Being in the education field does not mean we are ignorant about what's happening out there in the bigger, resource-scarce playground. In fact, my interest is in physics applied to defense technology and arts. These interests led me to conceive more possibilities with what I already have in terms of knowledge.

And why is it important to know what's happening in the business realm?

Businesses are usually very lean entities that needs to be extremely sensitive to supply and demand, and optimised in its daily operations. Any businesses that are not fast in catching on to changes will not survive for long. To know what businesses are concerned about keep us informed of areas that may soon have a huge impact on us.

Looking at how MOE is evolving, they are likely to have consulted external firms to incorporate modern management style over time.

This term VUCA you hear about in the education field came from a larger food chain out there which you will see in this article.

So, don'…

As learners, we want to have the ability to learn continuously and learn on the go as we adapt to the new routines needed in our home, work and community. Generally, VACU comes to mind.

As educators though, we peg some end points to learning dubbed as learning outcomes. We have picked up and tried various teaching pedagogies based on different school of thoughts. There is no one best fixed formula for a class or an individual. However, based on data analytics, having a higher ratio of direct methods to inquiry methods gave the best results.

So yes, whether you are a super tutor or just a concerned parent, some fanciful stuffs are always good, but continue to focus on technologies that work.

Who is a better student when everyone is finally getting A1s?

I would tend to vote for the student who has gotten into a growth mindset advocated by Prof Carol Dweck.

As you can see with the flowchart above, a student with a growth mindset is likely to have greater ambitions and achievements so you can save a lot of breath nagging at them too about their life or manners or what they should be or what passion they should look into.

It is very easy to check if your child has evolved into a growth mindset. Just give him or her a scenario A and B. Scenario A is easy while B presents more challenges and complications. If your child happily choose B after some thought, he or she is quite likely to have shifted into the growth mindset.

What about you?

The growth mindset was logically sound and allows an individual to develop and unlock a higher potential. But, it sure took me a while to get into the growth mindset even though I saw its immensity in the beginning.

As for my fellow teachers in…

WE DID IT AGAIN!

But questions were always raised for splendor.

Is Singapore School all about drilling as pondered by this article?

No way.

It seems like people have fallen behind times or perhaps school is still associated to drilling or they just hate that next kid with the best results.

Here's the fact from someone who've been through the school systems in Singapore as a student and teacher:
Singapore schools use a variety of inquiry and direct approach to help stimulate the curiosity and organise the learning of students while being alert to neuroscience findings and cutting edge technology such as AI and VR.

That's the direction we are generally on. We embrace a paradoxical approach of being open and sharing in order to achieve the zenith in developing our the only precious natural resources that we have, that is, the unlimited minds of the future.

Sure, results vary with different teachers. But you will be surprised to find stubborn colleagues opening up to new approa…

Ever had the suspicion that we are just not good enough?

You are not alone.

This is even more so for our children today when the merit nature of our school pits our children against one another. This may be necessary to stimulate their growth to a certain minimum level within a limited time frame like in an arms race. One side effect of this is when our children take it to heart about the differences in results between him and another individual and start to doubt his ability and potential. The worse part is when parents start to think the same and show it. This is a modern tragedy.

Fortunately, research tells us clearly that intelligence is not fixed even though some of us may start off with better 'wiring' for a particular area. We can always learn and practice to become better version of ourselves everyday. This process continues to overhaul our initial 'wiring'.

How shall we learn?

We can learn by imitating what others are doing. There is nothing wrong with that. B…

Does this sound familiar to you? Discipline drives us to do the work we don't like but is required. Discipline keeps our irrational fear in check. Discipline keeps us going when our curiosity, motivation and excitement fizzles out.

Dave Berke says it best in his article on the importance of discipline.

Fear and anxiety get to us at different times and place. Right now, students are preparing for their prelims and O levels. After all is said and done, holding on to discipline and moving on with discipline will make all the difference.

No matter how quick-witted or discerning a student is, O levels test how well-prepared the student is. Students who are able to exercise discipline during this period of time usually handle the O levels examination much better.

Unfortunately, we may not get the desired effects when we force discipline down someone's throat. The meat we impose on others is usually deemed as poisonous. They will find us naggy. My students felt that way when I preach…