Towards interest-directed learning at the General Paper level in Singapore

Introduction

Nobel laureate economist, Milton Friedman, in Free to Choose (1979), argues that students are likely to do better in school if they're free to choose what they study. This is the quintessence of interest-directed learning, where the system provides students with the platform to mix and match modules that appeal to them and cater best to their learning needs.

The Interest Direct Ability Customised (IDAC) Learning Model is constructivist in nature, with its central premises being that the program is student-oriented and learning-centred. The tutor takes on the role of a specialist, creating an environment in which students can learn, and pushing them towards cognitive development. The student-centred approach follows the guiding principle of interest-driven and ability-sensitive acquisition of content and the development of skills.

This IDAC Learning Model was birthed after a brainstorming session by several tutors, who asked themselves how they could best help the typical students we have at Jurong Junior College to maximise their language learning and value-add to their education, inspiring them to be motivated and active learners, as well as achieve an improvement in their General Paper grades. During the meeting, principles and ideas essential to the formulation of the IDAC Learning Model were first conceived, conceptualised and synthesised. Some of the central ideas deemed crucial in a learning model were that it should be student-oriented, ability-customised and, most importantly, interest-directed.

This is also in line with the college's vision of nurturing every student as globalised, independent, lifelong learners, while the tutors are developed as pedagogical experts and researchers in their own field of expertise. In addition, the direction of the college to develop the interests of the students through its Interest Directed Programme (IDP), alongside its Institution Governed Programme, was shared by the principal, Mr Koh, during the staff retreat in December 2004. This provided much inspiration and impetus to time the IDAC Learning Model with a revised curriculum framework. The space for curriculum innovation and implementation of the IDAC Learning Model is made possible by the strongly supportive college culture directed at transforming the school into an ‘edupreneurial' college.

Theoretical underpinnings of the IDAC Learning Model

The teaching of General Paper (GP) level is approached from the perspective of content acquisition and skills development. This is a departure from the traditional approach of merely dividing the teaching of GP into Paper 1 and Paper 2 categories. Paper 1 requires the student to write an essay on a given topic, which requires skills such as the composition of arguments and thesis statements into a coherent and cohesive extended form of writing. Paper 2, on the hand, requires the student to demonstrate his or her critical reading ability by answering a series of questions on a passage and, very often, comparing two passages. Quite clearly, a different set of skills is needed for each paper. Skills, such as making reasonable inferences and identifying assumptions, are tailored for Paper 2.

In the IDAC Learning Model, the teaching of skills remains paper-specific due to the distinct nature of the two papers. A new feature is that the teaching of content, though it has always been infused, is now made more intentional and deliberate. It has also become more explicit, with a constructed separation made through the specific assigning of content focus classes and skills focus classes.

Skills Development

The IDAC Learning Model stems from the basic impetus to meet the learning needs of the average student at our school. Our students have a range of language abilities, as attested somewhat by the disparate range in their English grades in the O Level exams. As such, in order to help the high ability students achieve their fullest potential in an intellectually robust learning environment, with challenging assignments, as well as to help the lower ability students do reasonably well through closer supervision, with acquisition and revision of skills at a more appropriate pace, the best strategy seems to be banding the students according to their ability and tailoring teaching to the students' abilities. It is a general consensus that the teaching and practice of such skills are infused best in an ability-sensitive environment. Hence, we have adopted the ability-customised approach.

Vygotsky views teaching as leading development instead of responding to it. If teaching is in the Zone of Proximal Development, students develop new cognitive abilities when a tutor facilitates learning through task-oriented interactions. Depending on various factors, a tutor will lend various levels of assistance over various iterations of task completion, encouraging the students to do as much as possible on their own, and then providing scaffolding when needed, so the task can be successfully completed. Vygotsky stresses the need for students to engage in challenging tasks they can successfully complete with appropriate help. It is particularly in the skills development classes, which are banded, where tutors are able to customise the teaching to the Zone of Proximal Development for the students of the ability band.

Content acquisition

As mentioned earlier, the teaching of content has always been part of the GP curriculum at Jurong Junior College. This is because of the need to expose our students to various broad areas of knowledge, so they can acquire better appreciation of current controversial issues, both locally and globally, as well to develop themselves into more informed and knowledgeable individuals.

The pool of knowledge that a General Papers student is expected to have is loosely categorised in broad themes based on syllabus, and each student is given a set of core notes on these topics. However, because of the range of topics to be covered, the depth of coverage in each topic is often compromised. The natural tendency would be that tutors who are more interested and well-versed in a particular topic, for instance War and Conflict, would devote more time to that. However, instruction would seem to revolve more around the tutor's interest and strengths rather than the student's. In other words, there may be students who are averse to War and Conflict, who would not want to attempt such a question during an examination, but would find themselves in an unfortunate situation where this topic is covered more exhaustively than the other topics.

This may perhaps be a rather extreme illustration, which may seem improbable. The truth is, however, such situations do happen in varying degrees, when teaching is centred on the tutor's interest and expertise, instead of on the students' interest and strengths. The IDAC Learning Model attempts to address this quandary by tapping into the tutor's expertise and knowledge, while designing the learning experience and content acquisition towards the student's interest. The hypothesis is that when teaching is oriented towards student interest, students are more motivated to learn, perform independent research and apply the information they have learnt.

The interest-directed nature of the program, aside from fulfilling Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner's requirements for developing a predisposition in the student towards learning, also delivers motivating benefits. The modules are planned to be challenging but achievable, instruction based on conceptual themes, featuring cooperative and collaborative learning and depth, rather than breadth of topic. All of these are qualities cited as important by researchers in the field of student motivation, such as Anderman (2004), Lumsden (1994, 1999), Guthrie, Alao & Rinehart (1997) and Howse, Lange, Farran, & Boyles (2003).

Content learning is categorised under broad themes for each term. Under each theme, a series of related topical modules are available for selection. For instance, under the Theme of Society and Self, a range of modules from Crime and Punishment, Prejudice, Discrimination and Rights to Family in Flux are made available for the students to select. Students rank the modules they are interested in and are allocated the modules that they have opted for.

Interest-directed selections

The other psychological benefit of interest-directed learning for students is that it, in some sense, captures some sense of play. In exchange for choosing what they most want to do, students are obliging themselves to the commitment required and the rules of the program. As Vygotsky argues,

‘The second paradox is that, in play, it adopts the line of least resistance – it does what it most feels like doing because play is connected with pleasure – and, at the same time, it learns to follow the line of greatest resistance by subordinating itself to rules and thereby renouncing what it wants, since subordination to rules and renunciation of impulsive action constitute the path to maximum pleasure in play'.

This interesting social contract was also later noted by our tutors, who taught the modules:

‘[Students] were aware that they had made a choice to be there, thus they were more focused in class.'
Ng Sue Ling, Lecturer

Teaching approaches

The stipulated theme for each term ensures that all the important focus areas are covered, while the specialisation in the sub-topics allows for deeper exploration and research into the areas of the student's interests. For the purposes of maximising each GP lesson, each module will only last for three two-hour periods. This will allow the each student to specialise in two content modules each term, out of the buffet fare of the five modules available. Given the fact that the tutor will only conduct three lessons for each content module, there arises a greater impetus to make each lesson meaningful and productive, as well as encourage a greater motivation to employ innovative teaching strategies to engage the students. Experiential learning, peer collaboration and the utilisation of Information Technology are some of the approaches the tutors have adopted to enrich the two-hour learning experience.

In the IDAC Learning Model, lectures have been removed in favour of tutorial classes to allow for maximum interaction and activity-based content lessons. According to Leontyev (1997), the development of consciousness is born out of activity. To a student, an activity first becomes a mental image but, through the social nature of activity, man becomes aware of his own actions. Hence, the student's experience of learning though activity strengthens the transference of knowledge.

Tutors' specialisation

The tutors' expertise and knowledge are also maximised, as each tutor is responsible for developing the content lessons for the module that he or she is most adept and interested in. Tutors retrace their steps and reflect on their pedagogy as they teach their series of three lessons twice in the same term. This gives them the opportunity to develop their own pedagogy, as they revise and improve the lessons they have taught earlier. Tutors also work together in small teams of two to three to produce a module package for the term. This provides a valuable platform for mutual sharing and learning, giving an avenue for the more experienced tutors to guide and mentor the less experienced ones. Greater ownership over the content module is also encouraged as the tutors develop their own lessons and have creative control over the materials they would use, instead of adhering to the set of instructor's notes prepared by other tutors and given to them for use. This input also personalises the set of lesson materials to the strengths and knowledge of each tutor.

Implementation of the IDAC Learning Model at Jurong Junior College

Having discussed the rationale and principles behind the IDAC Learning Model, in this section, we will look at how the IDAC Learning Model is operationalised at Jurong Junior College.

The planning

The preparation for the launch of this learning model began with a vision sharing session with all tutors. The discussion sought to promote maximum buy-in and ensure that every tutor knew exactly their roles as content specialists and content module owners.

Work began almost immediately as tutors made decisions on the themes to be covered in each term, taking a holistic two-year view. Tutors also opted for modules they felt comfortable working on for the first term. The flexibility to select the modules they wanted to work on afforded them the opportunity to pursue their research interests and develop their niche area of specialisation

As there were a total of five different content modules in each term, with five different teams working independently on each module, certain measures were taken to ascertain that standards and objectives were achieved. Guidelines to ensure standards of quality and parity were issued. This included the various requirements of each module, the expectations of the rigours and grading of the portfolio research paper, as well as exhaustive administrative instructions to facilitate smooth operation.

Each team was headed by an experienced GP tutor who took the opportunity to mentor the younger ones. They contributed and supervised each module, ensuring that it fulfilled the requirements of the 4C's, that is, possessing Core notes, raising sufficient Controversial issues, containing updated and Current information as well as making a clear Connection to the local context. Emphasis was also placed on creative pedagogical approaches and tutors were encouraged to avoid the conventional chalk and talk methodology.

Apart from that, each content module was expected to have a lexicon list that is related to the topic. This would enable the students to have the necessary and appropriate language to discuss the topic, as well as contextualising vocabulary acquisition. A list of past year examination question was also worked into the module, to demonstrate to the students the relevance of the topic to the GP Paper. The module also had to include recommended readings along with some good writing on the topic to whet the students' appetite and interest them to research for more. Finally, a series of vetting was also done by the Level Head and Senior Teacher of the Department to ensure that standards were kept.

The operation

During the first week of school, a mass lecture was conducted to introduce the students to the rubrics and expectation of the General Paper. The students were also initiated into the IDAC Learning Model, as well as the themes introduced. The theme for the first term was ‘Culture and Civilisation' and the modules available for selection were as follows:

The Arts: Students were introduced to a short history of the development of the Arts, what are its forms and functions and how it is different from pop culture. The arts scene in Singapore was explored and experiential learning as well, as students are expected to conduct some research on certain aspects of the Arts in Singapore.

Popular Culture: This is something that we see around us and experience every day. Seldom do most, however, stop to ponder deeper about it. This module looked at what popular culture is, how it is shaped, what it shapes and the advantages and disadvantages that it brings. It ended off with a look at popular culture in Singapore.

Language (Inter)action: While language is often viewed simply as a tool of communication, this module attempted to introduce students to view language and language use from different perspectives. Students established basic understanding of the socio-cultural aspects of language use and its complex interactions with the situational environment, socio-cultural practices and ideology.

Past in Perspective: This module examined the relevance of history and how past events can be both misconstrued and manipulated to achieve present less scrupulous purposes. The subjectivity of history as a male-motivated interpretation of the past was also discussed.

Cultural (R)evolution: This module considered the ways in which culture as a means of defining group and national identity can change, evolve and/or mature, and the factors that can cause and influence this process. We also examined how culture can evolve organically or is used as a tool for social engineering.

The students selected the modules that interested them. Following that, the allocation of modules and the generation of class list were done manually. This was a tedious process that consumed much unnecessary time. A team of tutors worked on the allocation over two days before producing the class lists of the 39 different classes. In retrospect, the extensive time spent on detailing and allocation of classes could have been more effectively deployed on lesson planning. With that understanding, and with the positive response the IDAC Learning Model has received after the piloting exercise in term 1, the college has commissioned the IT team to set up a computer program that will handle the allocation of classes and the generation of class lists. This adds value by saving time and freeing up the tutors to engage in more meaningful tasks.

Much conscious effort was made to allow each student to obtain his or her first and second choices. However, due to the over-subscription of modules such as Popular Culture and the under-subscription of the Arts, some students were unfortunately given their third and some, their fourth choice. The situation was exacerbated by the fact that there were three tutors teaching the Arts, as compared to two tutors in some of the other modules. A learning point derived is to anticipate the possible subscription and request for more tutors teaching the conventionally more popular topics. Another possible way to offset the uneven subscription is to package each module as equally appealing as the rest.

On the day of the content module launch, the GP department was abuzz with enthusiasm. Many tutors had prepared IT lessons and made use of multimedia resources to arouse the students' interest and to motivate their learning. Despite the anticipated confusion caused by a few students who did not know their class allocation, and the unexpected technical hitches caused by the failure of IT equipment, there was a sense of excitement and good spirit as the tutors took the mild disorder in their stride and improvised their lessons according to resources available.

The evaluation

In the evaluation meeting conducted on the day after the launch, these teething problems were addressed. A noticeboard where students could confirm their class allocation was set up. Tutors were also advised to enlist the aid of the technical assistants in the checking of technical equipment before lessons. Another issue that surfaced was that many tutors found themselves unable to complete the many activities that were planned for the lesson itself. It was realised that, in their enthusiasm, many tutors had planned more than what was realistic to complete in the time frame. Tough decisions had to be made to trim the lesson, retaining only the portions that were most specifically useful for the students.

Albeit the many concerns that were raised, there was general consensus that the students enjoyed the lessons and meaningful interactions took place in the classroom. That was a compelling reason for the tutors to continue putting in their best for the lessons to come. As repetition of lessons was a feature of the Learning Model, the tutors also had the opportunity to revisit the stages in their lesson, bettering their approach and strengthening their pedagogy as a result.

Evaluation and limitations of the IDAC Learning Model

Students' and tutors' responses

Feedback from tutors and students for the pilot theme ‘Culture and Civilisation' has been positive. A survey of 243 students offered some encouraging information. Fifty-nine per cent of the students indicated that they selected their module from interest. This is a figure we hoped to improve, and possibly has to do with the fact that many students originally indicated no interest in ‘Culture and Civilisation' whatsoever. The majority received their first choice module (73%). Eighty-three per cent of those who received their first choice indicated that, after getting the module of their choice, they were motivated to learn. Those who did not receive their first choice indicated that it did not affect their interest and learning (71%). Even more encouraging was the news that 52% of the students did further independent study/research based on what was discussed in class, many of their written responses indicating that they did so out of personal interest:

‘I was intrigued by some of the paintings shown and discussed during the lesson, so I did some research to find out more about them.' (The Arts)

‘The content was interesting … I was also interested in the module after the lesson, so I personally did more research for own interest.' (Cultural Revolution)

‘I was compelled to make my own research file on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict due to increased interest in the module.' (Past in Perspective)

Tutors are cautiously positive about the early results and strongly affirm the program's pedagogical direction and rationale. Encouraging passion and motivation is an important goal for the General Paper, which traditionally many students found it difficult to like despite (or perhaps because of) its immense scope. Since the implementation of the programme, tutors have observed clear signs of increased interest and motivation in their classes:

‘Students are more engaging in class and the quality of classroom interactions has increased due to the IDAC model.' - Ravi Shankar, lecturer

The program was also felt to be a win-win situation for both teachers and students. This will not only develop teacher experts with knowledge specialisation and professionalism and comprehensive, well-conceptualised content modules, but will, at the same time, spark off the intrinsic motivation of students:

‘Tutors get to explore their pet topics … They [can also] incorporate interactive activities that will allow in students knowledge acquisition through discovery and critical thought, which will stimulate higher order thinking and reinforce the concept of TLLM- Teach Less, Learn More.' - Sally Chua, senior teacher

Limitations and shortcomings

Apart from the administrative and logistic problems that were raised after the first lesson, the Learning Model, for all its obvious advantages, has certain inherent shortcomings. The short duration of three lessons for each module could have been criticised as being insufficient for an exhaustive and comprehensive coverage. Yet the short duration was essential so that the students were able to take at least two modules in one term. This ensured that scope of coverage is not forfeited for depth.

However, detractors may argue that with, specialised knowledge in only two topics for a theme, the extent of broad coverage is still rather limited. One reason why extent of coverage can afford to be sacrificed to a degree for depth of knowledge is the nature of the GP paper. Students are allowed to select a topic from a span of topics given, and demonstrate both content knowledge and an ability to use the knowledge to address the nuances in the question. It is thus possible for the student to specialise and study in depth, to select focus areas, and use the content knowledge as fodder for their exposition. Arguably, this is more useful to students than skimming through complex and debatable issues in order to cover the entire gamut of topics considered to be of worth.

However, range and diversity are still concerns that are important to tutors, as is the need to teach students to practise intertextuality and the ability to link ideas and concepts together, especially across themes and genres. Paper 1 exam topics are also fluid in nature, and tutors naturally want to prepare their students to answer as many questions out of the 12 as they can. Students exposed to variety will also cope better when faced with Paper 2 themes AQ demand a knowledgeable response.

‘We must ensure that we put in place accessibility to other modules taught concurrently, so that while students gain depth, there will be diversity and breadth of knowledge through exposure to other content areas which will give students a wider choice in their selection of essay questions in exams. The Student Learning Management System [LMS] should be utilised for this purpose.'
Sally Chua, Senior Teacher.

As mentioned, this shortcoming may be overcome to some extent where the core notes of all modules are uploaded onto student-sharing portals and made available for interested students. In the last three weeks of term 3 in first year, as well as in term 3 of the second year, time is apportioned for a quick review of all core notes summaries, which contain the most essential information for each module. The new modules prepared for the new thematic cycle feature cross-theme issues and none are really stand-alone. Rather, they offer lenses through which to look at other themes. For example, the ‘Mass Media' module will examine its impact on ‘Crime and Punishment'. As the Learning Model continues to develop, more methods will be secured to bridge the themes, creating interlinking highways of information for our students.

Another possible limitation would be that, while the tutors can explore their areas of interest and specialisation, there is a danger of developing a team of staff that are only experts in their niche areas. To counteract this possibility, tutors are encouraged to venture into different topics and take on different modules in the subsequent years. In addition, tutors also share their lessons and core materials with one another before the execution of lessons for feedback and to promote a clearer understanding of what others are doing in their modules. Finally, the instructor's notes for each module are made available for all tutors to peruse, so that tutors are kept updated on what their students are learning.

Another feature of the Learning Model is that it enforces a constructed segmentation between skills and content. The reality is that skills cannot be practiced in a vacuum. As such, efforts are made to ensure that the materials used in the skills module are in line with the theme for the term, as well as that sufficient opportunities are given to allow students to put into practice the content they have acquired in the skills class. Once again, the last three weeks of term 3 in year 1 and term 3 in year 2 provide the time and space for a marriage of the two through the purposeful exercise of skills in the application of content.

This far and further

Despite the shortcomings listed, the student's evaluation and tutors' reflections on the piloting of the Learning Model have been generally positive so far. As this paper is to chronicle the pioneering of the IDAC Learning Model at Jurong Junior College in its initial stage, the direct relationship between the implementation of IDAC Learning Model and the improvement of students' results can only be ascertained with time. Despite this, the effectiveness of the approach to engage the students and motivate learning is evident. Although the IDAC Learning Model is backed by the sound constructivist theories and approaches to pedagogy, more could be done to improve and enhance the interweaving and synthesis of skills and content, as well as to ascertain the delicate balance between depth and scope. The purpose of this paper is not to suggest that the IDAC Learning Model as the way to go for all but to share unreservedly the vision of interest-directed learning, a possible approach towards it through the IDAC Learning Model, as well as the challenges encountered in the school's implementation. It is our hope that the paper will provoke thought and generate a meaningful discussion.

Acknowledgement

We would like to record our appreciation to Mrs Lydia Tan-Chia, former Head, English Department, Jurong Junior College, for her integral role in the conceptualisation of the IDAC Learning Model. We would also like to thank Mr Koh Yong Chiah, Principal, Jurong Junior College, for his visionary leadership and relentless support.

References

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