"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.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
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)
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