Does it matter how we answer children's questions?

"Why is the sky blue?" "Why do we have to eat vegetables?" Children often bombard parents and educators with many questions. What do we do? Do we ignore the question or do we answer them? How do we answer them?

As parents, we can do a lot to encourage higher order thinking when we are answering children's questions. MOE has announced that the way English is taught to upper primary pupils will be changed so that the focus will be on making them speak the language more confidently and to know to use it beyond the classroom. MOE will also be tweaking the PSLE English Examination in 2015. The changes aim to help prepare pupils for the 21st century workplace which demands strong communication skills and higher order skills like analytical skills and critical thinking skills.  How can parents encourage the development of higher order skills at home? 

Came across an article on encouraging higher order thinking a few years ago when I was doing research for a course on gifted education conducted jointly by MOE and GERRIC, University of New South Wales. Managed to find the article and would like to share the gist of the article here. 

According to Robert Sternberg, a professor psychology and education at Yale University, we can categorise our responses to children's questions into seven levels, from low to high. Here are the seven levels:

Level 1: Reject the question

Question: "Why do I have to drink milk?"

Answer: "Don't ask." or "I said so."

Level 2: Restate or almost restate the question as a response

Question: "Why do I have to drink milk?"

Answer: "Because you have to drink milk."

Question: "Why is the room so warm?"

Answer: "It is 34 °C outside."

Level 3: Admit ignorance or present information

Question: "Why is the sky blue?"

Answer: "I don't know but that's a good question." 

OR Give a factual answer

Question: "Why is the sky blue?"

Answer: "The sky is blue because ..." 

Level 4: Voice encouragement to seek response through authority

Answer: "Let's look that up in the encyclopedia." OR

              "Let's look that up on the Internet."

Level 5: Encourage the child to brainstorm together or consider alternative explanations

Question: "What determines a person's intelligence?"

Answer: "Let's brainstorm some possible answers."

               "Maybe it's due to genetics or maybe it's due to the environment . Perhaps it's due to        

               _____________."

Level 6: Encourage the child to consider alternative explanations and think of a means of evaluating them

Question: "What determines a person's intelligence?"

Answer: "How are we going to evaluate the possible answer of genetics? Where would we find that 

                  information? What about information on the environment?"     

Level 7: Encourage the child to consider alternative explanations plus a means of evaluating them and follow through on evaluation

Question: "What determines a person's intelligence?"

Answer: "Let's search for the information. We'll search through the encyclopedia and the Internet. Then we will get back together next week and evaluate our findings." 

Question: "Should children have a Facebook account?"

Answer: "Let's conduct interviews or contact people whom we know to do a survey. Then we will get back together a few days later to evaluate our findings."

According to Robert Sternberg, parents should avoid answering children's questions at Levels 1 and 2. Hopefully, this article will provide parents with some insights on how to have discussions that can help their children develop critical thinking.

Source:

Sternberg, Robert., (1994) Answering Questions and Questioning Answers: Guiding Children to Intellectual Excellence. Phi Delta Kappan. 76(2), 136-138.

MOE Workplan Seminar 2012 - New Way of Recognising Schools

As an ex-teacher, I am very keen to find out the issues that the Minister of Education will address during the annual MOE Workplan Seminar.

I applaud the fact that MOE has recognised that both the School Excellence Model (SEM) and the Masterplan of Awards (MoA) have led to "too much administrative work and fuelled public perception that schools are chasing awards". Yes, Minister Heng is absolutely right. At some point in my career, being part of the school middle management team, I often wondered why schools have to spend hours writing reports and collating evidence for SEM. The hours spent is even longer if the schools are garnering for certain awards. Isn't our time more well-spent if we dedicate it to plan our lessons and school-based programmes to address the learning needs of our pupils?

Hopefully, with the simplification of the framework to achieve and recognise school excellence, schools can minimise the time spent and administrative work involved on reporting and "focus on putting students at the core of their daily work". Only then will the public not perceive that schools are chasing awards at the expense of losing their focus on their core business.

Ideally, there can be a small team of administrators (who are non-teachers) to look into this reporting. Only then will teachers and middle management have more time to focus on the core business of education. I have known several teacher friends who have the potential to be key personnel in their respective schools. However, many have turned down the offers as they find that it is "more fulfilling to teach than to write reports". Nevertheless, it is a good start that MOE has recognised the need for improvement to the current school reporting and recognition system.

An Inspirational Video Clip for Parents

As parents, are there days when you feel so tired that you wish you can do nothing yet you persevere to bond with your children? On weekdays, you either read to their children before bedtime or coach their children. On weekends, you take them out on family outings. There is very little time left for yourself.

This is a short inspirational video clip for all parents to affirm that what you have been doing is priceless. The sacrifice is well worth it. It is neatly summed up at the end of the clip,
"To the world, you might just be one person. But to one person, you might just be the world."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfZhReSOP9w

Why do children ask so many questions?

Children ask many questions. Many of their questions involve one word, "Why?" As parents and educators, how do we deal with these questions? Do we brush the questions aside? Do we answer their questions?

A friend shared a link to an interesting article on his Facebook. A good read for parents and educators. The article highlights why children's questions are crucial to learning.

http://www.salon.com/2012/05/20/why_wont_you_answer_me/

Food For Thought: Preparing Kids for the Challenges of 21st Centurty

Came across a meaningful video. It will serve as food for thought for parents and educators. How do we prepare our kids for the challenges of the 21st century?

Take note of the skills required in the 21st century.

http://vimeo.com/4429902

What is the best gift for teachers?

What is the best gift for teachers? I read an article on the best gift to give to teachers on Teachers' Day and this prompted me to write this blog post.

The best gifts I have received do not cost anything. They are the happiness, satisfaction and pride that I have when I see the faces of my pupils light up with smiles as they proudly share with me their progress in their learning journeys.

I have shared in a blog post a few months ago the transformation I saw in a graduating class who managed to overcome their phobia and dislike for Math. I would always remember how moved I was when the class shared with me how they managed to overcome their phobia and dislike for Math.

Whenever the kids share with me how they have changed for the better or how I have influenced them to modify some of their actions or behaviour, I find myself smiling. Yes, these gifts are priceless. These gifts keep me going as I hope to touch the lives of my young charges, like the way some of my teachers have touched mine.

Yesterday, one of my Primary 6 tutees, Z, made a trip to the learning centre to show me all her Prelim papers and to pass me a handmade Teachers' Day card. She has done very well for all her subjects. She shared with me happily that she topped the level for English and scored 38 marks for her composition. I am very happy for her as I have seen her grow and blossom. She has put in a lot of effort during these two years, compiling phrases from story books and learning the phrases that I taught the class. She always goes the extra mile to revise thoroughly what has been taught in class, be it synthesis, Oral and others. Z shared with me that she was inspired to do well after attending my lessons. Here are her thoughts and reflections of her learning journey with me.

I read and re-read her card. I am really happy to have touched Z's life.

The joy in teaching is derived not only from helping high ability students realise their full potential but also in inspiring weaker pupils to do better.

One week ago, a P6 girl who is in my average ability Science class, M, showed me her Science Prelim Paper. She asked me if I was happy with her score of 58 marks. M used to fail her Science examinations in P5. I asked her, "How did you feel about your score? I'm happy for you as you have shown an improvement." I will always remember the glow on her face when I acknowledged her effort. M was struggling for the first part of the year and she lacked confidence. I was harsh towards her when I realised that she did not revise certain concepts. However, as the months passed, I could see her putting in more effort. I was happy for her when she showed an improvement in the last few class tests. She smiled shyly when I praised her.

Last Friday, many of my ex-pupils visited me at my learning centre. Some of them reminisced about the "torturous" Quick Write tests that I used to administer to gear them up for the PSLE. One pupil shared with me that because I believed that they could learn to write well and hence shared with them many writing techniques, he managed to improve in his writing. At the end of the year with me, he re-read the first composition he had written as a test (I always did this to let the pupils see for themselves their progress during the year) and realised that he had come a long way.

On the same day, I was moved when I read a card from an ex-pupil, L. L had made the card herself. As I read what L had written, I reminisced about the past. L did not have a lot of confidence at the beginning of the year. However, she had excellent attitude and was diligent. I encouraged her and told her to believe in herself. I was brimming with pride after reading a story written by her in a Composition class test in late August. L had managed to use many of the writing techniques that I taught the class. She adapted a story that I taught the class and wrote her own touching story about how the relationship between a grandchild and his grandmother changed after an incident. After reading the card written by L, I was happy for her. She had grown and blossomed to be more mature and confident.

Some of my friends asked me before why I continued to be a tutor after I left the service. My answer, "I love teaching." Teaching is not only about imparting knowledge to your charges. It is about influencing the children and inspiring them to believe in themselves and to have the right attitude and character. It is also about influencing them and inspiring them to do their best. I always keep the notes, cards, letters, smses and emails that pupils gave or sent me to update me on their progress. The satisfaction and happiness that a teacher gets when his or her young charges make progress is priceless.

Happy Teachers' Day!

To all my teachers and teacher friends,

Happy Teachers' Day!

A Tribute to Teachers (Part 1)...

Teachers' Day is round the corner. I would like to take this opportunity to say a BIG thank you to all the teachers who have touched my lives in one way or another.

I have been very fortunate throughout my learning journey as I have met many dedicated teachers who have inspired me to scale greater heights. When I was in Primary Four, I met Mr Wong who set up a class library to encourage his young charges to read. I did not love reading at first. I realised that some of the good writers in class had read many of the books that he recommended. The rest was history. I became a bookworm, thanks to Mr Wong!

I transferred to Chongfu when I was in Primary Five as my family moved to Yishun. There was only one graduating class when I was in Primary Six. Looking back, it must be tough for the teachers to cater to the learning needs of all of us as the class was very diverse. There was no luxury of streaming or banding the pupils as the school was new then and had only one class of P6 pupils. Being the top pupil in class, I found the worksheets in school easy. I approached my teachers and asked if I could borrow some resources that I would find more challenging from them. My teachers beamed at me and said, "Certainly!" I remembered working through the Challenging Problem Sum box sets by myself. When I encountered questions that baffled me, I would approach my Math teacher, Ms Lina Tan, for help.

I credit my writing skills to my Chinese teacher, Mr Tham. Yes, he was the one who made me discover the joy and wonders of writing. He coached me personally to prepare me for National Chinese Writing Competitions. He taught me the use of personification, contrast and Show, don't tell techniques. Many of these techniques were advanced for a primary school pupil then. Hence, it is my belief now that it is never too early to learn anything. If I think that my tutees are ready to learn something more advanced, I will impart the knowledge to them. For example, my P4 tutees in my English classes are exposed to writing techniques such as personification.

My English teacher, Mr Chan, was also very inspiring. He introduced the thesaurus to us when we were in Primary 5. He made me realise that English is a very interesting language. The words "move" or "say" have different synonyms that have different shades of meaning. I began to realise that there are many vivid words that we could use in our compositions. He also inspired me to be bilingually effective as he used to be an interpreter for the Parliament. I worked very hard and was awarded the Prime Minister's Book Prize.

There are many other teachers who have touched my lives. I will continue to pay tribute to them in my next few posts.

Do you have teachers who have touched your lives? As Teachers' Day is round the corner, I think it will be great for us to try to contact our teachers and thank them.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
~ William Arthur Ward

Sept P5 English Oral Holiday Programme - SPEAK!

Dear Parents,

There are no more vacancies for P5 Sept English Oral Holiday Programme - SPEAK! For those parents who have enrolled your child for the programme, please take note of the details:

Day 1: 8 Sept (Sat) 9 am to 12 pm (Oral + Composition)
Day 2: 9 Sept (Sun) 11.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. (Oral)

MOE tweaks PSLE English Language paper for 2015 cohort

Primary Four pupils will face a revised English Language syllabus next year. In addition, the English Language Paper for the PSLE will be tweaked for the 2015 PSLE cohort.

Being an ex-teacher in school, I find that the textbooks and workbooks written for the previous syllabus are inadequate to address the learning needs of the pupils. Of course, they are even more inadequate when it comes to preparation for the PSLE.

MOE came up with the revised English Language syllabus in 2010. The STELLAR programme is aligned to the syllabus and is designed to address the learning needs of the pupils. As part of the programme, English is taught through stories and texts that appeal to children, with explicit grammar instruction. I think the STELLAR resources are gems.

Questions on parents' minds will likely be: Are schools ready for the changes? Are teachers equipped with the necessary skills to implement the changes?

There will definitely be some teething problems. I sincerely hope that MOE will look into teacher training to better equip teachers with the necessary content knowledge and skills so that they can impart their knowledge to their young charges. Why do I say that?

Let me share with you two situations that occurred last year. One of my P6 tutees was questioned about his use of a fragmented sentence in his composition. He had deliberately used the fragmented sentence for impact. Another P6 tutee was questioned when she used personification in her story. They were from different schools. The two children were confused as they were taught literary devices in my English classes and they had come across similar phrases in the story books that they had read. They wondered why they were questioned by their teachers.

I can understand why the above situations occurred. Some of the English teachers may not have taken English Literature in secondary schools. Hence they may not be as aware of literary devices as the rest of the teachers who have taken the subject before.

To implement the revised syllabus effectively, we must first ensure that the teachers are on a level playing field. The two anecdotes are a clear indication that at the moment, the playing field is not level yet. If we read through the revised 2010 English syllabus, in the focus area of writing,  pupils are expected to be able to appreciate and use literary language (metaphors, similes etc) at the Upper Primary level. Instead of being lauded for using literary devices, the two kids were questioned by their teachers.

The revised 2010 English syllabus clearly outlines the learning outcomes at the different levels. I am excited about its implementation. Let's hope that with adequate teacher training, all the children benefit from its implementation.

Click on the following link to read the announcement made by MOE on the tweaking of PSLE English Language Paper for 2015:
MOE tweaks PSLE English Language paper for 2015 cohort - Channel NewsAsia

Click on the following link to find out about the revisions that will be made to the PSLE English Language Examinations.
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/press/files/2012/09/annex-b-pri-el-curr.pdf

What type of learner is your child?

Children learn in different ways. There are several distinct learning styles and learning your child's learning style can help you to adapt your coaching at home to make it more fun and effective. 

http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/07/find-out-what-type-of-learner-you-are.html