2012 PSLE Discussions and Strategy
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I forgot to lock my iPad screen orientation and was cranking my head sideways trying to read all the scribbles and arrows slap forehead. Better drink some coffee first!
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Hey! It looks similar to how I had to break text down for A levels literature paper… this scary or what?!
(mum with young kids freaking out over prospect of PSLE down the road now) -
deminc:
Yes, I realize this is what we used to do, but much, much later into our studies. I never knew it was called annotation. Ha ha... But it was a good reminder of a study skill we once had, and now we can use it again!Hey! It looks similar to how I had to break text down for A levels literature paper... this scary or what?!
(mum with young kids freaking out over prospect of PSLE down the road now) -
2ppaamm:
deminc... absolutely... I used to do that for the A levels lit paper. My DD did that too for hers last year.
Yes, I realize this is what we used to do, but much, much later into our studies. I never knew it was called annotation. Ha ha... But it was a good reminder of a study skill we once had, and now we can use it again!deminc:
Hey! It looks similar to how I had to break text down for A levels literature paper... this scary or what?!
(mum with young kids freaking out over prospect of PSLE down the road now) -
If only SEAB and the schools can leave a line between the lines (like what psle2011mom did when she typed out the passages), the children can have more space to do the annotations.
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pixiedust:
If only SEAB and the schools can leave a line between the lines (like what psle2011mom did when she typed out the passages), the children can have more space to do the annotations.
Even something so small demonstrates the GROSS lack of co-ordination between the different parts of MOE.
The people who set exams set texts and questions that need \"annotating skills\" to properly process. The people who wrote the curriculum have no clue that these annotating skills are useful.
(1) If they did have a clue and they didn't put it down in any Teacher guide of textbook, then they should be slapped.
(2) If they didn't have a clue and therefore didn't document anything, then they're well... like we said... clueless because the curriculum people don't really study the work of the exams department on a regular basis.
As a result, where the rubber hits the road (i.e., where exams meet teaching&learning) most Teachers don't expect students to annotate. Therefore, the exams leave no space for annotations on the paper. They just expect that the good students will kinda figure it out. After all, the exams are to distinguish good from very good from excellent. That's sooooooooo important you see.
Come to think of it... maybe the exam specialists THEMSELVES didn't know annotating would be useful and so they don't put in any space into the paper to facilitate annotation? They just kinda expect that the bright ones are born knowing how to deconstruct and analyse the paper by reading alone.
Only the very intelligent and more creative Teachers will stumble across this method and use it to help their kids. Or else, it'll take someone who teaches English Lit at uni level... These Teachers won't share with other Teachers because this is THEIR method, and they want THEIR own kids to do better. It's THEIR competitive edge. Even if they share with the Teachers in their school, sharing across schools will be very patchy.
What we have is a highly CONSTIPATED system because power is decentralized to Principals and there is not enough power resident within MOE HQ to pull schools together and ensure better co-ordination... -
This is my Utopia ...
In Teachers We Trust: An Interview with Finnish Education Expert Reijo Laukkanen
By Claus von Zastrow on September 29, 2008 for PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS
[See link at :http://www.learningfirst.org/teachers-we-trust-interview-finnish-education-expert-reijo-laukkanen]
Finland draws its teachers from the top 10 percent of college graduates, and teaching regularly beats out law or medicine as a top career choice among high performers. \"We can trust that [teachers] are competent,\" Laukkanen told us; \"They know what to do.\"
PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: What do you think are some of the major reasons for [Finland's] success?
LAUKKANEN: Teachers. They are the most important [aspect of] Finnish success. But there's also other issues. The second one is that we take care of all our children. And the third big issue is that we have set our objectives or the standards of education high.
PUBLIC SCHOOL INSIGHTS: The concern here [in the United States] is often that national standards might limit the work of schools and teachers.
LAUKKANEN: I can understand the hesitation of some people in the USA [to support national standards] if they hesitate for that reason, because we have sometimes [asked] would it be better to set minimum objectives. And we have found out that it's not clever, because if you set minimum objectives for the schools you'll always reach low objectives. And that's why we set objectives high, and we never set objectives in the way that they would prevent teachers [from using] their own capacity to broaden education. We only talk about the objectives, not the methods of education. Because teachers, if they have high-level education, should be given leeway enough to use their own innovation capacity.
I love both my DDs teachers as wonderfully caring people; they had so much on their hands, I had no expectation that they were able to do any more for my DDs - how to - with a class of 43, a load that rivals many of us working parents' and a job scope that goes well beyond teaching. That my DDs enjoyed their time in school with their teachers and friends - that was enough for me. Since I knew my Utopia was not going to materialise anytime soon, I did what I needed to do.
I do see the textbooks as only spelling out the minimum standards and I do think that the PSLE is not an exam to make sure your 12 year old has reached the standards required of a 12 year old [and is thus ready to move on to a next higher phase of education], but it is a differentiation exam - differentiated to 6 decimal points I am told.
I pray for a day when the system gets better but in the meantime, I do what I can to pass on the resources I was blessed with and hope someone else finds it useful
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2ppaamm:
Yes, I realize this is what we used to do, but much, much later into our studies. I never knew it was called annotation. Ha ha... But it was a good reminder of a study skill we once had, and now we can use it again!deminc:
Hey! It looks similar to how I had to break text down for A levels literature paper... this scary or what?!
(mum with young kids freaking out over prospect of PSLE down the road now)
Oops.. A- Level Lit... really?? Sorry, I was a triple science student
Glad some of you found this useful and not to scare anyone here, but my older girl had a so much easier time with Sec 1 and 2 Math and Science after going through the PSLE [\" Mummy, not much more than P6 actually\" were her words], so maybe there is an element of \"bringing it forward\" when the setters use the PSLE as a differentiation exam. -
psle2011mum…you’re a blessing in more ways than one.
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I’m new KS mum here … may I know is there any KS parent has info on the date for PSLE 2012 ? Greatly appreciate it.
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