Help students find meaning amid info overload: Chan

Teaching today must go beyond imparting knowledge to helping students find meaning in a world overloaded with information, Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said yesterday.

It should also be about finding solutions to future challenges and preparing for tomorrow's needs, he said, addressing about 700 researchers and educators attending a hybrid conference held by the National Institute of Education (NIE).

These and other shifts in educational practice need to take place in the coming years, he said, to broaden the impact teachers have and prepare Singaporeans for a world that is increasingly connected, yet fragmented.

"If we do this well, we will take another major step towards the next stage of learning and teaching in our schools so we can best optimise the human potential that we have within our country," he added.

Speaking at the Redesigning Pedagogy International Conference, Mr Chan said: "We need to help our learners make sense and make choices anchored by our values. From information overload, we must learn to distil and discern, in order for real knowledge and wisdom to emerge.

"We must help our students acquire the skills of critical thinking, verification of sources of information, and appreciate diverse perspectives so that they come to their own deeper conclusions and understanding of an issue."

Teaching must also cater to the diverse learning needs of students, he added. While training people as efficiently as possible was the priority in the early years, Singapore now has a range of models from specialised schools to independent schools, he said, adding that full subject-based banding and a variety of post-secondary pathways provide greater flexibility.

The focus must also increasingly be on learning anywhere and not just in the classroom, said Mr Chan. This could be through home-based learning or learning tools powered by artificial intelligence that personalise learning for students and provide immediate feedback.

"As we develop our students' abilities, we are also developing teachers' proficiency in e-pedagogy via professional development resources and online learning modules," he said.

Another way to adapt and implement best teaching practices faster is to share resources among educators and institutions, said Mr Chan. To this end, the Singapore Learning Designers Community, which was set up by the Education Ministry's Educational Technology Division in 2017, consists of more than 20,000 educators who share lesson ideas and help one another troubleshoot technical challenges.

Beyond pursuing academics, more attention must be paid to building up socio-emotional and mental resilience in students, said the minister. The refreshed Character and Citizenship Education curriculum, which emphasises mental health and cyber wellness, will contribute to this side of students' development, as well as a curriculum on life skills in the institutes of higher learning.

Lastly, teachers must partner with parents and industry, said Mr Chan, as it takes a "village" to bring up a child.

Teachers must also understand what is happening in the world beyond schools, he added, and the Education Ministry is providing them with short-term attachments in the public and private sectors.

"We want our teachers to go out to learn, to grow and to bring back new perspectives that can enrich our own fraternity, in order to improve the way we teach and learn in our schools," he said.

Yesterday's event was organised by NIE's Centre for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP), which marks its 20th anniversary this year.

NIE director Christine Goh said the centre was set up in 2002 with the aim of improving classroom practices in Singapore schools.

"CRPP has also successfully developed a generation of local research talent, with many choosing to remain in NIE to increase our research capabilities," she said.

"With fast-evolving trends in education due to new and rapid local and global developments, combined with the transformations seen in education as a result of Covid-19, the need for a re-envisioning of education and schools for the future has never been more urgent and critical," Professor Goh added.

The three-day conference brings together local and overseas representatives to discuss educational research and broaden networks.