Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sherise, The Lastest Introduction To the Family
Sherise arrived on July 15, 2.21 am Pacific Time at Stanford's Lucile Packard Hospital. It was a relief as we had been put on standby for the past few days.
It was of course the start of another cycle of sleepless nights, which is fine since that I don't get much sleep preparing for my Masters' program final project presentation and Expo. I am coming to the end of my program at Stanford, which also means that I have to start preparing to go back to Singapore. It is going to be a nightmare. 2 kids and 9 pieces of luggage. Sherise shouldn't be a major problem as she is likely to sleep throughout the journey. Skyler, who can't sit still unless he is watching his favourite DVD movies like Mickey Mouse, is our major concern.
It was of course the start of another cycle of sleepless nights, which is fine since that I don't get much sleep preparing for my Masters' program final project presentation and Expo. I am coming to the end of my program at Stanford, which also means that I have to start preparing to go back to Singapore. It is going to be a nightmare. 2 kids and 9 pieces of luggage. Sherise shouldn't be a major problem as she is likely to sleep throughout the journey. Skyler, who can't sit still unless he is watching his favourite DVD movies like Mickey Mouse, is our major concern.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Use of Standardised Tests
There are two points from this article which attracted my interest, namely, the use of standardized tests in United States and the mind-set in the use of standardized tests.
The United States examination system is moving towards standardized tests and exams while we are trying to move away from it. The article described how HSGE used standardized tests to analyse not how good the students are, but how good the teachers instructions are. It is a how they frame the problem that is important as that will impact on how standardized tests are being used. In Singapore, the main purpose of standardized tests is some form of normalised testing, i.e. find out how students are performing relative to the others. However, because of this competitive mindset, there have been some negative consequences in which teachers and students approach standardized tests. This mindset has been carried forward to non-standardized assessment instruments like SPA (even though SPA looks very standardized at this moment, it wasn't meant to be) and Project Work. This has therefore led to implementation problems. The perpetual framework of normalised assessment has to be re-framed both at the Ministry as well as schools in order for non-standardized school based assessment to work in more holistic ways.
The United States examination system is moving towards standardized tests and exams while we are trying to move away from it. The article described how HSGE used standardized tests to analyse not how good the students are, but how good the teachers instructions are. It is a how they frame the problem that is important as that will impact on how standardized tests are being used. In Singapore, the main purpose of standardized tests is some form of normalised testing, i.e. find out how students are performing relative to the others. However, because of this competitive mindset, there have been some negative consequences in which teachers and students approach standardized tests. This mindset has been carried forward to non-standardized assessment instruments like SPA (even though SPA looks very standardized at this moment, it wasn't meant to be) and Project Work. This has therefore led to implementation problems. The perpetual framework of normalised assessment has to be re-framed both at the Ministry as well as schools in order for non-standardized school based assessment to work in more holistic ways.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Engaged Learning: Making Learning an Authentic Experience
Several thoughts after reading this article.
TJC embarked on the PBL programme for the TJC Academy (TJC THINK Cycle). After a year of implementation, we discovered a distance between the THINK Cycle and the idealised PBL approach. Very much of the differences are idealogical in nature which are impacted by the implementation strategies of the teachers and the learning attitudes of the teachers and students.
In crafting problems and designing lessons, the TJC curriculum planners start from the A Levels curriculum. In conducting the lessons, the ultimate aim of the teachers and students is to pick up knowledge to meet the curriculum requirements through solving the problems of the PBL. In an idealized PBL, however, the ultimate objective is to solve the problem posed. The Singapore educators and students are in general very examination driven. Unless the A Levels is geared towards the assessment of process skills required by an idealized PBL, it will be difficult to implement the academically defined idealized PBL. The TJC Think Cycle however is still a big step forward towards authentic and engaging learning environments.
Examples of the technologies recommended by the paper to facilitate engaged learning are:
1. videos such as in anchored instruction
2. Technology-based templates that guide learners in the problem solving process
3. Communication tools
4. Information searching tools
5. reflection logs
6. Peer critiquing tools
7. Monitoring tools
8. Learning environments which facilitate the involvement of experts
9. Mind Tools
10. Collaboration tools like the Knowledge Forum
11. Visualisation-simulation tools
Many schools know have some forms of LMS. However, most LMSes do not have all the required technologies to facilitate engaged learning. Schools therefore have to deploy different platforms. Operationally speaking, this will be a deterent to the use of IT. At the user level, it is ideal if there is 1 platform that fulfills most if not all the requirements for schools to implement IT facilitated engaged learning environment.
TJC embarked on the PBL programme for the TJC Academy (TJC THINK Cycle). After a year of implementation, we discovered a distance between the THINK Cycle and the idealised PBL approach. Very much of the differences are idealogical in nature which are impacted by the implementation strategies of the teachers and the learning attitudes of the teachers and students.
In crafting problems and designing lessons, the TJC curriculum planners start from the A Levels curriculum. In conducting the lessons, the ultimate aim of the teachers and students is to pick up knowledge to meet the curriculum requirements through solving the problems of the PBL. In an idealized PBL, however, the ultimate objective is to solve the problem posed. The Singapore educators and students are in general very examination driven. Unless the A Levels is geared towards the assessment of process skills required by an idealized PBL, it will be difficult to implement the academically defined idealized PBL. The TJC Think Cycle however is still a big step forward towards authentic and engaging learning environments.
Examples of the technologies recommended by the paper to facilitate engaged learning are:
1. videos such as in anchored instruction
2. Technology-based templates that guide learners in the problem solving process
3. Communication tools
4. Information searching tools
5. reflection logs
6. Peer critiquing tools
7. Monitoring tools
8. Learning environments which facilitate the involvement of experts
9. Mind Tools
10. Collaboration tools like the Knowledge Forum
11. Visualisation-simulation tools
Many schools know have some forms of LMS. However, most LMSes do not have all the required technologies to facilitate engaged learning. Schools therefore have to deploy different platforms. Operationally speaking, this will be a deterent to the use of IT. At the user level, it is ideal if there is 1 platform that fulfills most if not all the requirements for schools to implement IT facilitated engaged learning environment.
CoP - David Hung's Introduction
Dr Hung made a very spirited introduction to the session bringing in a lot of examples to support the principles of social constructivism and how different parts of the brains interact with each other to form meaning. The checker-board illusion example attracted most attention. The participations didn't believe their the mind trick at first till at the request of Joy, Dr Hung repeated the demonstration without the powerpoint animation.
Dr Hung went on to introduce his RSP model with which he explained the differences between social constructivism, cognitivism and behaviourism. He went on to argue how the formation of CoP can be explained by the RSP model.
He shared the essential components to a successful CoP, to which Dr Koh asked for my opinion whether these components are reflective of the "CoP" in the formation of the Temasek Academy. I can't remember what I have said, but really hope that I didn't rattle out rubbish.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Practice):
CoP - The concept of a community of practice (often abbreviated as CoP) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
The term was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who used it in relation to situated learning as part of an attempt to "rethink learning" at the Institute for Research on Learning. In 1998, the theorist Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other contexts, including organizational settings. More recently Communities of Practice have become associated with knowledge management as people have begun to see them as ways of developing social capital, nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation or sharing existing tacit knowledge within an organization. It is now an accepted part of organizational development (OD).
Key CoP concepts are: periphery & core membership, participation, domain, practice, boundaries, reification, making meaning, legitimate peripheral participation.
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The creation and maintenance of participation in CoP that is truly beneficial to the organisation is not an easy process. Very often, when the core team (or even just 1 person) moves on, the CoP dies a natural death. Wenger himself advocates a natural "decline" of COPs. Dr Hung shared in general strategies required to maintain CoP which are quite logical and refreshing. It is interesting to see how these can be applied to ETD.
Dr Hung went on to introduce his RSP model with which he explained the differences between social constructivism, cognitivism and behaviourism. He went on to argue how the formation of CoP can be explained by the RSP model.
He shared the essential components to a successful CoP, to which Dr Koh asked for my opinion whether these components are reflective of the "CoP" in the formation of the Temasek Academy. I can't remember what I have said, but really hope that I didn't rattle out rubbish.
From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Practice):
CoP - The concept of a community of practice (often abbreviated as CoP) refers to the process of social learning that occurs when people who have a common interest in some subject or problem collaborate over an extended period to share ideas, find solutions, and build innovations.
The term was first used in 1991 by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger who used it in relation to situated learning as part of an attempt to "rethink learning" at the Institute for Research on Learning. In 1998, the theorist Etienne Wenger extended the concept and applied it to other contexts, including organizational settings. More recently Communities of Practice have become associated with knowledge management as people have begun to see them as ways of developing social capital, nurturing new knowledge, stimulating innovation or sharing existing tacit knowledge within an organization. It is now an accepted part of organizational development (OD).
Key CoP concepts are: periphery & core membership, participation, domain, practice, boundaries, reification, making meaning, legitimate peripheral participation.
----------------------
The creation and maintenance of participation in CoP that is truly beneficial to the organisation is not an easy process. Very often, when the core team (or even just 1 person) moves on, the CoP dies a natural death. Wenger himself advocates a natural "decline" of COPs. Dr Hung shared in general strategies required to maintain CoP which are quite logical and refreshing. It is interesting to see how these can be applied to ETD.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Introduction
Here is a little about myself.
Name: Sherwin Cheng
Occupation: Educational Technology Officer
Company: Ministry of Education
Family: Happily married with a little boy, Skyler
Name: Sherwin Cheng
Occupation: Educational Technology Officer
Company: Ministry of Education
Family: Happily married with a little boy, Skyler
