MOe announced Learning of English to Develop 21st Century

[Daddy D]

Chenonceau:

The article below appeared in the Straits Times. It was written by a PAP MP. It was originally from here - http://hri-kumar.blogspot.sg/2012/09/primary-colours-dispelling-myths-about.html?showComment=1346808723555

I read the article.... Great writeup.
I'll vote Hri Kumar for Education Minister.
:salute:

[janet88]

Yes, we grew up with assessment books. Even with my daughter now, I bought them to revise and reinforced certain grammar with her. But the NEW syllabus will mean that assessment books will not help any longer.

Are our teachers going to be trained to teach the NEW syllabus? Narrative skills is not easy.

Annotation is to be used by teachers to teach students comprehension but not vice versa. During SA1, my son had to do that or face punishment. As a result, he flunked comprehension OE. Bcos the precious time was spent doing annotation leaving him with no time to get questions done.

[Chenonceau]

janet_lee88:

Yes, we grew up with assessment books. Even with my daughter now, I bought them to revise and reinforced certain grammar with her. But the NEW syllabus will mean that assessment books will not help any longer.

Are our teachers going to be trained to teach the NEW syllabus? Narrative skills is not easy.

Annotation is to be used by teachers to teach students comprehension but not vice versa. During SA1, my son had to do that or face punishment. As a result, he flunked comprehension OE. Bcos the precious time was spent doing annotation leaving him with no time to get questions done.

Actually Janet... :snuggles: there is some small possibility that your kids could be underperforming because you are still using assessment books... and a lot of them. This method of teaching is inefficient and won't allow the gains in competence for even the 2012 PSLE, let alone the 2015 and 2017 PSLE. Please don't be angry. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to share my thought.

I may not be right. It's just and opinion.

I envy your school that it taught annotation. I had to teach my DS myself because as late as March this year, his English homework still looked like this \"Write 5 sentences to reflect on the text above.\" ... and he was given an ultra simple text to write FIVE sentences on.

[Snow Crystal]

Chenonceau:

This would be so much more fun (and more coherent with how children best learn science). My DS' hardly does experiments in school.Can count the times on one hand. However, in PSLE 10 out of 14 questions in a randomly picked Paper 2 Science... tested experiments, the pen and paper way. Kids who rarely do experiments cannot translate no-experience-with-experiments into pen-and-paper experiments.

:hi5: Chen I want to reach to my screen and Hi5 you :hi5:
You are so right ... They rarely do experiments and yet many of school and PSLE exam questions are about experiments :siao: I hardly hear about actual experiments and process skills during my DD's time. So few Science lessons and the poor Science teacher has to rush and could not answer many questions thrown by the kids - famous words: \"I will get back to you\" :siam: and then never re-visit their questions :rotflmao: Luckily my DS' current school emphasizes on process skills :please:
:imsorry: :offtopic:

[Chenonceau]

Snow Crystal:

Chenonceau:

This would be so much more fun (and more coherent with how children best learn science). My DS' hardly does experiments in school.Can count the times on one hand. However, in PSLE 10 out of 14 questions in a randomly picked Paper 2 Science... tested experiments, the pen and paper way. Kids who rarely do experiments cannot translate no-experience-with-experiments into pen-and-paper experiments.

:hi5: Chen I want to reach to my screen and Hi5 you :hi5:
You are so right ... They rarely do experiments and yet many of school and PSLE exam questions are about experiments :siao: I hardly hear about actual experiments and process skills during my DD's time. So few Science lessons and the poor Science teacher has to rush and could not answer many questions thrown by the kids - famous words: \"I will get back to you\" :siam: and then never re-visit their questions :rotflmao: Luckily my DS' current school emphasizes on process skills :please:
:imsorry: :offtopic:

Yes... having experienced the current PSLE, I am so aware that my son is taught in a way that is coherent with my daughter's PSLE a decade ago. If MOE is moving to update teaching methods to be coherent with the way the current (and future) PSLE is constructed, then I say it is a good thing. The fact is, the current PSLE already needs multi-modal learning... and the new 2015 version requires EVEN MORE of it.

I would even say that MOE is responding to our feedback. Too slowly perhaps... but at least the monster stirs. At least SYSTEM-WIDE, it now is giving English teachers in Upper Primary materials to teach with EVEN THOUGH it isn't textbooks. Better than nothing right?

But parents should continue to share their concerns and keep on sharing in order to keep communication lines open. This way, changes don't get locked in with elements that cause pain for the next few years.

[SAHM_TAN]

I spoke to a current science teacher from neighborhood school, one that still has vacancies in P2Cs, if remember correctly. She told me that science experiments are conducted during science lessons. She told me there’s a need to conduct experiment to teach.


My kids are not in P3 yet so I don’t know what will happen during science lesson when it’s their turn. I’m attending a tea session organized by my dd1’s school, I will grill them with my burning qns then.

[Daddy D]

SAHM_TAN:

I spoke to a current science teacher from neighborhood school, one that still has vacancies in P2Cs, if remember correctly. She told me that science experiments are conducted during science lessons. She told me there's a need to conduct experiment to teach.


My kids are not in P3 yet so I don't know what will happen during science lesson when it's their turn. I'm attending a tea session organized by my dd1's school, I will grill them with my burning qns then.

So ATAS... Got tea session with sch? :razz:

[SAHM_TAN]

Daddy

SAHM_TAN:

I spoke to a current science teacher from neighborhood school, one that still has vacancies in P2Cs, if remember correctly. She told me that science experiments are conducted during science lessons. She told me there's a need to conduct experiment to teach.


My kids are not in P3 yet so I don't know what will happen during science lesson when it's their turn. I'm attending a tea session organized by my dd1's school, I will grill them with my burning qns then.

So ATAS... Got tea session with sch? :razz:

Not atas lah. Tea session sounds more relax mah, like meeting friends, all in relax mood, not so tense LOL

[Chenonceau]

SAHM_TAN:

I spoke to a current science teacher from neighborhood school, one that still has vacancies in P2Cs, if remember correctly. She told me that science experiments are conducted during science lessons. She told me there's a need to conduct experiment to teach.


My kids are not in P3 yet so I don't know what will happen during science lesson when it's their turn. I'm attending a tea session organized by my dd1's school, I will grill them with my burning qns then.

I know some schools where teachers conduct experiments OFTEN. I know other schools where students also conduct experiments OFTEN. In my DS' experience... teacher experiments are FEW and student experiments even LESS. This is why I made noise about variance between schools. Possibly, in some schools, teaching teams get together to put together multi-modal Science teaching materials... but in other schools, teachers are starved of such materials.

By rolling out a STELLAR equivalent for Science, it would mean Teachers in every school have access to multi-modal teaching materials for Science. I am happy this has happened in Upper Primary English and I do hope it'll come on line soon for Science.

[Champion]

SAHM_TAN:

Daddy

So ATAS... Got tea session with sch? :razz:

Not atas lah. Tea session sounds more relax mah, like meeting friends, all in relax mood, not so tense LOL

Think this is quite common now that the school has regular meet-up with the parents so as to foster and strengthen Strategic Partnerships and to strengthen ties with parents as key stakeholders. Parents are invited to attend a tea session for an informal interaction with the school leaders.