Christine Kim-Eng Lee

Taking stock of Lesson Study as a platform for teacher development in Singapore

Since its introduction into Singapore schools in 2005, many schools are now implementing Lesson Study in various forms adapted to their culture, needs and priorities. Why are schools interested in Lesson Study? How has Lesson Study provided a platform for professional development of teachers? What aspects of Lesson Study have schools adapted and changed, in light of problems and constraints in the local school context? This paper shares the findings of a survey of schools that have participated in workshops on Lesson Study to find out how these schools have implemented Lesson Study. The findings from the survey could provide teacher educators and school staff developers and leaders deeper insights into the implementation process and the kinds of support that schools and teachers would need in order to make Lesson Study a sustainable process in their schools.

The role of lesson study in facilitating curriculum reforms

Purpose – Much has been written about the failure of curriculum reforms to bring about pedagogical transformation in classrooms. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue about facilitating curriculum reforms through lesson study. Design/methodology/approach – The guest editors introduce the papers while also discussing key themes and concepts. Findings – The collection of papers shows that it would be naive to assume that the intended, enacted and lived curriculum would be the same. Teachers play a very important role in bringing the intended curriculum to life in classrooms, and lesson study provides a process through which the intended, enacted and lived curriculum could be brought closer together. Originality/value – It is only through such collaborative discourse among teachers supported by “knowledgeable others” that reform ideas can take root in classrooms and bring about lasting change.

Developing curriculum and pedagogical resources for teacher learning

Purpose – Teacher education and professional development have long been criticized for failing to induct and engage teachers in discourses of classroom deliberation. Lesson studies have contributed to an emerging discourse in which teachers come together to study classroom teaching to improve student learning. The purpose of this paper is to share knowledge about developing video resources to support this emerging discourse.Design/methodology/approach – The authors showcase a digital hypermedia video case developed from research lessons on a third‐grade topic on division with remainder, conducted by teachers and researchers in a lesson study cycle in Singapore. Drawing on anchored instruction and knowledge points of the mathematics education discourse in China, the authors used embedded contexts, case‐based reasoning, critical incidents and facilitation as major design features.Findings – A video documentary traces the research problem and how teachers learned to use the concrete‐pictorial‐abstract (CPA) ...

Affective Outcomes of Cooperative Learning in Social Studies

Abstract This paper reports an experimental study involving the use of cooperative learning in a social studies classroom. The outcome variables discussed in the paper are pupil self-esteem and classroom climate. Over the period of the study, cooperative learning did not significantly improve the self-esteem of the pupils. However, pupils in the experimental group who were taught through the cooperative learning approach perceived classwork to be less difficult than the control pupils who worked individually. The control pupils also reported a decline in satisfaction with classwork and perceived more friction in their class. Interviews with the teacher and pupils showed favourable attitudes toward cooperative learning.

The Singapore Curriculum: Convergence, Divergence, Issues and Challenges

In this concluding chapter we discuss how policy, programmatic and classroom curricula reflect, on the one hand, global features and tendencies, and on the other, distinct national traditions and practices. Through this examination, we relate what has been happening in Singapore to what has been happening in the world in terms of curriculum reform and globalization, and make clear how curriculum reform policy, curriculum development, and classroom enactment in Singapore have responded to globalization in distinctive ways. We conclude by identifying a set of issues, problems, and challenges that not only concern policymakers and reformers in Singapore but (which we believe) would be generally useful for policymakers, educators, and researchers in other countries.

Students’ Perceptions of Learning Geography through Group Investigation in Singapore

This study examines students’ perceptions of the Group Investigation method of cooperative learning. A total of 142 students (62 low-achievers and 80 high-achievers) from two schools worked in cooperative learning groups during a period of over six weeks using the Group Investigation method. At the end of the study, they were asked to write their perceptions of the Group Investigation method. Out of a total of 955 statements made by all the students, two-thirds (652) were positive statements and one-third (303) were negative statements. Both the high-achieving and low-achieving groups made twice as many positive statements as negative ones. The students’ written statements of their perceptions and experience of learning with the Group Investigation method provided insights into their attitudes and orientations toward school learning. Four main categories of positive statements emerged. One category indicated that the Group Investigation method was interesting, fun and effective, while the other categories reflected the students’ positive perception of their social relationships, learning skills and academic achievement in terms of deeper understanding of the topics investigated. On the negative side, students stated that they would like the teacher to continue with their normal teaching method, that is, to present academic material to them. The students thought that the Group Investigation method was time consuming and they were concerned about their coming examinations and syllabus coverage. Another cluster of statements was about their inability to learn as much from the new method of learning, and they encountered problems while working in groups, such as how to conduct their research and how to make their presentations.

Research on Learning to Teach: Lessons for the Professional Preparation of Pre-service Geography Teachers at NIE/Singapore

The National Institute of Education (NIE) is solely responsible for the professional preparation of primary, secondary and junior colleges teachers for the school system in Singapore. Preparing new teachers to meet the demands of schools and classrooms in a knowledge-based economy and the vision of ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nation’ of the Ministry of Education has brought about the need for an internal review of teacher education programmes at NIE. This review, which started in 1999, has led to structural and programmatic changes to our programmes. A new four-year degree programme for primary teachers, the Bachelor of Arts (Education) with honours, replaced the revised Bachelor of Arts with Diploma in Education (1998) in July 2001. A revised Diploma in Education (2001) programme that prepares non-graduate teachers for the primary schools was implemented in July 2001. NIE also underwent a radical re-organisation in July 2000 to a matrix structure that is programme-driven so that it can more effectively deliver these new and revised programmes. The recent structural and programmatic changes to our teacher education programmes attempted to address issues like subject matter expertise especially in the context of our primary teacher preparation courses, programme coherence, and the integration of campus-based courses and teaching practice experience in schools. Primary schoolteachers unlike secondary schoolteachers are responsible for a large number of subjects in the primary curriculum as they are generalists and not specialist teachers. The revised primary programmes at NIE at the degree and diploma levels now include an additional component of the study of the content of several subject areas, English, Maths, Science and Social Studies called curriculum content modules (CC). Graduates of these programmes will have the subject matter knowledge to teach these subjects in schools (Shulman, 1987; Thorntun, 2001). The revised programmes also brought about greater internal coherence among different components. For example, in the degree programme, there is a better sequencing of academic studies (AS), IRGEE 146d

Promoting world‐class standards in geography with junior high school students

Abstract Comparisons of achievement between countries in various subjects is of interest to a wide audience not the least of which are educators interested in improving the quality of learning and teaching in their discipline(s). A project which involves international testing in geography of junior secondary school students, “InterGeo”, is examined. In particular, data collected in the re‐run of InterGeo II is reported and analysed as are aspects of a questionnaire administered on the test. The processes involved in developing a new test are outlined. The main findings are that there is a considerable diversity of learning experiences in among countries and often within the same country. The average achievement of students in some countries on the re‐run of InterGeo II differs significantly from those of the first group that sat the test in their country. Respondents to a questionnaire administered on the InterGeo project varied considerably on how they would like to see future developments in this intern...