This presentation was made at a plenary symposium with Mona Holmqvist (Sweden). Kiyomi Akita (Japan) was the discussant.

1. Breaking New Ground
in Early Childhood Settings
Singapore
Yeap Ban Har
Marshall Cavendish Institute
banhar.yeap@pathlight.org.sg
www.banhar.blogspot.com

2. Current Situation & New Developments
Breaking New Ground
Reaching New Heights
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

3. Current Situation
“… we also need to improve the quality
of our preschool education …”
Lee Hsien Loong 2012
Great variation in types of
kindergartens.
Teachers are not accustomed
to planning lessons to prompt
children to discover the world
through experimentation and
observation.
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

4. Current Situation
“… The government provides financial support to
make preschool affordable. And we also provide
support to the anchor operators to raise their
standards. We have been doing this for several
years, we are making progress but I think it is
not enough and we have to do
more.…”
Lee Hsien Loong 2012
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

5. New Developments
 a new statutory board to oversee
preschool education
 provide and upgrade preschool teacher
training to raise standards
 new anchor operators in addition to
PCF and NTUC
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

6. New Developments
 upgrade the anchor operators
 improve the careers which they can
offer the teachers
 offer structured development
opportunities for the staff
 introduce creative learning methods
for the students
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

7.  pilot a few government run pre-school
centres to test new concepts in
kindergarten education
 more support to lower and middle
income families so that it stays
affordable
“But we will not nationalize the pre-school
sector.”
Lee Hsien Loong 2012
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

8. “MOE seeks to guide pre-schools in
designing and implementing a high-quality
early childhood programme that is based
on strengthening the relationship
between learning and play.”
Indranee Rajah 2012
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

9. Question 1
Why did you adopt lesson study in your
work with preschool teachers? To what
extent has lesson study helped you to
achieve your objectives?
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

10. Teachers often have an ‘implementation
mindset’ – hence the often cited
challenge of lacking in time to do lesson
study.
Need to shift to ‘diagnostic mindset’ and
‘design mindset’
Breaking New Grounds
We managed to start lesson study
in kindergartens in 2009
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

11. Reaching New Heights
We need to build a teaching force that
is rich in ‘professional capital’
Enablers
 Structural Factors
 Professional learning as part of
teachers’ work
 Teacher Selection
 Teacher Education
 Professional Development

12. “MOE seeks to guide pre-schools in
designing and implementing a high-quality
early childhood programme that is based
on strengthening the relationship
between learning and play.”
Indranee Rajah 2012
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

13. Teaching is a complex activity, requiring
generalists to receive specialist training.
Need to shift from learning isolated
pedagogical skills in workshop-style
training to holistic approach through
authentic settings
Breaking New Grounds
Lesson study was found to be
able to help teachers acquire
content knowledge, pedagogical
knowledge, and pedagogical
content knowledge.

14. Reaching New Heights
We need to build a learning
environment that is consistent with how
children learn well.
Framework for Professional
Development
 Teachers as Learners
 Teachers as Observers of
Learning
 Teachers as Reflective
Practitioners
 Teachers as Researchers and
Curriculum Leaders

15. Teachers need to be good observers so that
they are able to assess children accurately
through observations and interactions, and
not using paper-and-pencil tests.
They need to be
competent in doing
holistic assessment.
Lesson study sharpens
Teachers’ eyes to see students.
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

16. Reaching New Heights
We need to help teachers ‘see’ better,
collect richer and more nuanced
observations, and have richer discourse
during and beyond lesson study.
Enablers
Tools and routines such as
 See
 Think
 Wonder

17. Question 2
What is unique about lesson study in early
childhood setting? What modifications were
required to address issues in early
childhood settings?
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

18. Research Theme
How do we enhance the teaching of
language skills and creativity?
PCF Kindergarten Geylang Serai Blk 15
For preschool setting, research themes
should be more child-centric rather
than domain-centric.
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

19. Instructional Leadership
Kindergartens in Singapore are small and
do not enjoy economies of scale that schools
enjoy.
The principal’s role is critical and
multiple.
Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

20. Breaking New Ground
in Early Childhood Settings
Singapore
Yeap Ban Har
Marshall Cavendish Institute
banhar.yeap@pathlight.org.sg
www.banhar.blogspot.com