Recommendation of changes to reduce Stress for PSLE

[xfx]

janet_lee88:

BeContented:

To me, percentile would possibly be able to offer the most details eg. Top 5% or 10%, 80-90%, 70-80%. But seriously, can we really really accept the truth gracefully? :roll:

Sure, top % will be happy, but may be accused of bragging. People are bound to compare & then start stressing their child to get into the next range. And for those in the lower range, they would be unhappy & some gets demoralized & rather not have that kind of info.....

There is no perfect system & whatever is implemented, there will be all sorts of comments. I will make the best of whatever is available cos a system/policy is not about me, it's for the majority. :love:

I just want MOE to know that PSLE is a nightmare for many...not just the kids but the parents as well. If PSLE is to stay, tweak it.
1) Get schools to teach adequately.
2) Get schools to set papers to test what has been taught.
This way, the kids will not be demoralized after studying so hard.
Forget about setting prelims to 'wake up' the students.

Any revised system/policy is for the majority. When parents are able to feel that most schools are truly teaching, and the prelim standard is not set beyond PSLE standard, the reliance on tutors will be reduced.

Be Contended,
Some people are born to compare. They can compare every damn thing.

:goodpost:

[Chenonceau]

MMM:

janet_lee88:

[quote=\"MMM\"]I think my issue with science is that, marks are awarded based on production of \"Key words\" and required answering style..... So even a common sense answer without keywords = wrong..... My P5 dd manages that but my P4 ds struggles... He enjoys science BUT he struggles during exams as he always like to say in his own words...


I acknowleged I am the type of parent who struggle with science. But is the marking focus today correct???? It appears to promote rote learning eg. memorise the standard answers for given set of questions. That is really stifling.

My son loves science, so we didn't have much problems coaching him without tuition. But we got fed up bcos son couldn't score in his fav subject. We refused to bring in science tutor, still wanting to believe that school will teach students to answer OE questions the way PSLE markers are looking for. But we were deeply disappointed. I do not know how many others feel that way.

Personally, I thought they are more focus on exam techniques than anything else. Why don't they change the name from science to exam techniques? How to foster that love in science when kids start to self doubt when they don't do well during exams??? They will start to think oh, I am just not good in science, it's difficult for me and give up on the love for science. That is just so unfortunate. MOE needs to look into the focus. We are producing a nation of rote learners who cannot think creatively as the environment don't encourage them to do so. To do well, ability to rote learn seems critical.[/quote]MY DS had a lotta trouble with Science answering technique too. I bought the book called LiSC from Science Heuristics in Goldhill Square. His grades moved all the way to the top of the class because he liked Science and only needed to polish up his answering technique.

Book is about $38++. Very ex. I am not related to Science Heuristics at all but I am grateful for the book even though I was upset that it was so overpriced for a CRITICAL skill that ALL students need to know at the PSLE... and therefore should be in the textbooks.

We did not have to rote learn. Learning the LiSC helped us with the mental skills of scientific inquiry. Once we got it, we were able to apply to all sorts of NEW situations that DS had never encountered before. Hope this reference will help your DS.

[janet88]

Hi Chen,

Thanks for informing us of that very expensive book that you bought to teach YOUR son...a CRITICAL skill which ALL students at P6 should be taught in school.

I truly admire your dedication :salute:
If that book had landed in my hands, I don't think I will be able to work miracles with my son.

[Laura02]

I went for one of MOE’s focus group discussions. Most participants with children in Primary school were more concerned with the syllabus, but the discussion was focused on teachers, and teacher interactions with the kids outside school. But they stressed that the ministry is open to feedback, and welcomed everyone to go either to the MOE website or their Facebook to give feedback on any other matters. And they assured us that someone does read the feedback given online, and they do consider the feedback given. The take home message at this feedback session, I felt, was that MOE is listening to parental concerns, but that they too have other points of view to consider, such as from the school and teachers, etc. I think someone also monitors other online websites like this, but, of course, the proper platform to give feedback is on their website.

[janet88]

Laura02:

The take home message at this feedback session, I felt, was that MOE is listening to parental concerns, but that they too have other points of view to consider, such as from the school and teachers, etc. I think someone also monitors other online websites like this, but, of course, the proper platform to give feedback is on their website.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1229592/1/.html
Quote taken from article.
Mr Heng said: \"In a globalised village, pupils will benefit greatly learning from experts and professionals in our community. Teachers are central to learning in school but a child's education is not complete without the close involvement of parents, as well as the imput of other experienced and talented members of society who are willing to share.\"

I am glad MOE is willing to listen to parents' concerns regarding their children's education. I still believe in working closely with my children's teachers, be it primary or secondary. But I hope MOE sends the message to their staff of teachers that even IF the students have tutors, those tutors are NOT employed to coach students in their homework.

[resgmom]

Chenonceau:

MY DS had a lotta trouble with Science answering technique too. I bought the book called LiSC from Science Heuristics in Goldhill Square. His grades moved all the way to the top of the class because he liked Science and only needed to polish up his answering technique.

Book is about $38++. Very ex. I am not related to Science Heuristics at all but I am grateful for the book even though I was upset that it was so overpriced for a CRITICAL skill that ALL students need to know at the PSLE... and therefore should be in the textbooks.

We did not have to rote learn. Learning the LiSC helped us with the mental skills of scientific inquiry. Once we got it, we were able to apply to all sorts of NEW situations that DS had never encountered before. Hope this reference will help your DS.

Hi Chen,

Did you feed this back to MOE (the specific part of including exam answering techniques as part of the curriculum because it is a REQUIREMENT to score?) I looked at the website and it seems that the \"consultants\" were MOE HQ Science curriculum planners and HOD for Science, got best teachers awards, etc. That means they're the creme of the crop emerged from the thousands of teachers, trained by MOE. It just sadden me to no end and made me angry as well, that MOE is not able to keep these experts in the system to train our children, to train the teachers on what they know, and instead, these people are monetizing their skills learn from the \"system\" because MOE doesn't care to include these exam answering skills (figured out by the brilliant teachers from their interation with the children, and their knowledge of the exam systems) into the textbooks, maybe because MOE don't want to be seen as encourging rote learning and don't want to admit that kids need exam answering techniques to score, which has nothing to do with whether they really learned anything in Science (beyond memorising/rote learning). IMO, I don't blame the ex-school teachers at all. They're just filling a market need generated by MOE.

Only the brightest kids/parents can develop these techniques themselves - thus we're relying on experienced tutors because MOE don't want to admit the above. We're asking 11 to 12 yr olds to have uni-researcher's critical thinking skills to break down the questions like that and coming up with a workflow chart to answer the questions (see the company's website - there are some samples form the book mentioned by Chen). That's madness.

[BeContented]

slmkhoo:

Chenonceau:

We did not have to rote learn. Learning the LiSC helped us with the mental skills of scientific inquiry. Once we got it, we were able to apply to all sorts of NEW situations that DS had never encountered before. Hope this reference will help your DS.

My daughter did not rote learn for PSLE science either. But then she wasn't in Singapore school and learned her science partly in international school (where the syllabus overlapped) and was coached at home for the rest. We didn't have any particular resource that we can recommend, and I can only put it down to the fact that my husband and I are old enough that we did PSLE long before the current craze for memorisation in science. We did stress the importance of using proper scientific terms (aka key words) in her answers. However, if kids are taught that the way to score is to memorise, then what else are they to do? At 12yo, they are unlikely to be able to decide otherwise. And unfortunately, not only teachers tell them to memorise, their tutors and parents also tell them that. I agree with many here that teachers and textbooks need to take the lead in making this change.

Tho my son just completed his PSLE, I am a little puzzled. I kept hearing that the kids need to memorise to score. Trying to understand your definition of memorise. Memorise to what extent? Keywords only or up to the point of how the full sentence is being structured? I dun exactly know the techniques, but my theory to DS is first must remember to include keyword, next do not just state the answer. Write the reason to show marker he knows the concept. Marker is not his teacher, no explanation = dunno = no marks. I'm not sure am I teaching him the right stuff, but that's the best I can do. So for the same type question, DS may phrase slightly differently every time, but I look for his ability to reason & understanding of concept.

[beanbear]

I suspect some teachers give up teaching the kids to think for themselves and succumb to efficiency mode. Memorising. When i sent my ds to an intensive revision class with a gd ex-teacher, i noticed the difference in the way he grasped what the questions are asking and was able to formulate the answer for himself. This teacher helps kids to interpret qns, and then ensure the answer is complete and using scientific terms. I remembered when he sat for his sa2 exams some of his self formulated answers were quite long 3-4 lines for 2mark qn but the marker commended his answers. The school’s answer key is certainly shorter but ds answer is still considered good. So my take is good teaching still trumps everything else.

[SAHM_TAN]

janet_lee88:

Hi Chen,

Thanks for informing us of that very expensive book that you bought to teach YOUR son...a CRITICAL skill which ALL students at P6 should be taught in school.

I truly admire your dedication :salute:
If that book had landed in my hands, I don't think I will be able to work miracles with my son.

Can borrow from public library

[Chenonceau]

beanbear:

I suspect some teachers give up teaching the kids to think for themselves and succumb to efficiency mode. Memorising. When i sent my ds to an intensive revision class with a gd ex-teacher, i noticed the difference in the way he grasped what the questions are asking and was able to formulate the answer for himself. This teacher helps kids to interpret qns, and then ensure the answer is complete and using scientific terms. I remembered when he sat for his sa2 exams some of his self formulated answers were quite long 3-4 lines for 2mark qn but the marker commended his answers. The school's answer key is certainly shorter but ds answer is still considered good. So my take is good teaching still trumps everything else.

I concur with beanbear's thoughts in red above. Below are my own thoughts.

Mastery of key words is an important skill in scientific study. One of 1st year medical students' earliest exams consist of being able to accurately name (within time limit) every muscle in the fore arm... every single one. Science requires precision and specificity. The terms we use when referring to specific notions, principles cannot be ambiguous. Mastery of key words is an important foundational piece in scientific inquiry... BUT many schools teach key words AS IF these are ALL there is. There are OTHER important scientific inquiry skills to layer upon the \"key word\" skill.

This said, my heart goes out to MMM. It's not her fault she thought it to be rote-learning. When the teacher does not know how to teach, the easiest thing to do is to make kids memorize. It is not the syllabus that is at fault. It is the HOW the child is taught. I too faced MMM's problem when DS was in P4. The school tested these critical skills of scientific inquiry (LiSC) but only started to teach them in April of P6. I also stumbled along but I have an advantage MMM does not have. In the course of my PhD, I received training in Epistemology. Thus, I could recognise the scientific inquiry skills when I saw them in my son's exams. I bought the LiSC book in early Primary 5 and DS was at least top 3 in every Science exam. Another good resource for scientific inquiry is this - http://www.amazon.com/Things-Future-Mathematicians-Scientists-Rarely/dp/0967991544.

Otherwise, do like Becontented, get your child a good tutor who CAN teach these skills.

Once you master the skills of scientific inquiry, you will realise that there is no need for rote learning in the present PSLE science syllabus. All the best to you MMM... all the best. :snuggles: