Schools move to provide learning opportunities for all

SINGAPORE — At Concord Primary School, every student has a chance to participate in overnight camps, nature walks and scale the 7m-high rock wall installed at the school’s parade square.

During curriculum time, pupils also play board games and tinker with Sudoku puzzles to sharpen their logical reasoning skills — with learning materials developed by the teachers themselves.

The school’s Learning for Life and Applied Learning programmes are in outdoor education and “E3 thinking”, respectively, and principal Tonnine Chua said these programmes aimed to introduce rugged resilience and decision-making among pupils. E3 training hones students’ logical reasoning capabilities.

And there have since been tangible outcomes, such as shyer students gaining confidence after successfully climbing the rock wall. The children can also grasp mathematical concepts better through the E3 thinking activities, said Mrs Chua.

At Anglo-Chinese School (Junior), its niche programme — under the former School-Based Excellence initiative — in creative thinking has been adapted into an Applied Learning Programme, which could include practical tasks such as budget planning or solving mechanical issues.

Its other niche in tennis has been tweaked into a Learning for Life programme that sees sports such as tennis, rugby, table tennis and swimming being played during curriculum and recess time.

The school’s vice-principal, Mr Morgan Zhou, said that instead of focusing on one sport, the aim is to create a “pervasive sporting culture for students to try a range of sports and widen their exposure”. Students can still specialise and be trained in their areas of interest at the co-curricular activity level, he added.

Other schools such as Nanyang Primary School, which is still transitioning from the niche scheme, noted the importance of teachers’ training in the implementation of Learning for Life and Applied Learning programmes.

Nanyang’s principal Lee Hui Feng said: “Although it is easier to measure achievement and set targets when the programme was achievement-focused, careful planning is needed to develop life skills and cultivate values.”

West View Primary, which is also transitioning from its niche areas in brass band and innovation, said the challenge is in integrating the new programmes with the curriculum for students, such that it is relevant and they can apply newly-acquired skills.

And in expanding the reach of these programmes, the school has to consider how it caters to students’ diverse backgrounds and interests, said West View vice-principal Quek Swee Nee.

There is also the need to balance skills acquisition and values inculcation. For example, self-discipline is taught when students learn to play an instrument, while attending musicals can cultivate pupils’ interest in music. “The intention is to cater to the needs of the student population who may not have the opportunities to engage in these musical experiences,” Mr Quek said.