I think it's only natural to resist, unless one has been trained to embrace. Resistance is a form of self-protection, a protection of beliefs, of values, of comfort. Only someone exposed to new ideas, open to change, humble to know what one thinks and is convicted of may not be the best, and has the practice of acceptance, can be excited about change.
What is our first response when we hear about new. ideas very different from what we are used to?
When the calculator was introduced into the syllabus, many responded with, "How can? Then, the kids will not be able to do mental sums! What if there isn't any calculator??"
When the electronic dictionary was introduced into the Chinese syllabus, many responded with, "What lucky kids, we never had this in our time, but... Shouldn't they learn how to write words by hard, instead of enlisting the help of an electronic device?"
When one is first exposed to open book exams... "What? Open book?"
Hmmmm... now that I read a paper....
"Assessment tasks should be conducted under normal working conditions, and presume student access to resources such as calculators, computers, texts and consultants."
(Ruthven, Kenneth. 1994. Better Judgment: Rethinking Assessment in Mathematics Education. Educational Studies in Mathematics 27:433-450. page 441)
It makes very much sense. :)
I still recall my University Profs trying to convince me of this. It's okay, you're graded, and it's okay to discuss, surf the net, check your textbook for the answers.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
How can one know if a student is truly learning?
If I give out exercises for a child to do and she gets them all right, does that mean she has the depth of knowledge I planned to develop in her? Or could she have copied? How do I know?
If a child gets some wrong, do I know what he doesn't know? How can I help him develop the conceptual knowledge required to solve the question? Is a cross on his worksheet enough? Is teaching how to do the question one more time enough? Is asking his peer to teach him how to do enough? Is some written comments sufficient? What can I do to help him learn?
What kind of information or evidence do I need to collect to tell me whether a child is truly learning or not? How do I gather it? Through assessment, through dialogue.
What is the heart of formative assessment?
If I give out exercises for a child to do and she gets them all right, does that mean she has the depth of knowledge I planned to develop in her? Or could she have copied? How do I know?
If a child gets some wrong, do I know what he doesn't know? How can I help him develop the conceptual knowledge required to solve the question? Is a cross on his worksheet enough? Is teaching how to do the question one more time enough? Is asking his peer to teach him how to do enough? Is some written comments sufficient? What can I do to help him learn?
What kind of information or evidence do I need to collect to tell me whether a child is truly learning or not? How do I gather it? Through assessment, through dialogue.
What is the heart of formative assessment?
Thursday, July 8, 2010
I think academia becomes very meaningless when one pursues it not so because of the burning passion to find the answer to a question, but as a job to produce papers.
Every time I find it's a paper-producing job and there's no real world good in a paper, I am turned off.
There's just this void without the meaning part.
Every time I find it's a paper-producing job and there's no real world good in a paper, I am turned off.
There's just this void without the meaning part.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
InterViews (An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing) by Steinar Kvale (1996).
Page 145, Box 8.1
Quality Criteria for an Interview
- The extent of spontaneous, rich, specific, and relevant answers from the interviewee.
- The shorter the interviewer's questions and the longer the subjects' answers, the better.
- The degree to which the interviewer follows up and clarifies the meanings of the relevant aspects of the answers.
- The ideal interview is to a large extent interpreted throughout the interview.
- The interviewer attempts to verify his or her interpretations of the subject's answers in the course of the interview.
- The interview is "self-communicating" - it is a story contained in itself that hardly requires much extra descriptions and explanations.
Page 145, Box 8.1
Quality Criteria for an Interview
- The extent of spontaneous, rich, specific, and relevant answers from the interviewee.
- The shorter the interviewer's questions and the longer the subjects' answers, the better.
- The degree to which the interviewer follows up and clarifies the meanings of the relevant aspects of the answers.
- The ideal interview is to a large extent interpreted throughout the interview.
- The interviewer attempts to verify his or her interpretations of the subject's answers in the course of the interview.
- The interview is "self-communicating" - it is a story contained in itself that hardly requires much extra descriptions and explanations.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Just some thoughts
"Successive Singaporean governments have made strong commitments to and investments in education. Playing several key roles in Singapore's rapid growth over the past 50 years, education spearheaded its economic development... A good example has been Singapore's promotion of the scientific, technical and business disciplines over the arts and humanities." - James Albright and Anneliese Kramer-Dahl
I remember having varied interests and wishing to pursue them, things like archaeology, and other interesting topics, and searching local University pamphlets for courses that I might take to purse them, and finding myself empty-handed.
Then slowly realising that living on a small island, we only train people to do things that our island needs. This utilitarianism. Very logical to me then. Even if I went overseas to study something I'm passionate in, when I come back, I may not have a job.
I think that was one of those times I turned a bit less idealistic and a bit more realistic.
Now, 5 years on, looking back... I wonder what it would have been like to pursue my dreams, take the paths less traveled, and not follow what the government wants for the city blindly.
I don't know if this would be selfishness (the country needs more engineers, more molecular biologists, more IT people!), it might be punished (not being able to find a job, for example), but looking back, I wish I had the ability to think outside the box and not follow blindly.
Education was meant to be fun and lifelong, enabling one to discover her passions and abilities, not a pursuit of qualifications to feed materialism.
I think many will disagree with me on this.
I think many will want to find a job with a high pay.
I remember having varied interests and wishing to pursue them, things like archaeology, and other interesting topics, and searching local University pamphlets for courses that I might take to purse them, and finding myself empty-handed.
Then slowly realising that living on a small island, we only train people to do things that our island needs. This utilitarianism. Very logical to me then. Even if I went overseas to study something I'm passionate in, when I come back, I may not have a job.
I think that was one of those times I turned a bit less idealistic and a bit more realistic.
Now, 5 years on, looking back... I wonder what it would have been like to pursue my dreams, take the paths less traveled, and not follow what the government wants for the city blindly.
I don't know if this would be selfishness (the country needs more engineers, more molecular biologists, more IT people!), it might be punished (not being able to find a job, for example), but looking back, I wish I had the ability to think outside the box and not follow blindly.
Education was meant to be fun and lifelong, enabling one to discover her passions and abilities, not a pursuit of qualifications to feed materialism.
I think many will disagree with me on this.
I think many will want to find a job with a high pay.
It is not surprising to me that a society like ours, that trains its people by conditioning behaviours (laws, fines, rules and regulations), should apply a behavourist approach to education.
Should we try to implement constructivist approaches, we are directly challenging what the society has been built upon. And that is not an easy task.
Should we try to implement constructivist approaches, we are directly challenging what the society has been built upon. And that is not an easy task.
Monday, June 7, 2010
"But it also requires a spirit of adventure (a willingness to explore new areas), an open attitude that avoids prejudging an idea and tenacity to invest the time and effort even when the going gets tough.
What we are talking about here is resisting the temptation to make prior assumptions about any idea or theory until one is knowledgeable about that idea. This involves the spirit of research: looking for leads to other works cited by the author which have influenced their thinking.
... ability to see possibilities in existing ideas. Making new insights is not merely about being able to synthesize difficult and large amounts of materials, it also involves knowing how to be creative and, perhaps, original. It cannot be overemphasized, however, that to make a new contribution to knowledge you do not have to be a genius. The size of the contribution is not what matters, it is the quality of work that produces the insight." - Chris Hart in "The Literature Review in Research", page 21 and 22.
What we are talking about here is resisting the temptation to make prior assumptions about any idea or theory until one is knowledgeable about that idea. This involves the spirit of research: looking for leads to other works cited by the author which have influenced their thinking.
... ability to see possibilities in existing ideas. Making new insights is not merely about being able to synthesize difficult and large amounts of materials, it also involves knowing how to be creative and, perhaps, original. It cannot be overemphasized, however, that to make a new contribution to knowledge you do not have to be a genius. The size of the contribution is not what matters, it is the quality of work that produces the insight." - Chris Hart in "The Literature Review in Research", page 21 and 22.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Art of Transcription
"During the interview session, the interviewer should keep a running list of names, dates, words or phrases that may be hard to hear, old-fashioned, technical or otherwise difficult for the transcriber."
"On the interviewer's return from the interview and before returning the tape recorder, the most efficient next step is to listen to the entire tape, make a rough table of contents, and jot down personal notes as to whether to interview this narrator further and what questions to ask. It is also important to evaluate one's own interview technique."
"If you do decide to transcribe, you are committing the project to a number of costly and time-consuming steps... The question comes down essentially to costs vs. usability."
"Why Transcribe?
1. Transcripts are easier to use than tapes, especially if suitably indexed. In fact, few researchers will spend the time to listen to tapes if they are not transcribed. Therefore, if you have put in the great time and expense necessary to recording a well done oral history project, it is a shame not to put it in a form researchers will use.
2. The narrator can correct and amplify what she said in the interview if there is a transcript. Despite the danger of the narrator's deleting important information, most interviews are substantially improved in detail and accuracy by the narrator's review.
3. Your project will have something to show for your efforts, as will your narrators. A shelf of neatly bound transcripts will be a source of pride to the project and the community. It is hard to work up much enthusiasm or funds on the basis of a stack of tapes (although a multi-media tape-slide show can be an effective product)."
"Transcribing is a work of art, a little akin to translating from one language to another, but with less latitude allowable. The spoken word has many dimensions with which to convey fact and feeling: pitch, loudness, strength, speed, pronunciation, sounds that are not words. In putting a spoken performance down on paper, the transcriber has only words and punctuation to work with. With these, he must try to be accurate as to the information that was related, to use the words that the narrator used, and to catch as closely as possible the flavor and feeling of the speaker."
By Willa K. Baum in Transcribing and Editing Oral History (1991)
"On the interviewer's return from the interview and before returning the tape recorder, the most efficient next step is to listen to the entire tape, make a rough table of contents, and jot down personal notes as to whether to interview this narrator further and what questions to ask. It is also important to evaluate one's own interview technique."
"If you do decide to transcribe, you are committing the project to a number of costly and time-consuming steps... The question comes down essentially to costs vs. usability."
"Why Transcribe?
1. Transcripts are easier to use than tapes, especially if suitably indexed. In fact, few researchers will spend the time to listen to tapes if they are not transcribed. Therefore, if you have put in the great time and expense necessary to recording a well done oral history project, it is a shame not to put it in a form researchers will use.
2. The narrator can correct and amplify what she said in the interview if there is a transcript. Despite the danger of the narrator's deleting important information, most interviews are substantially improved in detail and accuracy by the narrator's review.
3. Your project will have something to show for your efforts, as will your narrators. A shelf of neatly bound transcripts will be a source of pride to the project and the community. It is hard to work up much enthusiasm or funds on the basis of a stack of tapes (although a multi-media tape-slide show can be an effective product)."
"Transcribing is a work of art, a little akin to translating from one language to another, but with less latitude allowable. The spoken word has many dimensions with which to convey fact and feeling: pitch, loudness, strength, speed, pronunciation, sounds that are not words. In putting a spoken performance down on paper, the transcriber has only words and punctuation to work with. With these, he must try to be accurate as to the information that was related, to use the words that the narrator used, and to catch as closely as possible the flavor and feeling of the speaker."
By Willa K. Baum in Transcribing and Editing Oral History (1991)
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Assessment FOR learning
Oh my gosh. I feel so move by the goal Rick Stiggins has about Assessment FOR learning. The goal is to "keep failure from becoming chronic and thus inevitable in the mind of the learner".
Could there be a more noble goal than this? Than to care for the soul of a child?
I personally experienced some failures lately, that made me tell myself, "Not again. Ops! I did it again. I have not made any progress regarding this issue." And this situation made me very depressed.
So I read with great interest Stiggin's vision of helping all children not have to face this situation or negative perspective that I just experienced. He wants to help children experience success by the process of an experienced person showing the child where to go, examples of good and bad, how to get there, by giving feedback. Thereafter teach the child how to do self-assessment, set his or her own goals and give him or herself descriptive feedback.
I find this so noble.
It makes me think Stiggins has great empathy for children who struggle with learning.
This is really a different approach to assessment. He says "we must recognise that assessment is about far more than the test score's dependability - it also must be about the score's effect on the learner. Even the most valid and reliable assessment cannot be regarded as high quality if the causes a student to give up."
Gosh, this view is revolutionary! Don't you think so? So much of my educational experience made me feel like a failure and like giving up, or simply finding a quick fix to get my grades. I didn't know maybe some teachers' desire was not so much that I get my As, but... that I develop fortitude, that I believe that I can improve and he or she was willing to help me attain it.
(sorry for getting all emotional here. This really pulled a heart string in me)
Could there be a more noble goal than this? Than to care for the soul of a child?
I personally experienced some failures lately, that made me tell myself, "Not again. Ops! I did it again. I have not made any progress regarding this issue." And this situation made me very depressed.
So I read with great interest Stiggin's vision of helping all children not have to face this situation or negative perspective that I just experienced. He wants to help children experience success by the process of an experienced person showing the child where to go, examples of good and bad, how to get there, by giving feedback. Thereafter teach the child how to do self-assessment, set his or her own goals and give him or herself descriptive feedback.
I find this so noble.
It makes me think Stiggins has great empathy for children who struggle with learning.
This is really a different approach to assessment. He says "we must recognise that assessment is about far more than the test score's dependability - it also must be about the score's effect on the learner. Even the most valid and reliable assessment cannot be regarded as high quality if the causes a student to give up."
Gosh, this view is revolutionary! Don't you think so? So much of my educational experience made me feel like a failure and like giving up, or simply finding a quick fix to get my grades. I didn't know maybe some teachers' desire was not so much that I get my As, but... that I develop fortitude, that I believe that I can improve and he or she was willing to help me attain it.
(sorry for getting all emotional here. This really pulled a heart string in me)
"New knowledge builds on existing knowledge, so each article must link fairly quickly with material that has already been published, and then add to it by extending, challenging or transforming some aspect of it." (page 3)
"By and large, the best route follows two simple principles: have something worthwhile to say, and say it well." (3)
"... communicating, reporting discoveries and findings, sharing insights, and learning from others are indispensible elements of scholarship." (4)
"Finally, publication is FUN if approached properly. A lot of personal satisfaction flows form it." (5)
"For each manuscript you plan, set yourself a target date for completing the first draft, and stick to it. After this first draft is finished, begin the process of refining it. Even accomplished researchers find that their manuscripts often need cycle after cycle of reworking and polishing before being ready to submit to journal." (6)
"The assessment of a manuscript for a journal article is essentially about whether its scholarly significance is such as to justify wide dissemination." (8)
"By and large, the best route follows two simple principles: have something worthwhile to say, and say it well." (3)
"... communicating, reporting discoveries and findings, sharing insights, and learning from others are indispensible elements of scholarship." (4)
"Finally, publication is FUN if approached properly. A lot of personal satisfaction flows form it." (5)
"For each manuscript you plan, set yourself a target date for completing the first draft, and stick to it. After this first draft is finished, begin the process of refining it. Even accomplished researchers find that their manuscripts often need cycle after cycle of reworking and polishing before being ready to submit to journal." (6)
"The assessment of a manuscript for a journal article is essentially about whether its scholarly significance is such as to justify wide dissemination." (8)
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
"When the cook tastes the soup, that's formative; when the guests taste the soup, that's summative." - Robert Stake
Hmmmm... I like this illustration a lot.
It puts the two in perspective. With the heavy emphasis on summative, I have the tendency to think that formative is better and the more the merrier, but they serve very different purposes.
Formative will help a student in the summative.
In life there are many summatives, those make or break, high-stakes moments, where we must perform or we suffer heavy consequences, such as Interviews (lose the job or get it), Big Projects (lose the deal or gain it), Big Exams (get the qualification or repeat a year), Marriage, Perform CPR on Someone who just Collapse in front of you and you're the only one there...
We can't escape these summative moments in life and they're important, a test to tell us where we stand at this moment. If we fail, we know we need to work harder.
But I believe there are even more formative moments. That will help us to succeed in the summative moments. The self-aware and reflective individuals in an environment where feedback is given freely will be able to capitalise on these moments. Moments like communicating clearly to individuals and when met with difficulty in doing so, working on improving it; preparation phase of project; smaller tests and continual assessments; relationships with peers, practising CRP on a dummy and being calm in fretful situations...
Hmmmm...
This is so fascinating. Really, both are important. And it's great we emphasize both in schools and not one above the other.
Hmmmm... I like this illustration a lot.
It puts the two in perspective. With the heavy emphasis on summative, I have the tendency to think that formative is better and the more the merrier, but they serve very different purposes.
Formative will help a student in the summative.
In life there are many summatives, those make or break, high-stakes moments, where we must perform or we suffer heavy consequences, such as Interviews (lose the job or get it), Big Projects (lose the deal or gain it), Big Exams (get the qualification or repeat a year), Marriage, Perform CPR on Someone who just Collapse in front of you and you're the only one there...
We can't escape these summative moments in life and they're important, a test to tell us where we stand at this moment. If we fail, we know we need to work harder.
But I believe there are even more formative moments. That will help us to succeed in the summative moments. The self-aware and reflective individuals in an environment where feedback is given freely will be able to capitalise on these moments. Moments like communicating clearly to individuals and when met with difficulty in doing so, working on improving it; preparation phase of project; smaller tests and continual assessments; relationships with peers, practising CRP on a dummy and being calm in fretful situations...
Hmmmm...
This is so fascinating. Really, both are important. And it's great we emphasize both in schools and not one above the other.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
It still "unnerves" me a little when I think that the schools I attended had certain agenda when I attended them.
They wanted to develop in me certain character traits, inculcate certain skills and all, they wanted me to be the product of their vision.
Yet, implementation is not perfect.
And schools have differing ability to implement.
I compare my Secondary School and Junior College.
While both intended to create servant leaders, I find that I have a lot more opportunities to learn leadership in JC than in SS.
There are many possible factors that influence this outcome though...
Gosh, parents, think wisely when you enroll your child into a school. Don't just put them in the best school or the nearest school, think, what does this school value, is that what you want to be inculcated in your child?
They wanted to develop in me certain character traits, inculcate certain skills and all, they wanted me to be the product of their vision.
Yet, implementation is not perfect.
And schools have differing ability to implement.
I compare my Secondary School and Junior College.
While both intended to create servant leaders, I find that I have a lot more opportunities to learn leadership in JC than in SS.
There are many possible factors that influence this outcome though...
Gosh, parents, think wisely when you enroll your child into a school. Don't just put them in the best school or the nearest school, think, what does this school value, is that what you want to be inculcated in your child?
I think I've been too biased towards one side of the spectrum.
The side where we shouldn't care so much about achievement, but about the student.
Yet, as I see confident children, smiling with their attainment and proud parents.
I cannot help but to believe that it is a beautiful thing when we teach our children how to work hard for something worthy and to get fruits for it.
Pity is the student who works hard and gets no reward and develops the idea that hard work doesn't equate to success (in the way expected) and very early in life chooses to take the easy path of least resistance.
Pity is the student who doesn't know the joy of excelling. But is trapped by his low self-esteem or critism or laziness and never labors nor see the rewards of his labor.
The side where we shouldn't care so much about achievement, but about the student.
Yet, as I see confident children, smiling with their attainment and proud parents.
I cannot help but to believe that it is a beautiful thing when we teach our children how to work hard for something worthy and to get fruits for it.
Pity is the student who works hard and gets no reward and develops the idea that hard work doesn't equate to success (in the way expected) and very early in life chooses to take the easy path of least resistance.
Pity is the student who doesn't know the joy of excelling. But is trapped by his low self-esteem or critism or laziness and never labors nor see the rewards of his labor.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
"Forget the idea that thinking is somehow a painful and laborious feeling in the mind, a kind of headache that is best avoided if possible. Thinking is fun. By fun here I do not really mean a diversion that affords enjoyment. For the word also means an activity that engages one's interest or imagination, an activity that may prove to be more than a diversion and may involve challenge and hard work but is still a source of enjoyment. If you come to love thinking for yourself you will learn naturally to do it well." - John Adair
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Go to the University
This is a common topic I reflect about and I'm reflecting upon it again.
I believe teachers in the University teach less to the test than teachers in the Government schools because there is no nationwide level standardised testing.
So if you want to experience the kind of learning that is beyond the examinations, do try to come to the University.
The sad thing is that the kind of training we receive earlier on does not prepare us for University kind of learning and many people who grow up on a diet of spoon-feeding, struggle to think for themselves when there is no spoon-feeder.
I really hope things have changed from my time and the climate of government schools are not like what I experienced during my time.
I'm grateful for my teachers in University who champion the open-book examinations because they believe in testing for students' thinking ability, something that form their instruction. They teach to make us better thinkers and better people.
And they reduce my stress levels by so much, because, I do not have to focus all my attention on memorisation of facts.
I look back at one of the module I have taken that has transform the way I view products. I am less inclined to waste and to purchase things since being convinced in my heart and mind that we must be better stewards of what earth has provided us with.
I believe this is true education, an education that transform your life and lifestyle.
I believe teachers in the University teach less to the test than teachers in the Government schools because there is no nationwide level standardised testing.
So if you want to experience the kind of learning that is beyond the examinations, do try to come to the University.
The sad thing is that the kind of training we receive earlier on does not prepare us for University kind of learning and many people who grow up on a diet of spoon-feeding, struggle to think for themselves when there is no spoon-feeder.
I really hope things have changed from my time and the climate of government schools are not like what I experienced during my time.
I'm grateful for my teachers in University who champion the open-book examinations because they believe in testing for students' thinking ability, something that form their instruction. They teach to make us better thinkers and better people.
And they reduce my stress levels by so much, because, I do not have to focus all my attention on memorisation of facts.
I look back at one of the module I have taken that has transform the way I view products. I am less inclined to waste and to purchase things since being convinced in my heart and mind that we must be better stewards of what earth has provided us with.
I believe this is true education, an education that transform your life and lifestyle.
Monday, March 22, 2010
I am indeed a slow learner.
I learn a lot of things in hindsight.
For one, I learnt today the value of the written comment "see me" on my assignments.
That dreaded "see me" that means I must nervously seek my teacher to find out what's wrong with me (actually should be my understanding).
Today, I see that "see me" is a teacher's heart to want to explain in greater detail and also seek understanding in what I do not understand.
"See me" is a teacher's "curse", but a student's blessing. I say a curse because it's a sacrifice a teacher makes of his or her time to give it to a student, instead of ignoring a glaring or nagging doubt that a student does not know his or her work or has some big misconceptions.
I learn a lot of things in hindsight.
For one, I learnt today the value of the written comment "see me" on my assignments.
That dreaded "see me" that means I must nervously seek my teacher to find out what's wrong with me (actually should be my understanding).
Today, I see that "see me" is a teacher's heart to want to explain in greater detail and also seek understanding in what I do not understand.
"See me" is a teacher's "curse", but a student's blessing. I say a curse because it's a sacrifice a teacher makes of his or her time to give it to a student, instead of ignoring a glaring or nagging doubt that a student does not know his or her work or has some big misconceptions.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
"...we've got to do a lot fewer things in school. The greatest enemy of understanding is coverage. As long as you are determined to cover everything, you actually ensure that most kids are not going to understand. You've got to take enough time to get kids deeply involved in something so they can think about it in lots of different ways and apply it - not just at school but at home and on the street and so on."
- Howard Gardner
- Howard Gardner
Monday, March 8, 2010
The issue is in confusing test grades for success.
As a child, I did not have the capacity to tell the two apart and no one else told me. To me, and perhaps many others, test grades indicate success. The two are almost synonymous. If not, why do parents praise kids who top the class. Why is there streaming into EM1, 2 and 3 with indication that it's better to be in 1 than in 3?
Is it just in the grades?
It's just the tip of an iceberg.
An hidden assumption of using test grades as an indicator for success is that test grades show intellect, learning and effort. It shows us a student has been using his or her brain, becoming more intellectual and is hardworking or conscientious with work.
But, the relationship is not so direct.
For we found a way around the system. We showed that we can achieve the indicator of success without the underlying assumptions. We can get the good grades, and get all the goodies that come along with it (good school, good reputation, praises from parents and people), without becoming who the educational policymakers want us to be.
Many ways to do it. One way - study to the test.
So, is doing well in an exam, necessarily a success?
I don't think so at all.
As a child, I did not have the capacity to tell the two apart and no one else told me. To me, and perhaps many others, test grades indicate success. The two are almost synonymous. If not, why do parents praise kids who top the class. Why is there streaming into EM1, 2 and 3 with indication that it's better to be in 1 than in 3?
Is it just in the grades?
It's just the tip of an iceberg.
An hidden assumption of using test grades as an indicator for success is that test grades show intellect, learning and effort. It shows us a student has been using his or her brain, becoming more intellectual and is hardworking or conscientious with work.
But, the relationship is not so direct.
For we found a way around the system. We showed that we can achieve the indicator of success without the underlying assumptions. We can get the good grades, and get all the goodies that come along with it (good school, good reputation, praises from parents and people), without becoming who the educational policymakers want us to be.
Many ways to do it. One way - study to the test.
So, is doing well in an exam, necessarily a success?
I don't think so at all.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Interviewing as Qualitative Research
I found a really good book! Interviewing as Qualitative Research (A Guide for Researchers in Education and the Social Sciences) by Irving Seidman, 3rd Edition.
There's a certain style of writing that captivates me and makes me one to read on and there are also styles that put me off almost immediately.
This book has that style that I enjoy. He is passionate, sincere, sharing from experience like someone who's been there, done that and wants to pass on whatever he learns to people to help them take an easier path. I love this personal style!
There's a certain style of writing that captivates me and makes me one to read on and there are also styles that put me off almost immediately.
This book has that style that I enjoy. He is passionate, sincere, sharing from experience like someone who's been there, done that and wants to pass on whatever he learns to people to help them take an easier path. I love this personal style!
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Learning is for life, not to score well in exams
As I reflect while reading about Assessment Tools, I realised how much of my education was targeted at scoring well for the examinations, which was largely what mattered to help one get into a school/course of his or her choice.
This just isn't right. For there are more tests that we need to pass than nationwide level examinations. There are other tests of life.
What do you do what a relationship turns sour?
What do you do when your loved one passes away or your good friend's loved one passes away?
What do you do when you sprain your ankle?
How do you plan for a major event?
What a waste of opportunities if all our school-time was used to merely teach basic facts and shallow level thinking, or meeting the objectives stated in the curriculum, knowing so much of these eventually are forgotten and not incorporated into our lives.
Surely, more can be done to teach students how to think in classrooms, more interdisciplinary work, more impartation of universal values.
Then again, our whole lives are a learning process. We don't just learn in class. But many students might not see this. They may not be in the position to sieve and pick and question more in classroom to over-ride a teacher's lack of initiative. This really calls for teachers to be more creative, more intentional to develop lifelong thinkers and learners.
And just not teachers, but a whole new system and structure that enables teachers to perform in this role. We cannot expect teachers to teach creatively when there are greater incentives to teach un-creatively.
I make a teacher sound like a mentor or disciple-maker. Maybe before I talk about this, I need to be clear what's the definition of a teacher, in Singapore's context. What is the teacher's role or calling?
This just isn't right. For there are more tests that we need to pass than nationwide level examinations. There are other tests of life.
What do you do what a relationship turns sour?
What do you do when your loved one passes away or your good friend's loved one passes away?
What do you do when you sprain your ankle?
How do you plan for a major event?
What a waste of opportunities if all our school-time was used to merely teach basic facts and shallow level thinking, or meeting the objectives stated in the curriculum, knowing so much of these eventually are forgotten and not incorporated into our lives.
Surely, more can be done to teach students how to think in classrooms, more interdisciplinary work, more impartation of universal values.
Then again, our whole lives are a learning process. We don't just learn in class. But many students might not see this. They may not be in the position to sieve and pick and question more in classroom to over-ride a teacher's lack of initiative. This really calls for teachers to be more creative, more intentional to develop lifelong thinkers and learners.
And just not teachers, but a whole new system and structure that enables teachers to perform in this role. We cannot expect teachers to teach creatively when there are greater incentives to teach un-creatively.
I make a teacher sound like a mentor or disciple-maker. Maybe before I talk about this, I need to be clear what's the definition of a teacher, in Singapore's context. What is the teacher's role or calling?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
“The learning process can be divided into the accumulation of bits of information (memory) and the movement of this into patterns (thinking).
The compulsive learner is incapable of thinking. There is always another bit to be memorized and, if they are all learned, there is little time to rearrange the bits. It is also clear that without any bits there is no thinking.”
Eugene Stead, MD Chair, Department of Medicine
"The compulsive learner is incapable of thinking."
I do think I know too much and think too little.
When I read books, I'm more eager to finish reading the book, than to apply the knowledge I've gained in certain chapters.
I wonder if I can take a new approach to life and learning by knowing less, and use that time saved to think and do more.
The compulsive learner is incapable of thinking. There is always another bit to be memorized and, if they are all learned, there is little time to rearrange the bits. It is also clear that without any bits there is no thinking.”
Eugene Stead, MD Chair, Department of Medicine
"The compulsive learner is incapable of thinking."
I do think I know too much and think too little.
When I read books, I'm more eager to finish reading the book, than to apply the knowledge I've gained in certain chapters.
I wonder if I can take a new approach to life and learning by knowing less, and use that time saved to think and do more.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)