Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference: Thinking: Time For a Rethink?
Date
Monday, 03 June 2013
Opening Ceremony: 3 June 2013, 9.30 am at The National Institute of Education Sports Hall, Block 5, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616
One of the largest
educational research conferences in Southeast Asia will be held at the
National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore, Sports Hall on 3 June 2013.
This year, we are pleased to welcome Ms Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of
State, Ministry of Law and Ministry of Education as the Guest-of-Honour for
the event.
Organised by the National Institute of Education (NIE), the three-day
biennial conference provides a global forum for practitioners, researchers,
educational leaders and policy makers to interact and share leading-edge
research and best practices across languages and cultures. Since its inception
in 2005, it consistently offers a platform for over 1,400 scholars and
practitioners to forge new and innovative directions in educational
research and practices that may significantly impact the education system in
Singapore and abroad.
Highlights of
the Conference
The theme for
the 2013 Conference is “Thinking: Time for a Rethink?” and has
already attracted more than 100 participants from 17 countries ―
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland,
Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand,
UAE and USA. The activities will bring together teachers, researchers,
educational leaders, and policy makers to learn more about new research,
discuss educational policies and practices, and broaden professional networks
throughout the region. Special sessions will also showcase and reflect how they
have implemented new practices. For the first time, the Conference
welcomes its youngest speaker, 15-year-old child prodigy, Miss Adora
Svitak, who is an internationally published author and headlines the roster
of five keynote speakers.
The conference
also highlights notable research projects across several disciplines in local
education research projects led by NIE and CRPP researchers. Tackling
everyday issues that are of rising concern these will include:
- Dr Fannie Khng, a CRPP Research Scientist at NIE, who
examines how interventions such as deep breathing can abate the adverse effects
of test anxiety among students by improving attention.
- Dr Nirmala Karuppiah, a Lecturer at NIE’s Early
Childhood and Special Needs Education Academic Group, aims to develop baseline
data on computer habits and behaviours among young children (K1 &
K2) in Singapore. The information gathered from the interviews and observations
can be used to inform parents, teachers and other stakeholders with information
on preschool children’s computer habits and behaviours. If necessary, this
information can be used to develop preventive programmes to protect preschool
children against potential health and social risks of computer use as well as
address any potential negative habits or behaviours as early as possible and
before they have an impact on their later schooling years. Finally, findings
from this study can also be used as baseline data to carry out a larger scale
study which will contribute to the growing research on various aspects of
children and youth in Singapore.
- Dr Noel Chia Kok Hwee and Mr Norman Kee Kiak Ham of
ECSNE’s research on alternative pedagogy for special education (in
consultation with teachers from five SPED schools) have developed an integrated
framework embracing the Triple-T (episTeme, Techne, Telos) model of learning
and the Triple-D (Diagnostics, Dialogics, Didactics).
- Associate Professor Manu Kapur, Head of the Learning
Sciences Laboratory (LSL), delves extensively into the “the learning through
play” symposium that cuts across LSL projects. He contends that play is
important for learning and reveals that the challenge is to design for it
deliberately to afford students opportunities to generate, explore, tinker and
even fail in the process of learning.
- Dr Wong Lung Hsiang, a Senior Research Scientist in
LSL, oversaw two studies on mobile-assisted language learning, the completed
“Move, Idioms!” and the still ongoing MyCLOUD (My Chinese Language ubiquitOUs
learning Days), come with the common aim of interweaving cross-contextual
(formal and informal learning spaces, individual and social learning spaces,
and physical and digital realities) process of Chinese Language learning. The
intention is to address the limitations of conventional classroom language
instructions such as teacher-centred learning with excessive
decontextualised information that does not effectively connect language
knowledge learnt into learners’ daily lives and putting the language into
application. The two studies are in the process of scaling up to more schools.
- Dr Lee Ngan Hoe, an Assistant Professor in the
Mathematics and Mathematics Education academic group focuses on designing and
testing strategies that will enable secondary mathematics teachers to develop
and harness competencies in the teaching of mathematical modelling.
- Dr Beth O’Brien, a Senior Research Scientist from the
Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP) demonstrates how an iPad
can be a resourceful tool for teaching phonics using digital text enhances
phonemic awareness in children. This demonstration is a component of a
forthcoming study on early bilingual experience and English literacy
acquisition.
- Associate Professor Wong Khoon Yoong, also from MME, investigated
the infusion of mathematics disciplinary tasks into school mathematics
at the Secondary One Express Level by designing the Singapore Mathematics
Assessment and Pedagogy Project (SMAPP), a project that was implemented from
2008 to 2012.
Details of the
Opening Ceremony and the list of distinguished keynote speakers and address
abstracts are available in Annexe A and Annexe B, respectively.
Strands of the
Conference
More than 375
papers will be presented in the form of keynote addresses, panels,
individual presentations, workshops, symposia, special sessions and posters.
The papers are divided into the following strands:
1. Civic and Moral Education
2. Cognition and Learning
3. Curriculum Development
4. Early Childhood Education
5. Educational Policies and Practices
6. Humanities and Social Studies Education
7. IT in Education
8. Language and Literacy Education
9. Learning Sciences
10. Mathematics Education
11. School Change and Leadership
12. Science Education
13. Special Needs Education
14. Student Performance and Assessment
15. Teacher Quality and Teacher Development
16. Visual and Performance Arts
17. Others
Media Coverage
4 June 2013
The Straits Times (Home, Page B4): Praise for schools that encourage creative and critical thinking
5 June 2013
The Straits Times (Home, Page A3): Kids 'using gadgets at earlier age being exposed to risks'
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