Creating thinking schools through authentic assessment: the case in Singapore

Using Singapore as an example, we argue that schools need to equip and encourage teachers to adopt authentic assessment in teaching and learning so as to develop the students’ higher-order thinking. The importance of teaching and assessing higher-order thinking in Singapore classrooms is encapsulated in the vision of ‘Thinking Schools’ launched by the Ministry of Education in 1997. Underpinning this vision is a shift from conventional assessment to authentic assessment. Unlike conventional paper-and-pencil tests that focus on knowledge reproduction and low-level cognitive processing skills in artificial, contrived contexts, authentic assessment tasks underscore knowledge construction, complex thinking, elaborated communication, collaboration and problem solving in authentic contexts. However, the creation of thinking schools in Singapore remains a constant challenge as many teachers tend to rely on conventional assessment and are often ill-prepared to implement authentic assessment. By presenting the findings from a recent empirical study, we propose that schools build teacher capacity by providing ongoing and sustained professional development on authentic assessment for teachers.     

Science Practicals in Schools: Are We Assessing Correctly?

Traditional practical examinations serve the purpose of ensuring that a candidate has some grounding in practical work. Regretably, however, they fall short in the promotion of process skills. A study done at the Institute of Education shows little relationship between tests which highlight these skills and the traditional practical tests. In today's context where emphasis should be placed on process rather than product, the continued dependence on traditional practical examinations does not seem to be in keeping with current curricula changes.     

Assessing motivational styles of students in the south-east Asian context of Singapore

High levels of academic achievement in Asian educational systems have generated interest in the study of motivational patterns of students in these contexts. The objectives of this paper are firstly, to provide a review of existing literature on the study of motivational styles amongst students and secondly, to identify the occurrence of different motivational styles amongst students in Singapore,. The method of identifying different motivational styles was adapted from a procedure first developed by Craske (1988). The findings of this study indicate that although the distribution of motivational styles amongst the Singaporean students was consistent with that as obtained by Craske, there was a higher tendency for maladaptive motivation amongst the males than the females. In contrast, Craske found no gender differentiation, though earlier researchers had found that maladaptive motivation was more common among the females.     

Teaching Teamwork: Electronics Instruction in a Collaborative Environment

ABSTRACT

The Teaching Teamwork Project is using an online simulated electronic circuit, running on multiple computers, to assess students’ abilities to work together as a team. We pose problems that must be tackled collaboratively, and log students’ actions as they attempt to solve them. Team members are isolated from one another and can communicate only through an online chat channel, but modifications to the circuit made by any team member, insofar as they alter the behavior of the circuit, can affect measurements made by the others. We log all relevant student actions, including calculations (using an online calculator), measurements (using an online multimeter), inter-student communications, and alterations made by the students to the circuit itself. Automated analysis of the resulting data sheds light on the problem-solving strategy of each team, sometimes with surprising results.     

The Family Festival Prevention Model: findings from a pilot of a teenage pregnancy prevention programme conceptualised by and for Mexican American communities

Despite an overall reduction in teenage pregnancy rates in the USA, the decrease for young women of Mexican heritage in the USA has been less significant than the decrease for their White and African-American peers. Furthermore, the availability of teenage pregnancy prevention models that are conceptualised specifically for people of Mexican descent is minimal. Using qualitative focus group data that were triangulated against quantitative survey data and collected from 35 young people and their parents, this paper presents findings from the pilot of a teenage pregnancy prevention model designed for and with input from Mexican American young women and men and their parents. Reflecting a favourable and impactful experience for the participants, the findings present implications for future intervention efforts and research.     

The effect of a fast bowling harness in cricket: an intervention study

The influence of a bowling harness, as a training aid, was assessed as a means of modifying bowling technique. Thirty-three 13-year-old bowlers received a standardized 15 min of bowling coaching twice a week for 8 weeks. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups. The 13 participants in the intervention group used the bowling harness throughout the coaching, while also receiving verbal and visual feedback. The 20 participants in the non-harness group received the same visual and verbal feedback. Three-dimensional videography (200 Hz) of each player's bowling action enabled the calculation of transverse plane shoulder alignment counter-rotation, separation angle, lateral flexion and hyperextension of the trunk before and after the intervention. The restriction applied by the harness produced a significant reduction ( P = 0.006) in separation angle and forced the bowler to adopt a position at back-foot impact that reduced the 'twist' in the spine. However, it had no effect on restricting other aspects of trunk movement during the critical phases of the bowling action. No significant long-term modifications to technique were found after the coaching intervention when players were assessed without the harness.     

掺杂法提高聚合物电导率的蒙特卡洛法讨论

掺杂法提高聚合物电导的机理是考虑导电填充物和高聚物所构成的不均匀体系中，导电颗粒间会形成链式组织或聚集体组织而提高导电性能，在此过程中导电颗粒有相互作用。本是采用蒙特卡洛法对掺杂高分子材料的电导特性作了研究，研究结果与实验符合较好，并得出存在剧变特征的所谓绝缘体－金属相变特性的计算结果。     

A framework for fostering a community of practice: scaffolding learners through an evolving continuum

This paper proposes a framework of an evolving community of practitioners along a simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions continuum. Simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions are three models of learning, which describe how learners can be brought through a scaffolded process within a community experience. The framework also focuses on the processes rather than on the outcomes or products of a community. In this paper, we describe a case study of a group of heads of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools being scaffolded through an experiential workshop to achieve learning outcomes such as ICT‐based project work (as product) and other constructivist dispositions of learning (as processes). The proposed framework is intended to be sufficiently broad so that learners are supported from simulation to codetermined interactions where autonomy of learners’ co‐construction efforts are encouraged and experienced.     

创新教学报告2016

本报告提出了现代社会中改变或创新教学、学习和评价的理论与实践的十种"创新教学法",包括基于社交媒体的学习、有效失败、回授法、设计思维、众包学习、电子游戏学习、形成性分析、为未来而学、超用语以及学习区块链,它们将在未来不同时期内,对教育教学变革产生不同程度的影响.