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A study of the impact of learning circles and InnoWITs on the professional development of teachers
Author
Tay, Gek Khim
Supervisor
Wong, Benjamin
Abstract
The need for teachers to be role models who have critical, inquiring mind and willingness to explore new teaching strategies to bring about more quality learning and teaching, and the need to customize curriculum so that teachers are able to experiment with innovative teaching methods and make the learning experiences of the students more engaging and meaningful, have prompted schools to re-evaluate the effectiveness of the one-shot workshops and short modular courses. Such needs have been given much attention in the arena of the professional development of teachers in Singapore today and have propelled the shift of professional development needs of teachers from the conventional one, which views teachers as knowledge transmitters to something which shows that teachers are facilitators for students to achieve lifelong learning skills.
To better respond to such moves, Ministry of Education of Singapore has put in place some professional development initiatives such as Learning Circles (LCs) and InnoWITs in the school system to provide opportunities for teachers to experiment and share their innovative teaching strategies.
Thus far, no study has been done to show the impact of the Learning Circles and InnoWITs on the teaching and learning of the teachers and the students.
Hence, this study investigated the impact of the LCs (Primary One) and the InnoWITs lessons (Primary Five) on the professional development of the teachers and the learning of the pupils.
This qualitative study was carried out with two groups of teachers and students. They are the Primary One (P1) and the Primary Five (P5) teachers and students. P1 teachers and students are involved with the LCs while P5 classes are involved with InnoWITs. These two projects were identified for this study as they were in line with Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) and they have in them the idea of teacher inquiry being a systematic, intentional inquiry about teaching.
A total of 16 teachers, 8 from P1 LCs and 8 from P5 InnoWITs participated in 2 focus interviews. A total of 3 one-to-one interviews were also carried out, 2 of which were with 2 P1 teachers and the other was with a P5 InnoWITs teacher. Besides, one direct observation was made when the P5 InnoWITs students were carrying out their activities. Archival documents such as teachers’ reflections, pupils’ survey forms and reflective journals were also collected.
It was concluded that the LCs and InnoWITs have provided good platforms for teachers to develop professionally as there were opportunities for teachers to reflect on their own teaching, to have insightful discussions and dialogues and to share teaching practices with other colleagues to improve their teaching and learning.
It was recommended at least 2 half-hour common free periods per week to be built into the curriculum time-table to allow teachers to hold discussions and dialogues regularly. In addition, it was also recommended that school would stay focus on the projects for at least 3 years so as to be able to feel their full impact on the professional development of the staff and the learning of the pupils.
To better respond to such moves, Ministry of Education of Singapore has put in place some professional development initiatives such as Learning Circles (LCs) and InnoWITs in the school system to provide opportunities for teachers to experiment and share their innovative teaching strategies.
Thus far, no study has been done to show the impact of the Learning Circles and InnoWITs on the teaching and learning of the teachers and the students.
Hence, this study investigated the impact of the LCs (Primary One) and the InnoWITs lessons (Primary Five) on the professional development of the teachers and the learning of the pupils.
This qualitative study was carried out with two groups of teachers and students. They are the Primary One (P1) and the Primary Five (P5) teachers and students. P1 teachers and students are involved with the LCs while P5 classes are involved with InnoWITs. These two projects were identified for this study as they were in line with Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) and they have in them the idea of teacher inquiry being a systematic, intentional inquiry about teaching.
A total of 16 teachers, 8 from P1 LCs and 8 from P5 InnoWITs participated in 2 focus interviews. A total of 3 one-to-one interviews were also carried out, 2 of which were with 2 P1 teachers and the other was with a P5 InnoWITs teacher. Besides, one direct observation was made when the P5 InnoWITs students were carrying out their activities. Archival documents such as teachers’ reflections, pupils’ survey forms and reflective journals were also collected.
It was concluded that the LCs and InnoWITs have provided good platforms for teachers to develop professionally as there were opportunities for teachers to reflect on their own teaching, to have insightful discussions and dialogues and to share teaching practices with other colleagues to improve their teaching and learning.
It was recommended at least 2 half-hour common free periods per week to be built into the curriculum time-table to allow teachers to hold discussions and dialogues regularly. In addition, it was also recommended that school would stay focus on the projects for at least 3 years so as to be able to feel their full impact on the professional development of the staff and the learning of the pupils.
Date Issued
2007
Call Number
LB1731 Tay
Date Submitted
2007