10. Every Student,for All – New Uni Pathways
Opportunities an Engaged Learner
Catering to Diverse Learning Needs
CPR in % (Full-Time of the cohort will
Programmes) Up to receive a
50% government-
40 subsidised degree
education
30
25 SIT will become Singapore’s 5th
autonomous university, pioneering
a distinct, applied degree pathway
Full-time degree places in UniSIM
Part-time places (CET) expected to
5 grow to 10% of CPR
Yea
1980 2010 2015 2020
r
10
11. Every Student, an Engaged Learner
Holistic Education Centred on Values
Character and Citizenship Education
11
15. Every School, a Good School
Removing School Banding
Moving Away from a Single ‘Yardstick’
15
16. School Information
Service
Web Banner section
featuring schools and
quick link to school’s
website
Search
functions that
Find school via quick allow quick
search based on and
Distance, CCA, comparative
Special programme search for
schools
Interactive
tools and
Information on School media such
Updates/Listing of as OneMap
School Clusters/ Query Tool &
Programmes / Other MOE Youtube
Links
16
17. Every School, a Good School to
Renaming Masterplan of Awards (MoA)
MOE Recognition System
A New Way of Recognising Schools
Greater flexibility to innovate and meet students’ needs
NEW
Emphasise the core business of schools
17
18. A New Way of Recognising Schools
MoA
k
tices Ban
hool Prac
Good Sc
19. New way of
recognising schools
MoA
Reduced number of awards School Distinction Award
(a) Removal of SEA
(b) Removal of SAAs
(c) Removal of tiered Value Add Best Practice Awards Special Awards
awards
Student All-Round LKY (NE) Award
Development LHL Award for
Teaching & Learning Innovation in the
Staff Well-Being Normal Course
Introduce Best Practice in
(a) Character and
Citizenship Education
(b) Partnership
20. Every School, a Good School
Changes to the School Excellence Model (SEM)
21. Every School, a Good School
Allowing Schools to Further Customise Learning
Better Resourcing of Schools
Better resourcing of schools to cater to
different student needs and interests:
Resourcing for every school to develop
Niche Area
• Encourages schools to be good in their own way to
engender school pride
Needs-based resourcing of schools
• To pilot intervention strategies to better support
students weak in literacy and numeracy
• Studying more resources for lower enrolment
schools
21
23. Every Teacher, a Caring Educator
Support and Care for Teachers
• Ethos of the Teaching Profession
•Codified set of values, beliefs, practices, to foster professional identity
•Code of Conduct currently being developed
• Teacher Growth Model
•Comprehensive model for all Professional Development programmes
•Learning areas and programmes aligned to desired outcomes for
teachers at each stage of their development
Beginning Teacher Principal Master Teacher
23
24. Every Teacher, a Caring Educator
Support and Care for Teachers
• TEACH Framework introduced in 2011
• Support Teachers’ Professional Upgrading
• New scholarships for degree and postgraduate studies
introduced in 2011/12 – Undergraduate Study Award and
Postgraduate Award (PGA)
• Incentive Award for Part-Time Masters
• More Flexible Work Options
• Part-Time Teaching Scheme and No-Pay Leave options were
expanded in 2011
• 10-15% more teachers making use of these options
24
25. Every Teacher, a Caring Educator
Support and Care for Teachers
• TEACH Framework introduced in 2011
• Better Help Manage Workload
• Teacher Work Management Framework introduced to articulate
management principles to better guide work allocation across
schools
•Enhance teachers’ career opportunities
• More key personnel positions in schools to provide teachers with
opportunities to take on middle management responsibilities
• More HQ positions to provide more career rotation opportunities
for teachers
25
26. Every Teacher, a Caring Educator
Support and Care for Teachers
•Better Support for Teachers
• Revised induction programme for new teachers
•Three-day Orientation Programme
•Dialogue with senior management
• Scaling up of Skilful Teaching, Enhanced Mentoring
(STEM) programme
• New teachers (BTs) are paired with instructional mentors
(IMs) and attend training programme planned and organised
by AST, and conducted by US consultants
• BTs learn Teaching skills while IMs learn Mentoring skills
26
28. Every Parent, a Supportive Partner
Strengthening Partnerships
Earlier this year, we introduced:
Parent Support Group Fund
• Resource for schools to enhance partnership
efforts
• Try out new ideas
Parents in Education (PiE) Fund
• 15 Primary schools
28
29. Every Parent, a Supportive Partner
Strengthening Partnerships
MOE will build an ever closer partnership with
our stakeholders – parents and other partners
NEW
!
- Resources for schools to help
them build capabilities in engaging
partners -Parents in Education (PiE) Website
(e.g. Guide and good stories on (e.g. educational news, information on
school-wide approaches to engaging curriculum, articles on parenting)
parents, effective PSGs) -Enhanced School Information Service
29
30. Every Parent, a Supportive Partner
Strengthening Partnerships
30
37. Key Strategic Thrusts for English Language
2006 English Language Key influences on the
Curriculum & Pedagogy development of the Syllabus:
Review Committee (ELCPRC)
Recommendations:
• Globalisation of language in
A Curriculum for the an increasingly complex
Singapore Context world
a systematic approach to teaching language skills
• Changing profile of our
grammar and
with an emphasis on
learners
spoken English within a context of
rich texts and appreciation of
• Pervasiveness and impact of
language beyond the classroom digital technology
EL SYLLABUS 2010
Building a Strong Foundation & Providing Rich Language for All
38. Support for EL Teachers
Instructional EL Portals Face-to-Face
Resources •we-Learn Support
•Pupil’s Textbooks •EN[a]BLER •EL Teaching
•Teacher’s Seminar Balancing
Resource Packages •EL Oracy •Workshops
•Literacy Resource Portal (Pri & •Project En-ELT
Teaching &
Centre Sec)
•Sharing Sessions Assessment
•Web Resources •Cluster and
School Visits
Guides to Guide to Developing Building
the Syllabus Assessment Pupils in All Resources for
the 6 Areas of Teaching &
EL Syllabus 2010 Language Assessment
(Exp/ NA and NT) Learning
edumall2.0
CPDD’s Support for EL Teachers Needs of EL Teachers
EL & Lit
Information
Repository
39. Support for EL Teachers
• Tools for Assessment
We-
Learn
• Resource bank EN[a]BL
• Training kit ER
EL
EL SYLLABUS
Cube
2010
EL
Oracy
The EL ICT Eco-system Portal
• Oral Proficiency
40. EL ICT Application: we-Learn
• Main Target Audience:
we- Pupils in the NT course
we- Listen
Spea
• For teachers to create
e-assignments and
k
e-assessments for
teaching and assessing
we- we- specific language skills
Learn Read • Colourful and
attractive
• Easy to use
we- we-
Registe
• Teacher-created
Quiz r resources
41. EL ICT Application: EN[a]BLER
Speaking & Writing &
Vocabulary
Representing Representing
EN[a]BLE
R
Listening & Reading &
Grammar
Viewing Viewing
• EN[a]BLER =
Express Normal (Academic) Blended Language-use Evaluation Resource
• Linked to EL Cube and schools’ Learning Management Systems
• Provides opportunities to craft assessment tasks in various areas of
language learning (provision for AfL)
• Includes e-assignments from The British Council and The Straits Times
42. EL ICT Application: EL Oracy Portal
SPEECH
EVALUATI
ON
Integrati ENGINE INTERACTI
on with VE
EN[a]BLE STORYBO
R EL OK
ORACY V.A.S.T.
PORTAL *
Game (Multiplayer
Mode Online Role-
playing
Lesson Game)
Mode * Voice- Activated Spy
Tech
43. EL ICT Applications
Pedagogical Advantages
• Enable pupils to learn EL authentically via
visual and auditory modes
• Allow pupils to learn at a suitable pace ,
taking into account different learning needs and
abilities
• Promote self-directed learning
• Allow pupils to benefit from immediate
feedback from their teacher or peers
44. Rollout of EL & MTL ICT Applications
Beginning March 2013
• Rollout of iMTL Portal in 2013 was
announced at last DOS’ Meeting (August).
• EL Portals (we-Learn and EN[a]BLER) will
also rollout in 2013.
46. Rollout of EL and MTL ICT Applications
Funding Approach: Co-payment by Parents
• ICT applications deliver curriculum content
as part of textbooks and other T&L
materials.
• Cost of textbooks and workbooks is
traditionally borne by parents.
• Co-payment by parents will be affordable,
at 50% of the subscription cost of each ICT
application, capped at $2 per application.
47. Rollout of EL and MTL ICT Applications
Subscription Costs & Co-payment (Ballpark)
ICT Subscription Co-payment Balance to be
Applicatio Cost by Parents Paid for by
n (per student per Schools
year) (per student per
year)
we-Learn* $8 $2.00 $6
EN[a]BLER $8 $2.00 $6
*
iMTL $15 $2.00 $13
EL Oracy $3 $1.50 $1.50
(from 2014)
* Students subscribe to only one of these ICT applications –
• NT: we-Learn
• Exp and NA: EN[a]BLER
48. New Examination Format (starting in 2013)
Affect Current sec 1E~3E
1128 English Language ‘O’ Level (2013)
PAPER 1 : Writing - 70 marks / 35%
Section A – Editing (10m) Identify & edit grammatical errors in a short text
Section B – Situation Writing (30m)
Write 250-350 words on a given situation which will involve viewing a visual text
Section C – Continuous Writing (30m)
Write 350-500 words on 1 out of 4 topics set
PAPER 2: Comprehension - 50 marks / 35%
Section A - Respond to Qs based on Text 1, a visual text (5m)
Section B – Respond to Qs based on Text 2, a narrative or a recount (20m)
Section C – Respond to Qs based on Text 3, a non-narrative & write 80-word summary (25m)
PAPER 3: Listening – 30 marks / 10%
SECTION A – Respond to a variety of listening tasks based on a number of audio
recordings which pupils will hear TWICE(24m)
SECTION B – Listen to an audio recording ONCE & do a simple note-taking exercise (6m)
PAPER 4: Oral Communication – 30 marks / 20%
Part 1: Reading Aloud – Read aloud a short text (10m)
Part 2: Spoken Interaction – Discuss on a topic based on a visual stimulus
49. New Examination Format (starting in 2013)
Affect Current sec 1A~3A
1190 English Language ‘NA’ Level (2013)
PAPER 1 : Writing - 70 marks / 35%
Section A – Editing (10m) Identify & edit grammatical errors in a short text
Section B – Situation Writing (30m)
Write 250-350 words on a given situation which will involve viewing a visual text
Section C – Continuous Writing (30m)
Write 350-500 words on 1 out of 4 topics set
PAPER 2: Comprehension - 50 marks / 35%
Section A - Respond to Qs based on Text 1, a visual text (5m)
Section B – Respond to Qs based on Text 2, a narrative or a recount (20m)
Section C – Respond to Qs based on Text 3, a non-narrative & write 80-word summary (25m)
PAPER 3: Listening – 30 marks / 10%
SECTION A – Respond to a variety of listening tasks based on a number of audio
recordings which pupils will hear TWICE(24m)
SECTION B – Listen to an audio recording ONCE & do a simple note-taking exercise (6m)
PAPER 4: Oral Communication – 30 marks / 20%
Part 1: Reading Aloud – Read aloud a short text (10m)
Part 2: Spoken Interaction – Discuss on a topic based on a visual stimulus
50. New Examination Format (starting in 2013)
Affect Current sec 1NT~3NT
1195 English Language NT Level (2013)
PAPER 1 : Writing - 60 marks / 30% - 1h 15 min
Section A – Functional Tasks (30m)
Part 1: Form Filling (10m)
Part 2: Functional Writing (20m) – Based on a common context & 80-word task
Section B – Guided Writing (30m) –Visual Stimulus as aid for task
PAPER 2: Language Use & Comprehension - 80 marks / 40% - 1h 20min
Section A – Language Use (40m)
Part 1: Editing (10m)
Part 2: Language in Spoken Context (10m) – Complete a transcript of a spoken text with options
Part 3: Modified Cloze 1 (10m) – testing vocabulary with options
Part4: Modified Cloze 2 (10m) – testing knowledge of grammar
Section B – Reading Comprehension (40m)
Part 5: Comprehension 1 (10m) – one text instead of 4 texts
Part 6: Comprehension 2 (30m) – visuals provided
PAPER 3: Listening – 20 marks / 10% - 45min – not only MCQs, reduced weighting
PAPER 4: Oral Communication – 40 marks / 25% -20min
Part 1: Reading Aloud – Read aloud a short text (15m)
Part 2: Spoken Interaction – Discuss on a topic based on a visual stimulus (25m)
52. ASSESSMENT REVIEW – FOOD &
NUTRITION
CHANGES IN GCE ‘N’ LEVEL F&N COURSEWORK 2013
Before:
Paper 1 (Written Paper) – 40%
(total mark of paper is 40 for a 1h30min
duration)
Paper 2 (Coursework) – 60%
Now:
Paper 1 (Written Paper) – 40%
(total mark for paper is now 80 for 1h30min
duration)
Paper 2 (Coursework) – 60% (unchange)
53. ASSESSMENT REVIEW – FOOD &
NUTRITION
CHANGES IN GCE ‘O’ LEVEL F&N COURSEWORK
F&N coursework carries 60% of the entire
2013
GCE ‘O’ Level paper.
Before:
There are 2 parts to the paper (Part A & B).
Part A (42%) – Focus on the analysis of task, developing,
planning, interpreting evidence & evaluating outcomes.
Part B (18%) – Emphasis in food based experiment.
Now:
Food based experiment (Part B) is now incorporated into the
main coursework (Part A).
55. MILESTONE PROGRAMMES FOR 2013
STRUCTURES TO SUPPORT LEARNING -
1) Intensive Revision Programme –before National
Exams/Deadlines
a) MT Intensive Lessons
– Terms 1 and 2, Wk 10
b) Coursework Intensive programme
– June Holidays
c) Af ternoon Revision Programmes
- star ting in Term 1, various subjects.
56. STRUCTURES TO SUPPORT LEARNING
2) Extended Study :
Continuation of lessons / completion of
syllabus – June Holidays, Wk 1
3) Block Study :
Term 4, af ter Prelim Exams
4) Night Study Sessions:
Terms 3 and 4
57. STRUCTURES TO SUPPORT LEARNING
Motivational Workshop :
CCE week 1 (Term 1, Week 10)
CCE week 2 (Term 2, Week 10)
Booster workshops in Term 3
Elective Module:
4NT – Term 2 Week 10
4NA – Term 4 (last week of school)
58. ASSESSMENT - INTERNAL
Common Tests – Term 1, Wk 6 & 7
Class Tests – ongoing
Oral Exams – Term2, Wk 1-4
Mock Exams (pre-prelim) – Term 3, Wk 6 (O level)
- Term 3, Wk 3 (N Level)
Preliminar y Exams - Term3 i. Wk 6 (N level) ii.Wk 9
(O level)
Mock Exams (post prelim) - Term 4, Wk 4 (tentative)
59. ASSESSMENT - NATIONAL
Oral Exams in Term 3
GCE N Level – Wk 2 (EL) Wk 5 (MTL)
GCE O Level – Wk 2 (MTL) Wk 8 (EL)
O Level Science Practical – Term 4, Wk 6
Written Exams
GCE N Level – Term 3, Sept Hols & Term
4,Wk 4
GCE O Level – Term 4, Wk 7
60. PATHS AFTER 2013
1) Direct Polytechnic Admission for
4Exp and 5NA pupils
2) Direct JC Admission for 4Exp and
5NA pupils
3) Polytechnic Foundation
Programme for 4NA (PFP)
61. PATHS AFTER 2013 - PFP
- After the GCE ‘N’-Level examinations, N(A) students
who obtained an ELMAB3 (English, Math, 3 Best
Subjects) raw aggregate score of 11 points or better, in
addition to meeting specific subject-based minimum
requirements, will be eligible
to apply to courses offered under the Polytechnic
Foundation Programme (PFP).
Upon successful completion of the Polytechnic FP,
students will progress into their pre-selected Diploma
courses.
62. Admission Requirements to JCs
Aggregate of 20 points or below for L1R5:
L1 English / Higher Mother Tongue
R2 Mathematics / Science
R3 Humanities/ Mathematics / Science
R4 Humanities / Maths / Science
R5 Any other O Level subject (Art, D&T, F&N,
Music etc)
R6 Any other O Level subject
** A1-A2 in CCA – 2 bonus points (if meet L1R5)
B3- C6 in CCA – 1 bonus point
63. Requirements for Admission to
Polytechnics (L1R2B2)
L1 English Language/ Higher MT
1st Group of Relevant Subjects (R1) Maths or A Maths
2nd Group of Relevant Subjects (R2) Architectural Technology
(at least C6 for relevant subjects) Science subjects, Art, D & T
Business-Related Courses
Humanities subjects, POA
Science-Based Courses
Science subjects, F & N
Technology Courses
Science subjects, D & T
Best 2 Subjects (B2) Best 2 other subjects
** CCA can be considered as R3 or R4 subjects
Good Afternoon Allow me to take you through some of the key messages for MOE’s upcoming Workplan Seminar.
In the last year or so, we focused on three key areas. First, at one end, university pathways and at the other, preschool. We will be making significant changes in both areas, which will enhance our education system further. The third area relates to what Minister had spoken at last WPS - a student-centric, values-driven education, with every school a good school at the heart of our system.
For WPS this year, Minister will be focusing on the 4 key attributes of a Student-centric, Values-driven education We ultimately aim for Every Student, regardless of ability or background, to be an Engaged learner To do this, we will need Every School to be a Good school, Every Teacher a Caring Educator, and Every Parent a Supportive Partner Allow me to elaborate on each of these areas.
First – for Every Student an Engaged Learner, we aim to nurture students who motivated, enjoy learning and go on to fulfil their potential
For every child to be an engaged learner, it is important first and foremost for each child to be motivated and enjoy learning A Quality pre-school education can stimulate a child’s interest in learning at an early age, and can provide an important foundation for learning Thus, we are taking steps to improve the quality and affordability of pre-school education, as this is crucial to ensure good starting points for all. In addition, we are also investing in innovative programmes to make learning more enjoyable, such as the Programme for Active Learning (or PAL) as well as STELLAR (for English) in Primary schools At the same time we will continue to enhance pedagogical approaches used in the classroom to better engage learners, for instance through the use of inquiry-based learning, field-based learning or the use of ICT.
We also need to provide provide the right learning support to ensure every learner an engaged learner. This is especially important for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Such support must start early, hence the need for good quality preschool, as well as interventions such as the learning support programmes in English and Math, as well as the school-based dyslexia remediation – which we are piloting in 20 schools. We are also expanding the number of student-care centres in our schools to better provide support for students. We expect that 20 more school-based student care centres will open by the end of 2013. MOE’s Financial Assistance Schemes and IHL bursaries have recently been enhanced – providing more support to students from low-income backgrounds. Going forward, more can be done, and we are reviewing how to better support students so that more can go on to post-secondary education. .
Third, for every student to be an engaged, we need to cater to their diverse interests and learning needs, through multiple pathways and options For instance For more hands-on learners, the first of our two Specialised Schools for Normal (Technical) Students will be admitting students from Jan 2013. A second school will begin admitting students from 2014. These schools will take a whole-school approach to meeting their needs, including a customised curriculum, and partnerships with ITE and industry, to develop programmes and attachment opportunities. For N(A) students, come next year, the Polytechnic Foundation Programme will commence . There will also be more places in the ITE Direct Entry Scheme with the opening of ITE College Central. We will also be seeing more schools offering the Integrated Programme from next year onwards.
MOE will also continue to strengthen our other institutes of higher learning such as the Polytechnics and the ITEs. Next year, the new ITE College Central will open in a brand new campus in Ang Mo Kio, completing the transformation of ITE into the “One ITE System, Three Colleges” governance and education model.
At the university level, SIT and UniSim will become Singapore’s 5 th and 6 th publicly-funded universities, offering a new applied degree pathway, that will complement current offerings. This expansion is being done in a carefully calibrated manner. The new applied degree pathway will complement current offerings, and equip our students with deep skills that are in demand from industry.
We have also made progress in strengthening Character and Citizenship education in schools This includes developing a new CCE Curriculum, which we have been working together with 8 schools to co-construct. Such an approach allows us to prototype different ways of delivering CCE to different groups of students in an engaging and meaningful way. This will then serve as a common curriculum which will be implemented from 2014 onwards We are also strengthening the implementation of CCE in schools: by Strengthening Professional Development Opportunities for School Leaders and Teachers. This is because it is important to take a whole-school approach in the delivery of CCE [e.g. CCE sharings and discussions at Cluster Board Meetings Targeted development and training of different profiles of teachers (e.g. Beginning Teachers, KPs)] We are also looking at ways to strengthen the support structures in schools to deliver CCE [ e.g. A supporting structure within each school - a core group of teachers, headed by a VP, and ‘Year Heads’ for each level within the school Senior Teachers to be identified to helm CCE professional growth in schools Schools are working on their 4 or 6 year Values in Action (VIA) development plan, to provide more coherent learning experiences. ] As we strengthen our CCE efforts, schools will also look at ways to outreach and involve parents to reinforce what is being done in schools.
Next - Every School a Good School. The objective is for each school will be good in its own way, taking into account its unique student profile – and delivering the best possible education for the students under its charge.
A Good School is a school: that cares for its students and knows their needs, interests, and strengths that is able to tailor its approach and programmes to motivate students to learn and grow Is recognised for its strengths and value-add to students
To enable every school to be a good school we will be making specific changes: - First to clearly that signal that we are moving away from a single yardstick, towards recognising schools for their own strengths Second, to enable schools to focus their resources on delivering a holistic education Third, to broaden the support for schools to further customise learning for their students.
One change we will be making is to discontinue the practice of banding of schools by absolute academic results with effect from this year. This follows an earlier shift in 2004 from publishing the rankings of schools towards the practice of banding . Rather than focus on absolute academic achievement, which is driven in part by the student intake of each school, we will instead continue to measure academic value-add as it better reflects how our schools are helping their students, regardless of their starting ability. We will continue to monitor and identify schools with value added. With the removal of banding, we will instead publish a “School Information Table” (SIT) which is included in the S1 posting booklet. This revised table will now capture all school and to provide a holistic summary of our secondary schools. This will replace the “School Achievement Table” that has been published annually. In addition, we have recently enhanced the School Information Service (accessible via the MOE website) to allow parents to more easily access information about schools.
This is a screenshot of what the enhanced SIS looks like. - It allows parents to search for schools based on a range of attributes like programmes and CCAs offered or distance. It also links to interactive tools in OneMAP as well as MOE’s Youtube channel that contains features on programmes of our schools.
To better support all our schools to deliver student-centric, values-driven education, MOE will realign our excellence and recognistion framework Today, we have 2 key schemes that encourage schools to achieve excellence - the School Excellence Model and Masterplan of Awards. Going forward, these will be merged and simplified - There will no longer be a ‘Masterplan of Awards’, but a new and simplified way of recognising schools. Some main changes include: reducing the number of awards and removing the stacking of awards (e.g. removal of Sustained Achievement of Awards and tiered Value-Added awards). This will free up resources of schools to provide greater flexibility to meet the needs of students. We will continue to recognise schools for their Best Practices in (a) teaching and learning, (b) student all-round development (i.e. holistic education), and (c) staff development and well-being (i.e. our educators are important) (d) CCE and (e) Partnership - to emphasis the core-business of schools. To support sharing across schools, MOE will set up an online good school practices repository to allow schools to learn from each other and customise programmes for their own use.
The new MOE Recognition system will focus on organisational growth and best practices. Best practices are a way to recognise schools’ sound processes and programmes. In addition to the current 3 domains of T&L, SARD & SDWB, we will introduce two new domains – Character and Citizenship Education*, and Partnership*. These are aligned to the emphasis that MOE places on SVE and partnerships with parents and the community to provide better support for student development. MOE will set up Good School Practices (GSP) bank, an online repository to allow schools to access the good practices of others and enable them to adapt and customise for use in their own context. The Best Practices help us to build up our GSP bank in the different domains.
Changes to the Masterplan of Awards (MoA) At WPS 2011, it was announced that we would make some changes to the MoA to better support our schools to be student-centric and values-driven, to innovate, and to achieve holistic student outcomes. We will tweak our current MoA to move us in the right direction. The new MOE Recognition System will replace the MoA in 2014. Some main changes include: (a) removing the stacking of awards and the Sustained Achievement of Awards and (b) removing the tiered Value-Added awards. We want schools to focus on their core business. For example, we will continue to recognise schools for their Best Practices in (a) teaching and learning, (b) student all-round development (i.e. holistic education), and (c) staff development and well-being (i.e. our educators are important). We also want to recognise schools value-adding, and avoid making fine distinctions between the degree of value-add. This will allow us to enhance the positive aspects of our recognition system – our ability to recognise good practices and share them with others The new MOE recognition system will be more closely aligned with delivering a Student-centric, Values-driven education (SVE). The changes will feature: A flatter and non-hierarchical recognition system, with reduced tiering of awards. In particular, we will remove the School Excellence Award. As announced at WPS last year, we will also be removing the cumulative and results driven awards such as the Sustained Achievement Awards. We will also remove the 3-tier gold/silver/bronze awards for Academic Value Addedness, but we will continue to monitor value addedness and indicate which are the schools that have value-added.
Going forward, the SEM will have fewer KPIs and subcriteria to streamline the reporting requirements by schools. We will also give greater emphasis to students’, parents’ and teachers’ voices. This will help schools better develop programmes to meet the needs of their students and have greater flexibility to do so.
We will also better resource schools to foster a more diverse landscape of school : Currently, many of our schools already offer niche programmes in a range of areas including sports, asthetics, UGs etc. Going forward, MOE plans to resource every school to develop a niche area for themselves In addition, MOE is also reviewing how we allocate resources to schools. We are studying a n eeds-based approach to resourcing of schools , for instance in giving schools more resources to pilot intervention strategies to better support students weak in literacy and numeracy. WE are also considering giving more resources to lower enrolment schools - to support a wider range of programmes – considering their lack of economies of scale. WPS: Literacy and Numeracy Support The current Learning Support programmes, LSP for English and LSM for Mathematics, provide support for students who lack early literacy and pre-numeracy skills when they enter P1. These early intervention efforts last throughout the whole of P1 and P2 for English and P1 for Maths. 2 Schools have suggested that more students would benefit if we were to expand LSM to more students in P1 and also to cover some students in P2. In 2013, MOE will pilot the expansion and extension of LSM in selected schools to study how we can support the learning of mathematics in the most impactful way. 3 An enhanced literacy support programme had already been initiated earlier this year in a few pilot schools. It aims to support students beyond the LSP and will be extended gradually beyond P1 and P2. 4 Besides early intervention, support for literacy and numeracy also needs to be timely and sustained. Beyond P1 and P2, there are also students who need extra support at the other levels, including those in secondary schools. Schools typically support these students through smaller classes or remediation. HQ will work closely with some pilot schools to train a group of teachers in the use of targeted intervention and resources for both English and Maths to improve the outcomes of these efforts. HQ will also support the pilot schools with more teachers depending on the number of students supported in the programmes.
Third, Every Teacher, a Caring Educator. Teachers are the foundation of our education system – and we need to continue to support and care for our teachers so that they can lead, care and inspire .
The Ethos of the Teaching Profession was launched in 2011 after extensive consultations. It codifies a set of values, beliefs, practices to foster a distinct professional identity and deepens the pride that educators have in their profession. A teachers’ code of conduct is also being developed, providing guidelines and support for educators on their conduct in day-to-day settings. Teacher Growth Model This has been augmented, by the Teacher Growth Model , launched this year on 31 May, to encourage our teachers to be engaged in continual learning and become student-centric professionals who take ownership of their growth.
TEACH Framework - Last year, we introduced the TEACH Framework to strengthen the professional culture of the teaching fraternity, while supporting teachers’ aspirations and work-life needs. This included new study awards for graduate and non-graduate teachers. We have also introduced an incentive award to recognise the efforts of teachers who juggle part-time work and studies. MOE revised the part-time teaching scheme in July 2011 to provide for more flexible work arrangements. Each school also receives additional teachers and funds to support teachers on part-load or no-pay leave. The no-pay leave (NPL) scheme was also enhanced such that teachers on NPL for reasons such as studies, childcare are now able to do relief teaching or contract work in their schools. This will allow them draw an income and keep abreast of the latest developments. We have seen more teachers making use of these options.
TEACH Framework The Teacher Work Management Framework was also introduced to better guide work allocation across schools - These policies include best practices such as the provision of a 5-day work week, as well as protected vacation time during school holidays (2 weeks during the June school holidays and at least 3 weeks during the December school holidays). Teachers can look forward to more opportunities for career development and progression .e.g to assume middle-management positions with more leadership positions in schools being created, or opportunities in MOE HQ By expanding advancement pathways, teachers can further enrich their career experience while MOE can tap into the additional leadership and specialist positions to expand organisational capabilities and deepen expertise in the education domain.
We have also recently implemented a revised induction programme to better support beginning teachers. In addition, in 2011, we prototyped the STEM programme in 30 schools with the objective of improving instructional practice in classrooms. This is a programme that pairs beginning teachers with more experienced instructional mentors, who then jointly attend training developed by the Academy of Singapore Teachers, that is conducted by experts from the US. Given the positive feedback that we have received, we intend to scale up this programme going forwaard.
The fourth aspect is that of Every Parent a Supportive Partner. Our efforts to build a student-centric, values-driven education require an ever closer partnership with our stakeholders, and particularly, our parents. Parents play a critical role, and we want to make it easier for parents to be involved in their children’s education.
In recognition of this, MOE introduced the Parent Support Group (PSG) Fund earlier this year. This is a resource for schools to enhance their partnership efforts with parents and to try out new ideas to engage parents. In addition, 15 Primary Schools have received the Parents in Education (PiE) fund to enhance their school-based parent partnership efforts.
Going forward, MOE will provide more resources for schools and parents, to develop even stronger partnerships to support our children's education. These resources were developed over the past year through consultation with parents, school leaders, teachers, COMPASS, and other organisations. Resources for School will include examples of good initiatives that schools have launched to share best practices: Guide and Good Stories on School-Wide Approaches to Partnerships Video Clips to Build Staff Competencies on Parent Engagement Guide and Good Stories on Engaging Parents, Effective PSGs, Engaging Alumni and Building Partnership with the Community MOE will also be launching the Parents in Education (PiE) website to help parents support their children better in their education journey. This portal will include a wide variety of resources for parents including articles on parenting tips, educational news, information on the curriculum, and learning resources for parents to engage their children on to learn at home. As mentioned earlier, we will also support parents in finding the schools of ‘best fit’ for their children, and MOE has enhanced our online School Information Service (SIS) to do this.
Parents in Education Portal
Examples of resources and info for parents on the Portal.
Delivering an education that is truly student-centric and values-driven requires strong partnerships between students, parents, teachers and schools.
As part of this conversation, Minister will be signalling that MOE will be embarking a large-scale engagement exercise with educators and stakeholders to envision the future of education. This conversation is thus an opportunity for us to reaffirm what has worked so far, recalibrate any areas that need improvement, and refresh our systems and practices to make education more meaningful for our students. This engagement exercise will be conducted over the next eight to nine months in a mixture of formats, to reach as many of our educators and stakeholders as possible.
This ends my presentation for today. Thank you .
In 2006, the English Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee (ELCPRC) made key recommendations for the teaching and learning of English in our schools. building a strong foundation in language and enriching language learning for all adopting a systematic approach to teaching language skills with an emphasis on grammar and spoken English using rich texts and a variety of language resources to enable pupils to appreciate the use of language beyond the classroom. The review involved many educators who have a direct influence on EL teaching – Heads of Department, teachers, academics and Ministry of Education officers. The result is the EL Syllabus 2010 , which provides the guidance that teachers will need to develop in all pupils in Singapore a strong foundation for effective language use and communication. The EL Syllabus 2010 builds on the strengths of the 2001 syllabus. It recognises the impact of effective pedagogy and systematic instruction on language learning. Key influences on the development of the syllabus are: Language and communication demands have increased with Singapore’s growth as an open, knowledge-based economy. Our pupils have to keep a high level of proficiency in English that will maintain Singapore’s distinct edge as a bilingual society. Over the years, there has been a steady increase in the number of pupils who speak English at home, resulting in two broad groups of learners – those who use EL as the main language at home, and those who use mainly their Mother Tongue or other languages at home. Hence, a principled blend of first and second language teaching approaches is required in our schools. The pervasiveness of digital technology has also influenced the way pupils learn.
What is the English Language Oracy Portal? A multiplayer online role-playing game. It is where students enter the world of V.A.S.T. -- Voice-Activated Spy-Tech. Here, they take on the roles of super-spies powered by advanced technology that harnesses the power of speech. Students complete quests by demonstrating appropriate vocal qualities, such as accurate pronunciation, fluency and stress. A speech evaluation engine allows students to get instant feedback about their oral performance. This engine will also become available to En[a]BLER so that users of that platform can design assessment tasks where students can undertake self-paced learning. In the Game Mode, students complete quests independently, earning experience points that they can use to develop their characters. In the Lesson Mode, teachers can teleport students to specific locations, where they role-play scenarios.
This diagram represents the ICT Ecosystem we have been developing to support our Secondary English Language teachers in four key areas as they work to deliver the learning outcomes of the EL Syllabus 2010 : The EL Cube provides a rich repository of resources that teachers can use to design meaningful, relevant learning experiences for our learners. It also serves as a training tool for teachers who need help with Pedagogical Content Knowledge in EL teaching and to be familiar with the features of the EL Syllabus 2010. The we-Learn and EN[a]BLER portals provide teachers with tools and materials that they can use to design assignments and assessment tasks. The EL Oracy Portal gives students the chance to develop their oral proficiency.
What is we-Learn? Main Target Audience: Normal Technical course students A platform for teaching, learning and assessing specific skills in the NT syllabus: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing and Form-filling (both AfL and AoL) The site is designed to be colourful and attractive so as to sustain the interest of the students, and easy to use so that students find the site accessible. Allows students to attempt the assignments multiple times to get the best score. Has a leaders board to motivate students This portal features teacher-created resources as such materials would likely match the ability and interest levels of our students.
What is EN[a]BLER? Stands for Express Normal (Academic) Blended Language-use Evaluation Resource The portal is linked to EL Cube, and allows teachers to design assessment tasks by building on the resources available there. It is also linked to the Learning Management Systems used by most Singapore schools, allows teachers to publish the e-assignments to the students’ accounts directly from the portal. It provides opportunities to craft assessment tasks for the areas of language learning targeted by the syllabus: reading and viewing, listening and viewing, writing and representing, speaking and representing, grammar and vocabulary. Through AfL, learners will acquire proficiency in and knowledge about these areas. Provides complementary strategies and resources to the Teachers’ Resource Packages Includes resources from The British Council and The Straits Times (IN Supplement)
What is the English Language Oracy Portal? A multiplayer online role-playing game. It is where students enter the world of V.A.S.T. -- Voice-Activated Spy-Tech. Here, they take on the roles of super-spies powered by advanced technology that harnesses the power of speech. Students complete quests by demonstrating appropriate vocal qualities, such as accurate pronunciation, fluency and stress. A speech evaluation engine allows students to get instant feedback about their oral performance. This engine will also become available to En[a]BLER so that users of that platform can design assessment tasks where students can undertake self-paced learning. In the Game Mode, students complete quests independently, earning experience points that they can use to develop their characters. In the Lesson Mode, teachers can teleport students to specific locations, where they role-play scenarios.
At the Secondary level, the English language curriculum is differentiated into 3 courses to meet the diverse needs of our pupils. A suite of textbooks and online resources and portals have been customised to support the implementation of the EL Syllabus 2010. Once again, there is a strong focus on empowering teachers to deliver the curriculum, as seen in customised training workshops that are carried out throughout the year to guide teachers in the use of the various resources.
At the Secondary level, the English language curriculum is differentiated into 3 courses to meet the diverse needs of our pupils. A suite of textbooks and online resources and portals have been customised to support the implementation of the EL Syllabus 2010. Once again, there is a strong focus on empowering teachers to deliver the curriculum, as seen in customised training workshops that are carried out throughout the year to guide teachers in the use of the various resources.
At the Secondary level, the English language curriculum is differentiated into 3 courses to meet the diverse needs of our pupils. A suite of textbooks and online resources and portals have been customised to support the implementation of the EL Syllabus 2010. Once again, there is a strong focus on empowering teachers to deliver the curriculum, as seen in customised training workshops that are carried out throughout the year to guide teachers in the use of the various resources.
At the Secondary level, the English language curriculum is differentiated into 3 courses to meet the diverse needs of our pupils. A suite of textbooks and online resources and portals have been customised to support the implementation of the EL Syllabus 2010. Once again, there is a strong focus on empowering teachers to deliver the curriculum, as seen in customised training workshops that are carried out throughout the year to guide teachers in the use of the various resources.
At the Secondary level, the English language curriculum is differentiated into 3 courses to meet the diverse needs of our pupils. A suite of textbooks and online resources and portals have been customised to support the implementation of the EL Syllabus 2010. Once again, there is a strong focus on empowering teachers to deliver the curriculum, as seen in customised training workshops that are carried out throughout the year to guide teachers in the use of the various resources.
