World Association of Lesson Studies International Conference 2012

Breaking New Ground

in Early Childhood Settings S i n g a p o r e

Yeap Ban Har

Marshall Cavendish Institute

[email protected]

www.banhar.blogspot.com

Current Situation & New Developments

Breaking New Ground

Reaching New Heights

Slides are available at www.banhar.blogspot.com

Current Situation

“… we also need to improve the quality

of our preschool education …” Lee Hsien Loong 2012


Great variation in types of

kindergartens.

Teachers are not accustomed

to planning lessons to prompt

children to discover the world

through experimentation and

observation.

Current Situation

“… The government provides financial support to

make preschool affordable. And we also provide

support to the anchor operators to raise their

standards. We have been doing this for several

years, we are making progress but I think it is

not enough and we have to do

more.…”

Lee Hsien Loong 2012


New Developments

a new statutory board to oversee

preschool education

provide and upgrade preschool teacher

training to raise standards

new anchor operators in addition to

PCF and NTUC


New Developments

upgrade the anchor operators

improve the careers which they can

offer the teachers

offer structured development

opportunities for the staff

introduce creative learning methods

for the students


pilot a few government run pre-school

centres to test new concepts in

kindergarten education

more support to lower and middle

income families so that it stays

affordable

“But we will not nationalize the pre-school

sector.”

Lee Hsien Loong 2012


“MOE seeks to guide pre-schools in

designing and implementing a high-quality

early childhood programme that is based

on strengthening the relationship

between learning and play.” Indranee Rajah 2012


Question 1 Why did you adopt lesson study in your

work with preschool teachers? To what

extent has lesson study helped you to

achieve your objectives?



Teachers often have an ‘implementation

mindset’ – hence the often cited

challenge of lacking in time to do lesson

study.

Need to shift to ‘diagnostic mindset’ and

‘design mindset’

Breaking New Grounds

We managed to start lesson study

in kindergartens in 2009


We need to build a teaching force that

is rich in ‘professional capital’

Enablers

Structural Factors Professional learning as part of

teachers’ work

Teacher Selection

Teacher Education

Professional Development

“MOE seeks to guide pre-schools in

designing and implementing a high-quality

early childhood programme that is based

on strengthening the relationship

between learning and play.” Indranee Rajah 2012


Teaching is a complex activity, requiring

generalists to receive specialist training.

Need to shift from learning isolated

pedagogical skills in workshop-style

training to holistic approach through

authentic settings

Breaking New Grounds

Lesson study was found to be

able to help teachers acquire

content knowledge, pedagogical

knowledge, and pedagogical

content knowledge.


We need to build a learning

environment that is consistent with how

children learn well.

Framework for Professional

Development

Teachers as Learners

Teachers as Observers of

Learning

Teachers as Reflective

Practitioners

Teachers as Researchers and

Curriculum Leaders


Teachers need to be good observers so that

they are able to assess children accurately

through observations and interactions, and

not using paper-and-pencil tests.

They need to be

competent in doing

holistic assessment.

Lesson study sharpens

Teachers’ eyes to see students.


We need to help teachers ‘see’ better,

collect richer and more nuanced

observations, and have richer discourse

during and beyond lesson study.

Enablers

Tools and routines such as

See

Think

Wonder

Question 2 What is unique about lesson study in early

childhood setting? What modifications were

required to address issues in early

childhood settings?


Research Theme How do we enhance the teaching of

language skills and creativity?

PCF Kindergarten Geylang Serai Blk 15


For preschool setting, research themes

should be more child-centric rather

than domain-centric.

Instructional Leadership Kindergartens in Singapore are small and

do not enjoy economies of scale that schools

enjoy.


The principal’s role is critical and

multiple.

Breaking New Ground

in Early Childhood Settings S i n g a p o r e

Yeap Ban Har

Marshall Cavendish Institute

[email protected]

www.banhar.blogspot.com

World Association of Lesson Studies International Conference 2012

Education

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