Jointly reported by:
Sophia Ng Szu Fei Sr2ScB
Tan Ginny Sr2A
Ming Xuen Amelia Sr3A
We were invited to settle ourselves in the meeting room on Saturday, 17 April 2021 just outside the Secretariat Department, where Principal, Dr Chua Lee Lee came in a few moments later. After a warm welcome and self-introduction, we kicked off the interview.
It was brought up that while the School was carrying out several new proposals, many students, especially seniors would be facing important exams that would impact their futures. The school had been bearing pressure from various parties including that of the parents, to provide more integrative and in-depth education to students. How would the school balance examination results and students’ holistic education at the same time?
When asked, Madam Chua replied that due to Movement Control Order (MCO) in force, many students have had to miss out on many annual activities, such as Sports Day, Cultural Week, Science Week and so on. To fill in the gap of not being able to experience an enriching student life like their seniors had, the School established a very first independent learning opportunity whereby students can decide the subject for themselves, from an open online course provided by Ewant.
Ewant, a massive open online courses (MOOCs) platform in Taiwan provides free courses encompassing all kinds of subjects from languages to psychology. The courses would last a certain period of time. During this time, students would have to watch course videos and do tests on their own accord. The main reason the school decided to push this program was to promote proactiveness amongst students and to encourage self-directed learning.
Despite receiving negative feedback from some students, the school had yet to respond or release a clear statement behind its whole motive. There were many questions to be answered. Why is replacing Computer classes with a self-directed learning website beneficial to students? Why is self-directed learning important? What about the needs of the students who are taking Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) this year? The School’s latest decision had in a way left students in confusion which led to a Senior Middle 2 student (who wished to remain anonymous) petitioning for the abolishment of such programme.
“I personally think that it is inappropriate for our School to have this big project in place without having done proper introduction to students. We are already bombarded with school work and this is taking up more of our personal time. Through the petition, I’ve found out that a large group of students did not agree with the new implementation. Furthermore, it should be done on voluntary basis, not mandatory when the outcome of self-directed learning would form part of our exam,” said this student.
Thus, we looked to the Principal for a direct response from her point of view. Throughout the session, she emphasized on the qualities of a “good” student. Apart from obtaining good grades, they must be actively engaged in learning. For example, involving themselves in co-curricular activities, self-directed learning programmes and volunteering. She said that students ought to partake in active learning, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has left massive impacts on society that forces students to adapt with preparedness.
Regarding future plans, the Principal mentioned that they were still being negotiated and drafted, but as we can see, these were only small parts of the big game ahead.
Madam Chua further shared the School’s education plan for the next few years, which was going to be focusing on student’s soft skills as they were often lacking. She wanted to encourage students to be interested in studies and to explore more independently instead of being spoon-fed by teachers. This is why the school implemented self-studying sessions and even introduced the platform Ewant. She also pointed out the qualities that were often being neglected by students were the 4C’s: critical thinking, collaborative skills, communication and creativity. “Steps to solving this problem would be to implement a new type of education”, she added.
First, the school will arrange time for students to have their self-directed learning sessions. This will encourage students to acquire and absorb vast fields of knowledge with ease. Through these sessions, students will improve their critical thinking skills and creativity. Moreover, because students would have their own expectations and fulfillments for each task, they will be able to schedule their timetable and follow their plans until they reach their goals. By having goals set, they will have self-control and the discipline to accomplish the task. Consequently, the students will be active learners, with an improved mindset that aims to think critically and internalise lessons from knowledge learnt. They will also grow to be passionate knowledge seekers.
In addition, the School will also implement a new Report Card in the future; one focusing on soft skills. It will keep a log of different activities that students have participated in. Main accolades that would be recorded include achievements won in competitions across different fields, experiences in group work, academic growth, performance in artistic and sports fields, experiences in social work, reading activities, and special skills acquired. This recognises a student’s growth in different aspects other than academics, which is important due to the higher emphasis of soft skills by universities and the 21st Century at large.
