Gearing Up for an Enhanced Primary Education
16 Jun 2009
From playing with magnets to making colourful paper hats and learning to bake cookies, the typical classroom scene at Greenridge Primary School (GRPS) is a little atypical of what we might expect primary education to be. But far from just fun and games, the pupils at Greenridge Primary are actively absorbing knowledge, learning about the science of magnets, gaining confidence in the English language and even picking up a few useful life-skills in the kitchen!
At Greenridge Primary, teachers employ engaging teaching methods, holistic assessment and conduct programmes that enhance skills and character development. These are the seeds of what the Primary Education Review and Implementation (PERI) Committee has recommended to be implemented progressively across all schools in the next few years.
“Show and Tell” forms one part of the formative assessment of P1 and P2 pupils at GRPS. In this lesson, P2 pupils do a show and tell on their favourite books, and in turn learn important skills such as speaking in public and engaging the audience, besides the core language skills of listening, reading, oral and writing.
In “Show and Tell”, instead of a numeric score, pupils are assessed by teachers using detailed rubrics that emphasise components such as content, language/organisation, confidence and delivery, rapport with audience and creativity. It’s a rewarding method that offers a more balanced development and pupils often look forward to different new topics.
Education Minister Dr Ng Eng Hen shares a moment with pupils of GRPS who are learning about patterns and shapes through learning aids. As the pupils work in groups, the teacher goes around with a checklist to observe pupils’ progress. Pupils also go through a simple individual quiz at the end of the lesson, which teachers use to monitor their understanding of the topic.
Science is a new subject introduced to the P1 and P2 pupils at GRPS this year to expose and interest them to basic Science concepts. The lessons are designed to be fun and to engage pupils in experiential learning. In this lesson, pupils learn about magnets through various ways, such as a fun game of fishing with magnets, incorporated with elements of maths.
Science lessons are also integrated across subjects. For this lesson, the P2 pupils are using the big book “Magnetic Max” for their English lesson, which ties in with the topic of magnets.
The pupils learn more about magnets, as well as how to identify and classify magnetic and non-magnetic objects through five different activity stations. Pupils complete activity booklets, which teachers then use to assess their understanding of the subject and design follow-up lessons.
At GRPS, learning also takes place beyond the usual academic subjects. Students are exposed to different activities that help develop character and useful life-skills. Here, pupils don colourful hats and wait patiently for their teacher to begin the iCook class and show them how to make cornflake cookies.
A day away from International Friendship Day, these P1 pupils learn the importance of values such as friendship, care and share through the use of songs, poems, arts and craft during English lessons.
A GRPS pupil shows off her rock climbing skills at the school’s training wall. Under the PERI Committee recommendations, schools will be rolling out Programme for Active Learning (PAL) to expose pupils to non-academic activities such as this. MOE will also provide funding to schools to hire instructors and purchase equipment for Art, Music, Physical Education and PAL activities.
At GRPS, pupils time-travel to the past at the Time Trekker Base Camp, the school’s National Education (NE) Hub. The pupils learn more about the lifestyles in Singapore in the past and present through artefacts found at the NE Hub.
Pupils work on their tasks in groups at the NE Hub, gathering information on features and places of interest in Singapore and planning an itinerary for an imaginary visiting friend to Singapore.
With these interesting teaching methods and learning styles, the PERI Committee recommendations seek to strike a better balance between the teaching of knowledge and the development of skills and values, to prepare our children for a more dynamic future.