Deepening Professional Practice: Teachers As Learners, Teachers As Leaders

Teachers’ Conference 2010

“Deepening Professional Practice: teachers as learners, teachers as leaders”

TITLE OF PAPER

Model of a school-based pedagogical research lab: Pedagogical Research Lab

Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)

RGS PeRL

Name of Author: Mary George Cheriyan

Name of Institution: Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary)

E-mail Address:

SYNOPSIS

Raffles Girls’ School (Secondary) Pedagogical Research Lab (RGS PeRL) aims to foster a culture of informed practice within the school, asking fundamental questions about what works in the classroom and why. In a culture that prizes academic achievement, such evidence is critical to its stakeholders. RGS PeRL provides a platform for the publication and presentation of teachers’ research-related work. Believing in the value of an indigenized paradigm towards educational research, it aims to provide a localized context to educational research which may reveal different findings from that conducted in other countries but are yet, applied widely in our schools. It actively seeks collaborative research opportunities with other educational institutions.

BACKGROUND

The setting up of the RGS PeRL evolves from certain strategic developments in the school. I will focus on 2 key areas of strategic change:

1. Independent School status

In 1987, the government introduced the independent schools scheme by which selected schools were given autonomy in areas like school fees, student admission and staff recruitment. The assumption was that the decentralisation of educational management gives greater flexibility to schools to introduce innovative practices which were more appropriate for their unique contexts, unfettered by the Ministry’s regulations. (J Tan, 1992, p150).

As a school that caters to the top 1-3% of the student cohort, RGS has consistently emphasized the harnessing of a repertoire of strategies that not only deepens understanding but also strengthens the pupils’ capacity for sound thinking. When it became an independent school in 1991, the impetus to provide a stimulating and innovative curriculum, was further sharpened.

1. The Raffles Programme (2004)

The momentum for curriculum innovation and review was further enhanced with the implementation of the Raffles Programme (RP) in 2004. RGS, together with Raffles Institution (now referred to as RI Year 3-4) and Raffles Junior College (now referred to as RI Year 5-6), embarked on a 6-year through-train programme in which the girls from RGS and the boys from RI ( Year3-4) proceed seamlessly to RI (Year 5-6),by-passing the ‘O’ level examinations. The rationale for the RP was that data has consistently shown that both RI and RGS students were university bound anyway as the pupils were admitted to these schools with high PSLE scores in the first place. The change was therefore, a dynamic response to the need to optimise the potential of these highly able pupils through the provision of a curriculum that truly stretched their abilities and provided them with the opportunity to explore their unique strengths.

The above 2 developments have contributed not only to a culture of pedagogical innovation, but also of constant review of the effectiveness of the programmes in optimising the potential of the pupils.

Some of the strategies and approaches that have been systematically implemented school-wide wideare:

• The Understanding by Design (Wiggins and McTighe,1998) framework for curriculum and unit design
• Elements of Reasoning ((Richard Paul, 2002) for Critical Thinking
• Socratic Questioning
• Concept Development Model (Hilda Taba, 1996)
• Integrated Curriculum Model (Van-Tassel Baska, 1986) for curriculum development
• Performance Task (Alberta Assessment Consortium) as an alternative assessment model

The setting up of RGS PeRL has to be viewed within this culture of innovation and review. Through pedagogical research, RGS PeRL seeks to examine the effectiveness of curriculum practices for the purpose of review, improvement and innovation. Such scrutiny of the curriculum and assessments is particularly essential within the Singapore context that places high premium on exam achievements. With the absence of the ‘O’ level examinations in the Integrated Programme, there is no visible manifestation of the outstanding achievements of the RGS pupils in terms of exam performance. It is hoped that evidence-based pedagogy and assessment will address this gap and lend weight to the school’s legacy and visibility as a reputed school for the education of highly able pupils.

RGS PeRL also hopes to support the school’s plans for accreditation as an internationally recognized institution for the education of gifted and talented females, by providing evidence of reflective practice and evidence-based curriculum.

In short, RGSPeRL plays a role in projecting the school as a hub for educational research,leveraging on the school’s culture of curriculum review and innovation to confidently examine curriculum practices and seek innovative approaches to teaching and learning.

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

RGS PeRL’s purpose is reflected in its vision, mission and goals:

Vision: To establish RGS as a reputed centre focused on research and pedagogy for the education of high ability females.

Mission: To cultivate a culture of informed practice that promotes student learning and forms the basis for educational policy in RGS.

Goals:

Short-Term: To transform RGS into a self-directed educational research lab that focuses on knowledge creation pertinent to the needs of high ability girls.

Long Term: To enhance the teaching staff of RGS and other institutions with powerful pedagogies that have a firm research base

Stretch goal: To be an integral part of the academic & professional discourse on Gifted Education (especially for teenage Asian girls) both locally and internationally

UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES / THEORETICAL UNDERPINNING

There are 4 key principles that undergird RGS PeRL’s work:

1. Reflective practice cultivates thoughtful teaching

RGS PeRL conducts and facilitates investigative inquiry into innovative practices in the school, asking fundamental questions about what teachers are doing in the classroom; what works and why. It also facilitates practitioner inquiry in the school by providing research support and training to the rest of the staff who may wish to embark on their own forms of action research.

1. Reflective practice translates into ‘enhanced teacher efficacy:’ (Stronge, 2002)

School-based research is a potent strategy for professional development[i] because it is a learning process[ii] which is systematic and collaborative within the context of the classroom and school environment.Such reflective practices enhance teacher efficacy and professionalism in terms of pedagogical decisions and practices in the classroom (Stronge,2002). To further augment professional development, RGS PeRL seeks out external platforms such as notable journals and conferences to publish and present teachers’ research-related work.

1. An indigenized paradigmin educational research generates home-grown improvements to educational practices

While scientific information on how the human brain works may be universally applied in teaching and learning, the context in which one learns surely influences ones’ actual learning experiences and attitudes. For instance, the Asian emphasis on academic and scholastic achievements has an impact on the behavioural patterns and expectations in the classroom and students in Asian schools tend to be more guarded in the inquiry process compared to their Western peers. Yet, Western models and research findings are applied widely in our schools. RGSPeRL therefore, aims to provide a localized context to educational research which may reveal different findings from that conducted in other countries.

It particularly seeks to address the gap in the research literature on the pedagogy for highly able Asian girls. While Western models and principles of Gifted Education have been well adapted to the school, there is a need to review their effectiveness within the realities of our cultural context.

1. There are multiple pathways for career progression

As a school positioned at the frontline of educational trailblazing, it is also important for RGS to create more career options and progression pathways for the staff so as to attract and retain talent in gifted education. In line with this, RGSPeRL teacher-researchers are placed on the specialist track, an alternative to the teaching and leadership tracks. They conduct school-wide research independently, with teachers in RGS or even with external research partners.

As schools seek to pupils with 21st century competencies, the inquiring, metacognitive teacher is vital to the process. Not only does the teacher cultivate habits of critical and innovative thinking in the students, the teacher needs also to model it as well.

DESCRIPTION OF APPROACH AND PROCESSES INVOLVED

RGS PeRL consists of the following domains: Research, Presentations and Publications and Consultancy.

Research

The research work done by RGS PeRL falls into 2 categories.

1. School-wide : Such research is driven by the RGSPeRL Specialist Teachers to shed light on the effectiveness of schoolwide curriculum practices. Currently, RGSPeRL is conducting research on the value of the Performance Task as an alternative assessment mode in RGS. The research utilizes a concurrent mixed method design with an overarching research question. This multi-strand research design provides a broad base scan of the impact of Performance Tasks on teachers’ practices, students’ learning and their perceptions by using both quantitative and qualitative data collected to answer the specific research questions.

1. Department and group-based: This research is conceived by departments and groups that may embark on innovative pedagogy and approaches. RGSPeRL supports them by guiding them in the crafting of research questions and methodology, providing resources such as software and the support of the Research Assistant and offering them a platform to present and/publish their research work. Currently, RGS PeRL is supporting a research on the factors that influence students’ buy-in of 1 to 1 laptop learning in an Apple-funded project which is piloted in 3 classes.

Consultancy

RGS PeRL also conducts consultancy for other educational institutions, aiming to share its research findings as well as some of the school’s curricular best practices, focusing on a localized context to the notion of effective pedagogy. Its strategy is to provide post-training consultancy to enable workshop participants to translate the theory to practice so that they learn by doing.

This year, RGS PeRL conducted workshops on the design of the Performance Task as an alternative assessment mode.The presenter highlighted the theories and principles of the Performance Task, placing them within the local context and sharing our own triumphs and challenges in designing and implementing such an assessment mode. The feedback from workshop participants was extremely positive. Many of them cited the grounding of the principles on actual classroom experience and practicalities of our local context as a valuable aspect of the workshop.

RGS PeRL will continue to conduct workshops on the Design of the Performance Task, anchoring them further with the research findings as they emerge.

Presentations and Publications

RGSPeRL selects possible platforms for teachers to present and /or publish research-related work done in RGS. The Lab is also keen on joint publications and presentations with other members in the educational fraternity to benefit from the synergy of collaborative discourse as well as to raise the visibility of Asian educational research. In 2010, about 8 research-related papers have been presented at conferences.

Partnerships

In order to benefit from synergistic wisdom and expertise, projects conducted and facilitated by RGS PeRL are done in collaboration with external partners; namely, the National Institute of Education (Singapore). In April 2010, a Letter of Intent was signed between RGS and Center for Research in Pedagogy and Practice (CRPP) which inked the research partnership arrangement between RGS PeRL and CRPP. Currently, we are involved in a joint research project on the Performance Task.

The value-addedness of a research partnership with RGS PeRL is the practitioner inquiry paradigm that the latter brings to the research. This is because our research is driven by questions and gaps that arise from actual classroom practices and its findings ploughed back into tangible pedagogical outcomes.

PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

On the Approach and Processes involved

Strengths

a)The uniqueness of RGS PeRL lies in its position as a school-based model of a research lab. Our research agenda is a response to a desire to examine the effectiveness of our pedagogical practices in terms actual classroom experience. It gains resonance from practitioners’ perspectives of and experience in the practical aspects of classroom pedagogy within the local context.

I experienced this reality when I conducted a workshop on the Design of the Performance Task as an alternative assessment mode in July this year. The main feedback given by the workshop participants was that the training was practitioner-oriented and embedded within the Singapore school context. This feedback strengthens my conviction that the Singaporean educator needs to unabashedly embrace the realities of our context, leveraging onits assets such as a high regard for academic excellence, respect for hard work, the integrity of our assessments and the willingness to learn and adapt from others. There is no need to sidestep these inherent elements in our system.

b)RGS PeRL is also open to research collaboration and consultancy with other educational institutions. We welcome joint research projects and sharing of platforms for best practices and knowledge generation of what constitutes an effective classroom. I believe that this open-mindedness to collaboration and sharing stands us in good stead.

c)Human capital has been a key factor in the significant strides we have made as a new organisation. As the Director of RGS PeRL, I have had to lead my team of Specialist Teachers in conceptualising the vision and mission of the organisation and its raison d’etre in a manner that resonated with us. Fortunately, I had just completed a Masters in Public Administration at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. The Programme heightened my understanding of the principles of organisational and strategic management as well as Human Resource management which I have been able to apply to the organisation. I also bring to it my own experience with curriculum design, implementation and review as well as professional development programmes, as both teacher and leader. The Specialist Teachers are similarly experienced in pedagogy and curriculum leadership. As a team, we share a passion for the classroom as well as the value of an Asian discourse on pedagogy especially for the highly-able Asian girl.

Challenge

RGS 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.

On Professional and Personal Development

In setting up this Lab, I had to examine deeply my own raison d’etre for such a Lab.

On the one hand, it embodies the vision of the Principal, Mrs Julie Hoo, to transform the school into an educational research hub, reflecting our experience in educational innovation and initiatives. We acknowledge this as an ethical obligation to the nation given the flexibility as an Independent School since 1992 and then as an Integrated Programme school from 2004, to embark on innovative practices.

But personally, as the Director of PeRL, I bring to it my convictions on the value of the reflective practitioner who constantly examines her practices with the aim of enhancing the value and magic in every lesson. As a teacher, I have experienced several heady moments in the classroom when my students and I robustly uncovered insights and questions on issues together. In setting up RGS PeRL, I have become clearer in my conviction that our students deserve to be at the forefront of our pedagogy. The effectiveness of pedagogy should be evaluated in terms of its learner-centredness and learner empowerment. The learner should be equipped with the skills of engaging with the content so that she makes meaning of it in terms of its relevance and benefits to the world she lives in. In fact, RGS PeRL’s motto is:

Uncovering Wisdom through Pedagogy

I have also developed an understanding of the notion of indigenous research, gaining greater confidence in advocating for an Asian paradigm in research as well as in addressing the gaps in the research on the learning needs of the highly able Asian girl.

Even in the Western context, research has shown that the highly able girl faces challenges such as identification testing that favours boys and the tendency of teachers to take note of the boys in the class rather than the girls. The Asian highly able girl, however, unlike her peers is in an environment that emphasises and values academic excellence:

How do societal expectations impact her learning targets and career choices?

What kind of classroom works well for her?

What kind of support does she need to optimise her potential?

Currently, there is little research to shed light on these questions. RGS PeRL unabashedly seeks to address this gap.

I strongly believe that the Singaporean educator should be less self-effacing and self-deprecatory of our educational system. My experience at overseas conferences has irrevocably convinced me that the Singaporean educator is on par and often, ahead of our peers elsewhere. Rather than merely listening to others, we should be boldly declaring our educational strides with the aim of contributing to a universal discourse on meeting the learners’ needs. At the recent Asia-Pacific Conference for the Gifted held at Sydney (2010) it was heartening to see many Singaporean presenters sharing our practices.

An Asian perspective to educational discourse is overdue.

CONCLUSION

For a new organisation, RGS PeRL has elicited significant interest and support from external organisations. I believe that this reflects a genuine sense of community amongst educators and a common desire to engage and empower our students through evidence-based pedagogy. The success of this organization will be demonstrated in the extent to which its research findings are applied to curriculum and pedagogical improvement as well as the level of collaboration and network built with external parties.