Spectra pilots innovative ways of learning

SINGAPORE — Two to three weeks of lessons will be uploaded online, allowing students at Spectra Secondary School — Singapore’s second specialised Normal (Technical) school — to learn Mathematics concepts at their own pace and ahead of sessions conducted in the classroom.

Students will also be given online quizzes where, based on their results, teachers will tailor their teaching methods, arrange for stronger students to help their peers or give slower learners individual attention. Those assessed as being able to learn at a faster pace could receive more online content ahead of classroom lessons.

Piloting new and innovative ways of learning is among the reasons why the Government has set up these two specialised schools here, said Education Minister Heng Swee Keat on the sidelines of a visit to Spectra yesterday. These schools are also in line with the ministry’s goal to have a variegated school landscape for different groups of students, he added.

Spectra, which is located in Woodlands, will begin classes next year with an inaugural cohort of 200 pupils. After completing a four-year N(T) programme, students will graduate with an N(T) certificate and an ITE Skills Certificate. Crest Secondary School in Jurong East, the other specialised N(T) school, began classes this year.

Spectra’s principal Krishnan Aravinthan said the school aims to provide an authentic learning environment for students. For a start, Spectra partnered with 26 organisations and individuals. Park Hotel Group, for instance, has helped set up a housekeeping training room and will provide work attachment places for students. Christ Church Secondary will also collaborate on outdoor education and family life education programmes.

For students who might be “late bloomers”, Mr Krishnan said teachers will help identify these individuals and teach them at a higher level. Transferring them to the Normal (Academic) stream at another school will be facilitated when applicable, he added. Likewise, the school will be working with literacy and numeracy coaches for students who need extra help, he said.

Regarding online lessons and team-based learning, Mr Christopher Chee, senior teacher at Spectra, said: “Students learn from one another and empower each other. It also builds up their confidence when they help others.” He was inspired to use such a method after reading dean of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School K Ranga Krishnan’s commentaries in TODAY.