Home Leadership & Professional Development Professional Development Programmes & Courses Advanced Diploma Programme Primary Science Education
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Advanced Diploma in
Primary Science Education

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  • This programme provides teachers with a framework of knowledge and skills in the teaching of primary Science. It also provides perspectives on the changes and developments in the primary Science curriculum for teachers to reflect, re-examine and refine their classroom practices. Lastly, it enables teachers to develop competencies in the design and practice of assessment and evaluation.

  • This programme is for current primary school teachers who hold either a:

    • Diploma in Education (Dip Ed), OR
    • Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) from NIE or its equivalent.

    To be considered for admission into one of the reviewed Advanced Diploma above, applicants will need to have at least 2 years of teaching experience in the corresponding subject.

    •

  • This programme is designed to:

    • provide teachers with a framework of knowledge and skills in the teaching of primary Science.
    • provide perspectives on the change and development in primary Science curriculum for teachers to reflect, re-examine and refine their classroom practices.
    • enable teachers to develop competencies in the design and practice of assessment and evaluation.

  • Using the Advanced Diploma for entry into NIE’s full-time Bachelor of Arts (Education) / Bachelor of Science (Education) OR part-time Bachelor of Education

    Upon successful completion of this programme, you may wish to apply for admission into the NIE/NTU degree programme. Admission is not automatic and all applications would be given due consideration. The admission criteria for returning teachers who are interested in using the Advanced Diploma to help gain admission into the full-time Bachelor of Arts (Education) / Bachelor of Science (Education) OR part-time Bachelor of Education are as follows and may be subjected to further updates from the Office of Teacher Education:

    • Obtained at least overall Pass in Dip Ed/ Dip PE/ Cert Ed and a minimum of 'C' Grade in an Advanced Diploma (obtained prior to the introduction of GPA System) or a minimum of CGPA of 2.50 in an Advanced Diploma (obtained after introduction of GPA System)*

    AND

    • Recommendation by Principal

    *For admission to Bachelor of Education (Primary) Part-time Programme, in addition to the above criteria, candidates must also meet the following:

    • Be employed by the Ministry of Education;
    • Have at least two years of trained teaching experience; and
    • Have an annual appraisal grade of at least Grade C or better.
    •

  • The Advanced Diploma offers 9 courses. The courses are either 2 Academic Units (AUs) or 3 AUs, and is equivalent to 24 or 36 hours respectively of study in the form of lectures, tutorials, activity-based projects, laboratory sessions, directed studies, etc.

    Participants apply for individual courses at their convenience, in consideration of their work commitments. Participants are required to complete 20 AUs within five years to qualify for the award of the Advanced Diploma.

    Course Code Traisi Code Course Title AUs

    INS4401

    		 40163

    Topics in Biological Science for Primary Science Teaching

    3

    INS4402

    		 40176

    Topics in Physical Science for Primary Science Teaching

    3

    INS4403

    		 41249

    Introduction to Themes in Primary Science. Diversity in Primary Science

    2

    INS4404

    		 41243

    Cycles in Primary Science

    2

    INS4405

    		 41250

    Systems in Primary Science

    2

    INS4406

    		 41251

    Interaction in Primary Science

    2

    INS4407

    		 41252

    Energy in Primary Science

    2

    INS4408

    		 41097

    Assessment in Primary Science

    3

    INS4409

    		 N.A.

    Integration of Primary Science Content Knowledge, Pedagogical and Assessment Practices

    1

    For its course description, please click here.

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  • INS4401: Topics in Biological Science for Primary Science

    This course deals with the content knowledge of the topics in Biological Sciences from the Primary Science (2008) curriculum. The topics to be studied include basic biology, classification and diversity of organism (reproduction and life cycles), structure and functions of plant system, structure and functions of animal system, ecology and environmental issues.

    INS4402: Topics in Physical Science for Primary Science

    This course deals with the theoretical and practical aspects of Physical Science topics from the Primary Science (2008) curriculum. The topics include matter and materials, forms of energy and conversions, heat, light and the solar system, magnetism and electricity and forces.

    INS4403: Diversity in Primary Science

    The course is designed to equip teachers with the skills to promote pupils’ understanding of key scientific concepts in ‘Diversity’, one of the five themes of the Primary Science (2014) syllabus. It aims to integrate the essential content knowledge with the pedagogical skills of making the knowledge relevant and easy to understand for the primary school students.

    INS4404: Cycles in Primary Science

    This course seeks to equip participants with the essential content knowledge and pedagogical skills in the teaching and learning of "Cycles", one of the 5 themes of the Primary Science (2008) Syllabus. In addition to the theory, which is inquiry-based, there will be engaging hands-on and minds-on activities on the topics of cycles in plants, animals, matter and water. Practicals will include the life cycles of interesting small organisms like the sea horse and butterfly.

    INS4405: Systems in Primary Science

    This course seeks to equip participants with the essential content knowledge and pedagogical skills in the teaching and learning of "Systems", one of the 5 themes in the Primary Science (2008) Syllabus. “Systems” involves the teaching of the important concept that a system is a whole consisting of parts that work together. A repertoire of inquiry-based activities and practical examples such as interactive models of plant and animal systems will be used.

    INS4406: Interaction in Primary Science

    This course seeks to equip participants with the essential content knowledge and pedagogical skills in the teaching and learning of "Interaction", two of the 5 themes in the Primary Science (2008) Syllabus. For the topics in interaction of forces, participants will be given guided-inquiry activities to gain deeper understanding into the world of physical forces and their interactions. Interactions among organisms, interactions between biological, physical and environmental forces, the effects of these interactions on living communities and habitats are very important for the building of a generation with awareness of environmental issues.

    INS4407: Energy in Primary Science

    This course seeks to equip participants with the essential content knowledge and pedagogical skills in the teaching and learning of "Energy", one of the 5 themes in the Primary Science (2008) Syllabus. This course deals with the topics of energy forms, the uses and conversions of energy. A wide repertoire of inquiry-based activities will be used to enthuse the participants to appreciate the nature and importance of energy in our daily lives.

    INS4408: Assessment in Primary Science

    This course deals with the theoretical and practical aspects of holistic assessment in the Primary Science classroom. Participants will gain valuable insights on how holistic assessment can support science teaching and learning. The topics to be discussed include purpose of assessment and the principles and strategies for both assessment for and of learning. Participants will also have the opportunity to apply their learning to design and review different assessment tasks.

    INS4409: Integration of Primary Science Content Knowledge, Pedagogical and Assessment Practices

    This course requires participants to have successfully completed all eight content-cum-pedagogy/assessment courses in the programme. The successful completion of this course is the final criterion for the award of the Diploma. In this course, participants will be tasked with working in small groups to collate and share their collective school-based teaching and learning experiences which are related to the applications of new knowledge and skills gained or mastered when they attended the earlier eight other courses. They will be assessed on the quality of their collaborative group work and a presentation of an individual learning portfolio documenting the various pedagogical evidences of their ability to integrate knowledge and skills into their routine classroom science lessons.

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  • Please click here.

  • Application for the courses is via TRAISI.

    For queries on course administration, please e-mail: inservice@nie.edu.sg.

  • Participants who have completed the 9 courses within the 5-years validity period can apply for accreditation of the courses into the programme by completing the form here.