). It is based on this philosophy that CCE should transform learners from knowing and doing something about climate change to being a global citizen ready to engage the issues of climate change.

According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "[w]arming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures" (IPCC, 2007: 5) by about 0.8–1.0°C over the last 160 years. Based on a survey of literature on global warming and precipitation, there is agreement that the frequency of extreme precipitation events in Southeast Asia will increase with global warming. At the regional level, densely populated countries in Southeast Asia are vulnerable to these changes in precipitation events. This article provides a review of the potential changes to storm events in Southeast Asia, based on the understanding of existing scientific discourse. The article also presents two case studies of anomalous storm event in Southeast Asia, Typhoon Vamei and the extreme high rainfall event in December 2006 in Peninsular Malaysia, as indication of the potential impacts of global warming related changes to storm activities, highlighting the need for preparedness in adapting to the impact of global warming.