Article highlights

• How do you teach Math to hands-on learners?
• What can we do to create a holistic learning experience for students?
• How can the whole community be involved in inculcating character?

In 2011, Mr Samuel Goh was furnishing his new home. He realized that the task involved many Math topics that he was teaching, such as area, perimeter, estimation and even ratio.

He mooted the idea of a "Design Your Bedroom" project to his colleagues, and the IKEA store soon became the new site of learning for their students at Bedok South Secondary School (BDS).

Valuing All Kinds of Learners

The Normal (Technical) (NT) teachers recognized the need for different programmes to cater to the different abilities of learners.

"Our children in NT are hands-on learners. We couldn't put in place the same system as how we run the Express classes," says Mr Shamsul Kamar, Head of Pupil Welfare.

To meet the learning needs of their students, the teachers had to engage their students. "It's not just within the classroom. We decided that we have to have different learning environments for these children."

And that's what Math teachers Samuel and Mdm Halimah Jumaha did. With support from their Level Head Mdm Siti Zubaidah, the Secondary 2 NT students were taught numeracy, as well as literacy, outside of the classroom.

"Students don't see it as a chore or that they're studying. They see it as a love for learning," says Shamsul.

Making Math Learning Holistic

At the IKEA showrooms, students were told they could design any kind of bedroom they wanted. They went about measuring beds, tables, chairs - anything they could find - all the while communicating their ideas and opinions to each other and the teachers.

Students don't see it as a chore or that they're studying. They see it as a love for learning.
- Mr Shamsul Kamar, Bedok South Secondary School

They asked questions like, "Why do I need this bed? How many do I need? Why do I not need that expensive one? Is colour a necessary choice?"

This allowed the teachers to incorporate Math into the students' learning in a way that relates to them. Samuel explains: "Math comes to life for them. They're making meaning of Math in everyday life."

"That’s the crucial part," adds Zubaidah. "When you make meaning for them, it becomes clear why they need to study. They now see, 'Oh, that's how you can apply it to life.'"

Besides communicating measurements and estimations to one another, students had to describe the showrooms at IKEA, using adjectives they had learned in class.

"This definitely made it more engaging for them. But at the same time, without them realizing it, you have thinking skills being made explicit to them," says Zubaidah.

The students have taken very well to this new way of learning because they are outside the classroom and still able to learn subject content they now see as fun. "Their attitude towards project work is very different, they're very into it," notes Halimah.

These alternative learning sites also allow teachers to interact with students in informal, less tense settings, while guiding them through the project.

Cultivating Social and Emotional Competencies

You can't just drill numeracy and literacy and expect it to work. The BDS teachers found that to make learning in alternative settings work, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is needed.

The SEL framework (Ministry of Education, 2009) was designed to help our students become better citizens who behave responsibly towards themselves and others.

The framework works on five core SE competencies, which include: (1) Self-awareness, (2) Social awareness, (3) Self-management, (4) Relationship management, and (5) Responsible decision-making.

As our students develop into socially and emotionally competent individuals, they will then be able to play their part in society. This is reflected in the SEL’s four guiding principles, all of which have the nation and school values at the crux.

Strong Support from Stakeholders

For 2012, the teachers changed the project from just designing a fictional bedroom to designing their actual homeroom in school. Students work in groups, collaborating to brainstorm, research, write proposals, and make presentations. Every part of the project is graded.

But with such innovative teaching and assessment alternatives, support from other stakeholders is a must. "Support from school leaders is very crucial," says Zubaidah.

What BDS has shown is that students really benefit from and enjoy holistic learning in alternative settings. This needs passionate teachers, as well as supportive school leaders and parents. It really is a whole community effort.

The Value of Project Work

BDS assesses their students using a Holistic Character Assessment (HCA) tool. It is also used to measure the effectiveness of their values education.

Much like MOE's SEL framework, the HCA tool includes the following assessment qualities:

1. A confident person

• Independent thinker
• Effective communicator

2. Self-directed Learner

• Responsible for learning
• IT-savvy
• Critical thinker
• Problem solver
• Reflective thinker

3. A concerned citizen

• Empathy (school, community, nation)
• Social moral values
• Effective collaborator

4. An active contributor

• Flexibility and adaptability
• Initiative
• Resilience
• Creativity and innovation

More information about Project Work at BDS can be found on their school website.