Self-directed learning in Christian school

Yim Kwing Hei, 15, who has been at Victory Life Christian School for only a few weeks, says he is adapting well to the environment. His family relocated here from Japan, where he grew up.
Yim Kwing Hei, 15, who has been at Victory Life Christian School for only a few weeks, says he is adapting well to the environment. His family relocated here from Japan, where he grew up. ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI

When he attends classes at Victory Life Christian School, 15-year-old Yim Kwing Hei does not attend lectures or tutorials.

Instead, he and his classmates complete workbooks that adopt a self-directed learning approach.

If he encounters a problem he cannot solve, he holds up a flag that is placed on his table, and a supervisor comes round to guide him.

Students who have completed sections in the workbooks can go to "scoring stations" to check their answers against a score key.

Spot checks are conducted by staff to ensure that students have matched their answers correctly, and they are quizzed regularly to make sure that they have understood the topics.

If they do not do well enough to progress to the next level, they will be issued with the same workbook to re-learn the unit.

The workbooks, known as Paces (Packets of Accelerated Christian Education), are used in six core subjects including mathematics, English and science.

Kwing Hei has been at the school in Balestier for less than four weeks, but the teen, who grew up in Japan and attended public school and an American international school there, said he is adapting well to the new environment.

"Everyone is very friendly, and the supervisors help me when I have difficulties. It's good to be here, because the standard of education in Japan and Singapore is very different."

Yuen Sin

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on August 14, 2016, with the headline Self-directed learning in Christian school. Subscribe