Visionary Principal in Singapore

Context: Singapore is known worldwide as having an excellent educational system. However, Singapore has realized that its educational system must change in order to prepare its children for the demands of a global, 21st century marketplace. To that end, Singapore has embarked upon a series of MasterPlans.  We (Cathie and Elliot), together with researchers at the National Institute of Education, are working with a specific school, Nan Chiau Primary, as it transforms itself according to the guidelines in MasterPlan 3.

Cathie: It’s very exciting to work with a school principal who really has a vision for his school.
Elliot: Yes, Chun Ming TAN, principal of Nan Chiau Primary in Singapore is a leader and he knows the best restaurants in Singapore, too.
Cathie: You did seem to enjoy eating the chili crab at the Longbeach Restaurant.
Elliot: How could you tell?
Cathie: The splashes and spots all over your shirt spoke volumes.
Elliot: OxyClean – I carry the travel size with me, always.
Cathie: At my suggestion.
Elliot: You said in the last blog post I would have the “last word.”
Cathie: And you will; patience. In between the splashing and the spotting, did you hear Chun Ming say: “It is unimaginable that a student could graduate from Nan Chiau and not be comfortable with emailing, blogging, Googling, podcasting.”
Elliot: “Unimaginable” is a pretty strong sentiment, especially when that is the expectation for an elementary school student. How many elementary school principals in the U.S. would feel comfortable making a similar statement, I wonder.
Cathie: And, he is backing up his words with actions. He is moving his school – his primary school – from using didactic instruction to project-based instruction, and he is working to put a personal computing device in the hands of each and every child.
Elliot: And that device is… ta da… a cellphone computer!
Cathie: Chun Ming gets the idea of mobility for the Mobile Generation. His primary school students expect to use computing 24/7. For them, computing is already essential outside of school; he and his teachers are working to make it essential inside of school too.
Elliot: Nan Chiau is a poster child for SETDA’s #1 directive: use computing “continuously and seamlessly.”
Cathie: See, I let you have the last sentence.
Elliot: Your generosity is overwhelming; thank you. (Thought but spoken: “One of these days, Alice, one of these days.”)

Comments

[Martin Alcala]

Grat content!
I just started my ed tech master's and my professor (on-line professor, of course!) suggested your blog. I still need to get used to the conversational format.... i think I might even translate it into Spanish...

[Elliot Soloway]

Thank you for your positive comment, Michael! And, we welcome your translating some of our blog posts into Spanish. Hmm, maybe some of our new Chinese friends would be intersted in translating our blog posts into Chinese? I know our British friends have been hard pressed to decipher our English-language posts.

[SG Travel]

Thanks for the info, Elliot. Eventhough I'm in Singapore I didn't know about that. Do you think it will affect the education tourism that Singapore is pursuing?

[Nicole Huett]

Ensuring students learn is a different thing... do we really need to focus on that or rather I think the focus needs to be on creating an environment for effective study.

When students have a casual discussion in a cafeteria is usually what is remembered and understood well. Can we create technology and environment that can effect such, an effective collaborative online resource for students and teachers. With all the innovation in online education, it is a matter of universities leveraging it to create a platform for effective education.

There are a few universities already adopting to this, like Virginia Tech and Ohio State which uses a hybrid model of online and traditional school approach. Once this is established well, the course can be tailored to make best use of time and make it quicker and useful. There are many innovative platforms coming up, a good online collaborative platform such as FunnelBrain http://www.funnelbrain.com has proven to be very effective with many professors and students! The biggest factor for the success is that it is by experts in the world of education which is attracting many users. It creates an environment for students to have an interactive experience and also with its collaborative approach helps students memorize better with techniques such as flash cards.

What will be more useful is to see a move towards changing the way education is perceived by students and teachers today, moving to a more effective mechanism.

[Degree Singapore]

thanks its a nice blog

[Study in Singapore]

THIS ONE OF THE BLOGS i VISIT VERY OFTENLY.

[Elliot Soloway]

Thank you for your support! While we blog because we like to write about controversial issues, it’s very nice to know that there are folks “out there” who are reading and enjoying our musings. Again, thank you. Cathie & Elliot

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[Study in Singapore]

The education system of singapore hlps prepare students for the upcomig challenges of 21st century.

[College Singapore]

This post is the useful source of great information , i accept with changing cultures the needs of education varies , with it curriculum needs to be altered in order to transform students in to great professionals .