Pedagogical Research LabRaffles Girls’ School

(Secondary)(RGS PeRL)

A school-based model of a pedagogical research lab

Presenter: Mrs Mary George Cheriyan Director, RGS PeRL

Co-presenter: Mr Chris Ow Specialist Teacher, RGS PeRL

Presented at the Teachers’ Network Conference, September 2010

Underlying principles •Reflective practice cultivates thoughtful teaching

•Reflective practice translates into ‘enhanced teacher efficacy:’ (Stronge, 2002,p7)

•An indigenized paradigm in educational research generates home-grown improvements to educational practices 

The Raffles Programme curriculum is based on Gifted Ed principles:

Integrated Curriculum Model (Van Tassel-Baska, 1986): • Advanced Content• Higher Order process and product• Overarching themes, ideas & concepts

with salience to the real world

What’s the context to PeRL’s research?

Egs of Curriculum Map & Unit Plan. -Curriculum map-Unit Plan UnitPlan_FoundingModSpore.doc

Special emphasis on the Asian high ability female learner

Key thrusts Pedagogical practices: What works

Gaps in research on the Asian high ability female learner

Research at PeRL

According to the CORE 1 research, which characterised teaching in Singapore secondary classrooms, these (CT habits) are not common features. On the other hand, these are features of good teaching, not just teaching for the gifted. They have equal relevance to students in all schools, in all streams.

 For that reason, my hope is that PeRL might spend some time

helping RGS teachers capture, model and explain:

how teachers can plan and teach from the perspective of the learner;

how to listen and watch in ways that add value to classroom learning; and

how to teach in ways that help students to develop the habit of becoming reflective on their own habits as learners, as people.

Prof Peter Taylor, CRPP, 2010 

Research Infrastructure

1. 2 levels of research: a) School-wide: spearheaded and conducted

by Specialist Teachers

b) Department/ Group-based: initiated by other teachers but supported by RGS PeRL.

2. Research Office: protocols eg, application; template; ethical dimension

3. Role of a custodian: co-ordination; verve; catalyst; sees possibilities

Level 1: What are the factors that enable the implementation of the Performance Task and contribute to the outcomes?

Implementation of the Performance Assessment in RGS

Cognitive research (Gardner 1993) indicates that

most learning goes on within an active, rather than a passive context and “that children construct knowledge from their actions on the environment” (Wadsworth 1989)

Research projects

PT questions

•Factors that have enabled the PT to take root and be sustained as an assessment mode in RGS.

•Impact of the PT on the quality of teaching and learning

•Value-addedness of the PT as a complement to standardized testing

•Relationship between pedagogy and the PT.

Level 2 : Group/ department-based -Practitioner Inquiry

Egs:

1. Raffles Apple Mobile project: What are the factors that contribute to student buy-in of 1 to 1 laptop learning?

2. Under construction: Lesson Study (EL) and Historian’s craft

1. Advocacy role:

indigenized research; the learning needs of the Asian gifted girl

2. Learning Community of educators:

-consultancy: ideas on Best Practices-research collaboration (Letter of Intent

signed with CRPP in April 2010)

Implications & Consequences

3. Reflective Practitioners:

School-based research is a potent strategy for professional development because it is a learning process which is systematic and collaborative within the context of the classroom and school environment. The objective of such research to understand practice in order to improve that practice

Nowlan, D. (2001). Action Research as Teacher Professional Development.

Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2000). Participatory action research. In N.Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research. (2nd ed., pp 567-605). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Calhoun, E.F., (1993). Action research: Three approaches. Educational Leadership, 51(2), 62-65.

Implications & Consequences

PeRL’s ‘Blue Ocean’.

Raffles Girls’School

Secondary

ChallengeRGS PeRL is a small organisation with huge aspirations. We are still learning the ropes of research design even while conducting it. Our model as a school-based research lab is a double-edged sword: while it offers a ‘blue ocean strategy’ (Kim and Mauborgne,2005) of practitioner-orientedness in research and consultancy, we are also embedded within the school structures and activities and so, need to juggle adroitly these responsibilities with our research agenda.

Intent of the research is to apply it.ReviewImproveInnovate

Goal: that the purpose behind the practice-the pupil-learns better

Conclusion