September 2011
1 post
2 tags
|kəˌlæbəˈreɪʃən|
Collaboration
The power of collaboration basically depends on the number of people that are working together. The traditional view is that collaborative learning can occur at a group level. In schools, the learners can be grouped into groups of 4 and they are asked to cooperate with each other and to help each other to learn. No one can deny that collaboration can take place here.
However, there...
July 2010
2 posts
|mɪθ ɒv adəˈlɛs(ə)ns|
Myth of Adolescence
What does an elephant and a teenager have in common? Alex and Brett Harris tries to answer this question in their book “Do Hard Things”. According to the Harris brothers, domesticated elephants are taken away from their mothers at a very young age and shackled to a tree by their handlers. The baby elephant learns very quickly that it is pointless to struggle because...
WatchThis particular week was a good week. Because of the Green Audit, lesson plans from both Science and English were aligned so that integrated teaching could be carried out. In addition, there was an article in the English worksheets that talked about “Why we fall ill”. This also turned out well because in one of the Health Education (HE) topics, we were dealing with HIV and Hepatitis...
January 2010
2 posts
|ˈləːnɪŋ sɪmˈpəʊzɪəm|
Learning Symposium
The recent learning symposium that was organised was a very good experience. It challenged me in many aspects of my lesson design. One area I was exposed to was the design and re-design of the lesson. I feel that this is an important cycle to go through as it helped me to refine my lesson. This made me think and rethink the learning outcomes of the lesson first, followed by...
2 tags
|sɛlf dɪˈrɛkt ˈləːnɪŋ|
Self Directed Learning
One of the outcomes that is expected for a student in Singapore now is the c2015 student outcomes. Under these outcomes, a student is expected to demonstrate 21 century competencies that will prepare him/her to meet the future.
There are various expectations of a self directed learner and I think its important to think though what those necessary qualities are. Developing...
December 2009
2 posts
Scaffolding |ˈskafəʊldɪŋ|
I recently acquired a new toy -an iPhone. During my free time, I like to browse for apps to download. There are a lot of free apps out there. They include utilities, games and also educational software. I came across this application called “Free Grammar Up” (FGU). It’s your basic MCQ kind of quiz. The nice thing about this application is that there are various Grammar items that...
October 2009
4 posts
Portability |pɔːtəˈbɪlɪti|
The advent of the microchip has revolutionized the type of devices that can be made. Sifting through gadget magazines and you will find a plethora of such newly added devices. The size range - mini to micro. It would not be surprising if a “nano” category is created. They were not kidding when they said, “Size matters”.
While size does improve the portability of things,...
|rɪˈməʊt| |kənˈtrəʊl|
Remote Control
I had an epiphany. One of the things that matters to me is convenience. I am a creature of convenience. There is nothing like entering your room, reaching for the remote and then your TV comes on, followed by the computer etc. Minimal fuss and everything is up and working just like you want it to - bliss.
Now imagine having the ability to run your school computer laboratories in...
“Innovation by definition will not be accepted at first. It takes repeated...”
– Warren Bennis
Classroom Management |ˈklɑːsruːm| |ˈmanɪdʒm(ə)nt|
The first nightmarish obstacle I had to cope while introducing technology into my teaching was how to get the students to really pay attention to what I was saying instead of being distracted by the computer screen in front of them. I promise you, 9 out of 10 students will most probably be focusing on their computers rather than on you.
I think what is key is that every teacher should be able to...