Never
mind neat handwriting; switch to activity-based learning promises to turn
out confident children who speak up. by Sandra Davie, January 21, 2003, The Straits Times
(Singapore)
Kindergarten classes are about to get more noisy, and teachers will stop
standing at the front issuing orders and dishing out worksheets.
Children will be encouraged to ask questions and talk to their classmates.
And they will not have to turn in practice-perfect handwriting or
neatly-colored drawings.
A new program, developed by the Education Ministry, with help from experts
here and in Britain, moves away from what currently happens in many PAP
Community Foundation (PCF) kindergartens.
All preschoolers will soon be taught through play, activity, discovery and
experiment - methods already in use at many private kindergartens here.
The biggest impact will be felt by the 75 per cent of children who attend
the 312 PCF kindergartens, where the emphasis is on getting them in shape
for Primary 1.
Pre-school teachers say the new program may produce children who do not
write or color as neatly as the typical PCF product.
But it is likely to turn out more confident children, eager to learn and
able to communicate easily with teachers and classmates alike.
The change, announced yesterday, is based on the latest research on how
children learn and will affect about 70,000 children in PCF centers.
It was tested over the last two years when 1,336 children in 32 PCF
kindergartens were divided into two groups, with one group trying out the
new curriculum while the other stayed with the old.
At the end of the second year, youngsters under the 'play' approach were a
lot better at problem-solving, which includes matching and pairing items
and is important for mastering mathematics.
They also had better social skills, were more likely to discuss an
activity and share knowledge with classmates, and more likely to speak up
and ask questions.
They also sharpened their ability to speak English.
The biggest all-round impact was seen among children from lower-income and
non-English-speaking homes.
Some parents whose children were picked to test the new system were
worried at first that the youngsters might not be prepared well enough for
Primary 1.
Housewife B. Radha, 32, said: 'It made me quite nervous at first. My
neighbor's child, who was doing the old curriculum, was bringing home
worksheets and spelling lists, but my son had none.
'But towards the end of K2 I could tell that my son was ahead of my
neighbor's child in more important ways - in how excited he was about
school, and how curious and talkative he was.'
No deadline has been set for pre-schools to implement the new approach,
but all PCF kindergartens will adopt it, and start implementing some
aspects soon.
The study also looked at the link between the qualifications of pre-school
teachers and their ability to teach the new curriculum.
Not surprisingly, it found that those with diplomas in teaching
preschoolers were better at using the new curriculum and engaging their
pupils' parents.
Senior Minister of State (Education and Trade and Industry) Tharman
Shanmugaratnam, who announced the change yesterday, said it followed a
three-year effort by the ministry to raise the quality of pre-school
education.
In 2000, the ministry drew up its expectations of what pre-school
education should deliver, and set minimum qualifications for kindergarten
teachers.
By 2008, all teachers must have certificates in pre-school education, and
one in four, a diploma.
Only one in three PCF teachers now has a certificate and fewer than one in
10 have diplomas.
This contrasts with the situation at private kindergartens, where seven in
10 teachers are diploma holders.
The various standards will be formalized in a Kindergarten Bill, which
will be introduced in Parliament. Under the Bill, kindergartens will be
licensed.
But despite setting standards, the ministry is not taking over pre-school
education, Mr Tharman said.
There will continue to be room for diversity and experimentation, in
keeping with the Government's long-standing position on pre-school
education.
