SINGAPORE – As one steps into Jing Shan Primary School, it is hard to ignore a row of tall cases full of lush, green, leafy vegetables. This space in front of the canteen is called the Sprout Spot.
It houses an indoor hydroponics planting system, where pupils grow and harvest baby bak choy, lettuce, mustard greens and kale.
The school in Ang Mo Kio produces at least eight harvests a year, and the vegetables are distributed to canteen vendors, pupils, staff and guests of the school.
The Sprout Spot is part of its Applied Learning Programme, which sets out to foster a culture of sustainability through lived experiences. Subject lessons and learning spaces feature prominently in the campus.
Vice-principal Angela Ng Suat Theng told The Straits Times that the school believes in sustainability as a way of life.
It adopts the “teach, embed and live” approach, where pupils and staff are agents of change, and champion sustainable practices learnt from the school in their own homes and the community.
Ms Ng said: “When students believe that their actions and decisions matter and can make a difference, they are more inclined to make everyday decisions that reflect a sustainability mindset.”
Innovative spaces like the Sprout Spot illustrate the farm-to-table concept to pupils as lived experiences.
With the School White Area and Canteen Grant to be introduced in 2024, the Ministry of Education (MOE) hopes that schools will tap it to innovate and optimise their learning spaces, to enhance their 21st Century Competencies efforts.
Raydon Law, 10, a Primary 4 pupil at Jing Shan Primary and member of the Environmental Science Club, said he enjoys learning about sustainability out of the classroom, and hopes to see more new learning spaces.
“I would like to see rainwater harvesting spaces, so that we can filter rainwater and use it for other purposes. And also more solar panels, so that we can produce clean energy and learn about how it works,” he said.
As part of the Transforming Education Through Technology (EdTech) Masterplan 2030, MOE in June 2023 launched the Adaptive Learning System (ALS) for Mathematics for three topics covered at the Primary 5 level.
Rosyth School was involved in the ALS Deep Dive, which trialled the use of ALS as a pre-lesson diagnostic tool.
The artificial intelligence-enabled ALS makes customised learning recommendations for each pupil, based on how the pupil responds to the questions and activities.
Mr Victor Chew, head of the information and communications technology department at Rosyth School, said that with the ALS, there was differentiation provided, which complemented self-directed learning.
This enabled teachers to have a better understanding of their pupils’ mastery of concepts, and to adjust their lesson plans to target pupils’ learning needs more effectively.
Mr Chew said the school uses a hybrid approach, where teachers combine digital learning with the physical environment to enrich the learning experience.
They are always looking for ways to improve, and are looking forward to boosting their pupils’ digital and AI literacy with the launch of the EdTech Masterplan 2030.
Mr Chew said: “These are skills and mindsets that are necessary for students to navigate the future world. As educators, we can facilitate this process by providing them with meaningful learning experiences.”
