Lim, Kam Ming

Theories are constructed to give an explanation of phenomena (Stam, 2000). According to Denzin (1970), there are three functions of a theory: Permitting organization of descriptions, leading to explanation, and furnishing the basis for prediction of future events. In a preliminary study, 350 student teachers were requested to fill-out a questionnaire. They rated the importance of acquiring knowledge and skills using a 7-point scale (1: extremely not important, and 7: extremely important). The findings show that the participants regarded knowing "how to do" as more important than knowing "what they are doing" and "why they are doing it". In other words, they regarded learning skills to do something as more important than knowing the theory behind the practice. For instance, "Knowing theories on why students enjoy or not enjoy learning" (theory, M: 5.51, SD: 1.35) was scored significantly lower (t= 13.96, p < 0.0001) than "Making learning an enjoyable process for their students" (practice, M: 6.47, SD: 0.90). Implications of the study for teacher education are discussed in light of three functions of a theory. Teacher education should promote a balanced curriculum that narrows the gap between teachers’ perceptions of theory and practice.

In this paper we present the views that the roles of comics for mathematics instruction extend beyond the role of addressing the affective needs of students, in particular the lower achieving students. We argue that within the broader framework of contextualization, comics have the potential to reach out to the entire spectrum of students to develop their higher order thinking skills and even raise their cognizance to environmental issues. Two exemplars based on the research carried out by us are presented.

The core purpose of this project was to characterise the development of student teachers’ professional competence and identity in Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Specifically, the project studied the impact of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes within National Institute of Education (NIE) on student teachers’ development of professional competencies and teacher identity. This, and the earlier related OER 13/09 LEL and OER 4/10 LEL work, was the first systematic attempt in Singapore to provide empirical evidence that could ultimately help to inform policy on, and practice of, teacher education programmes.

Getting information about sex is no longer the issue. Information about sex from adult movies to zoophilia can be easily obtained at the click of a mouse. The call for more sex education comes as no surprise with the increasing rate of teen pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and abandoned babies. A recent Straits Times poll indicated that four of five respondents wanted schools to conduct sex education courses. As the Internet makes its presence felt in the classroom, teachers in a knowledge-based society must face the new challenge of addressing sexuality issues that their students may have. How knowledgeable and comfortable are these new teachers about such matters? How prepared are these teachers in answering biological, sexual or value-laden questions? What kind of questions would these teachers be most comfortable or uncomfortable with? This study examines the attitudes towards sex education of new PGDE Primary and Secondary teachers who have just completed their training at NIE.