Tan, Ai-Girl

Singaporean children's views of activities that they desire in the classroom and that they consider useful for fostering creativity are investigated. In the first study, 225 children (age 9-12 years) rated on a 5-Likert scale the degree of desirability of 25 activities that they wish to have. Three interpretative factors were identified. Factor 1 refers to conventional activities that take place every day (e.g., doing worksheet, spelling words). Factor 2 consists of alternative activities that can generate different learning atmospheres (e.g., games, riddles, learning computer skills). Factor 3 represents activities that demand children's active involvement (e.g., role-plays, project work). In the second study, 115 children (9-12 years old) rated the degree of usefulness of the same activities for fostering creativity on a 5-Likert scale. Four interpretative factors were identified. Factor 1 is defined as basic knowledge acquisition (e.g., reading, teacher demonstration). Factor 2 consists of activities that can generate enjoyment in classroom learning (e.g., quizzes, competition). Factor 3 represents activities that challenge children's independent learning skills (e.g., writing, project work). Factor 4 is composed of two activities related to the acquisition of multimedia expertise (learning computer and video show). Discussion on the inclusion of children's views in classroom learning is presented.

One may easily associate bilingualism with biculturalism. Is bilingualism the same as biculturalism? Definitions of culture show that language is an essential component, but not the only one. If a person is proficient in two languages, he/she is a bilingual. However, he/she may not be a bicultural. Positive attitudes towards another culture are indispensable for a person who does not come from a bicultural family background to appreciate values and practices of a second culture. Factors that facilitate biculturalism are more complex than those governing in learning two languages. This article attempts to identify these factors through a few cases. Parents' and educators' attitudes, in a heterogeneous or a homogenous society are discussed, in how they guide pupils to learn a second language and to appreciate a second culture.

This article aims to explore how video as a tool can be used to record practices and to elicit the (mis)alignment of these practices to perceptions (e.g., beliefs and emotions) of early childhood teachers in facilitating positive children’s growth. Video as a tool records moment to moment interactions between teachers and children and among children to capture the momentary and spontaneous experiences of teachers in supporting needs of a child. Our study examines how video as a tool can help us understand the perceptions and practices of creative teaching in early childhood settings that may have been neglected. Creative teaching practices encapsulate the here and now, are complex and multi-layered. In the early childhood settings, creative teaching practices engage a mix of verbal and non-verbal communication. In the moments of interactions, teachers act, react, proact, and create actions via automaticity and/or logical deduction. A research question was posed: How does video as a tool help early childhood or preschool educators to relive their creative teaching practices in their day-to-day lessons? Using a visual ethnography approach, the authors of the study reflect upon the processes of preparing four elicitation interviews from 48 sessions of video recording. The study was approved by the university institute of review board. Consents were obtained from the participants before data collection. To reach consensus of video elicitation contents, the authors prepared e-logs, conducted e-log audits, refined elicitation interview protocols, re-examined contextual curriculum, and reframed pedagogies that meet developmental needs. A preliminary conclusion from the study is that video with its complementary technologies (e.g., “slow down” the speed) can reveal every day actions and behaviors that are non-verbal and that occur within “bullet-like” moment-to-moment intervals. The ways to overcome the limitations of video as a tool for understanding creative teaching practices in early childhood settings are also proposed and discussed.

Following its aspiration to develop an excellent educational system, creativity appears gradually as a component of education in Singapore. In June 1997 the "Thinking Schools" concept was announced outlining teacher roles in fostering creative thinking. This paper investigated student teachers' perceptions of teacher roles in enhancing students' creativity in the classrooms. 140 student teachers participated in a paper-and-pencil survey rating teacher characteristics that were important for fostering creativity of primary school students and secondary school students on a 9-Likert scale. The student teachers perceived that primary school teachers who can help foster students' creativity are those who possess basic pedagogical skills, creative disposition, interpersonal disposition and classroom management skills. They regarded that secondary school teachers who can help foster students' creativity are those who possess creative disposition and skills, as well as know-how for fostering thinking skills, social skills and pedagogical skills. The student teachers' different perceptions of teacher roles in fostering creativity of primary and secondary school students were discussed.

Adolescents' perceptions of decisional balance, task specific efficacy and stages of changes related to their gaming behavior in an Asian context were examined. A total of 414 adolescents (girls, n = 171, 41.3%) participated in the study, with their age ranged between 12 and 17 (M = 13.8, SO = 1.37) years old. The participants reported their particulars and rated three scales, i.e., decisional balance, task specific and stages of changes. Nearly all subscales had good international consistency. The precontemplation subscale was significantly related to the DBpro subscale, r( 409)=.29, p<.O 1 . Significant correlations were observed between the DB-con subscale with the contemplation r(409)=.35, p<.Ol, action r(409)=.32, p<.01, and maintenance r(409)=.34, p<.01 subscales. The action subscale was positively correlated to the task specific efficacy - school situation subscale, r( 408)= .20, p<.O l. Significantly correlations were reported between the frequency of gaming and the DB-pro r(412)=.28, p<.01, the ARC Action subscale r(409)=.13, p<.01, and the TSSE school subscale r(410)=-.14,p<.Ol.

A study was conducted to investigate the relation between positive affect, feeling, task interest and performance. The participants of the study were 109 post secondary students from the business school in Singapore. The age range was between 17 and 20 years old (M = 18.13, SO= .70). The students of the study solved two problems, the Tower of Hanoi task (paper and pen format, well-defined task) and nine dot problem (insight task). Before problem solving, the participants rated their mood using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS, Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) and pleasantness rating of unfamiliar words (lsen, Daubman, & Nowicki, 1987). After the tasks, they rated the PANAS and task interest. The findings supported the hypotheses that there is a positive relation between positive affect and successful task completion (Fredrickson, 1998), between task interest and successful performance (Amabile, 1983 ). The findings suggest a change in negative affect (lower than the initial state) as an indicator of the presence of successful performance, particularly in solving a well-defined task (Schwarz, 1990). The study expands the paradigm of inclusion of emotions in regulating performance, including positive and negative affect, task interest and general feeling.