Applied Learning Programme@EDP

Nurturing Thinking

In Endeavour Primary, our Applied Learning Programme (ALP) is on “Nurturing Thinking”.

Through this ALP, we hope to achieve the following desired 21CC and learning outcomes:

1. Deepen students’ sense of purpose in learning by relating what they learn to authentic situations

2. Use Learner-centred pedagogies to help students become self-directed and collaborative learners

3. Increase student ownership where students discover, generate ideas, think critically, make decisions, evaluate and self-reflect.

At the bottom of the framework is Culture of thinking, which is fundamental for any type of thinking to take place. And in all thinking classrooms spanning across levels, thinking is a complete process, which begins with the generation of ideas, followed by delving deeper into these ideas and organising & synthesising them to culminate in meaningful mastery of concepts/skills.  The three different types of thinking routines ‘Generating ideas’, ‘Digging deeper into ideas’ and ‘Organising & Synthesising ideas’ are vehicles to facilitate the thinking processes.

In EDP, students’ learning profiles are taken into consideration when nurturing their thinking:

In the lower primary levels, students are initiated into the use of age-appropriate thinking routines and thinking is largely teacher-facilitated given students’ less developed writing competencies. At these levels, thinking can be made visible through verbal communication, demonstrations & drawings in addition to writing.  We hope to develop lower primary students into confident learners who spontaneously share their thoughts with others and provide peer feedback/evaluations through clear and effective communication.

In the middle primary levels, students deepen their thinking by thinking critically. In Science Subject, students will be engaged in a mini research project utilising an ICT tool (Knowledge Foundation platform) that allows them to research for relevant information and further build on the community of ideas. Using the scaffolds in KF platform, students will elaborate on their ideas and claims with relevant evidence obtained from various sources. We hope to develop them into self-directed and collaborative learners who are able to think critically, assess options and make sound decisions.

In the upper primary levels, students will be engaged in an interdisciplinary project, applying the thinking routines and knowledge-building principles they have acquired in preceding years. P5 students will partake in an interdisciplinary project where students use knowledge and skills acquired from different subjects (e.g. EL, Art/Music/PE & CCE) to propose a suitable and engaging activity for their VIA visit to an elderly home. The project culminates in a meaningful visit to the elderly home where students mingle with the elderly and thereafter, reflect on and share their rich learning experiences.  P6 students, on the other hand, will partake in the Social Studies cum English Language Interdisciplinary Project on contemporary issues and ASEAN. Through these, we hope to develop them into concerned citizens and active contributors with cross-cultural skills.