Reflection - Learn @ One Deg North - The Climate Change Challenge @ Science Centre (28 May)

Learn@ is a technology-based educational event organised by the Ministry of Education (MOE) on an annual basis. It aims to take learning outside the classroom and encourages pupils to make linkages between what they observe during the learning experience and what they learn in class. Based on their field experience and research, teams of pupils will be tasked to complete web-based projects and submit them as competition entries.

Teams will participate in an online quiz one week prior to the actual day event. Each team member must answer a set of 20 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) by logging in to http://www.icellwireless.net/learn/. The set of MCQs pertains to Land, Air and Water and must beanswered by the assigned team members, respectively.

All teams must attend the event launch and participate in The Climate Challenge on 28 May 2008. Team members are required to use their registered mobile phones to unlock 9 Climate Challenges and race against other teams to complete a total of 9 Team Quests from designated Climate Challenge Stations. Teams will use the blog as a platform to discuss and prepare a proposal that outlines an activity, or a series of activities, that the team can implement in their school, to raise awareness of the consequences of climate change, and rally support from their class and schoolmates in an effort to mitigate the effects of climate change. They should package their proposal as the final entries in their blogs.

The photographs were taken on 28 May (Wed). The team from Sembawang Sec Sch comprises of 2E1 pupils Rekha, Elaine and Yun Ru. They went to the briefing session earlier at MOE HQ and knew what is expected on the actual day. Throughout the whole event, they were enthusiastic and were keen on doing well for this session.

Reflection Term 2 Week 9 - Checking of exam papers procedure

After each major test or examinations, subject teachers have to give out the pupils' scripts for the pupils to check to ensure that the answers are marked correctly and the marks are added accurately.

Pupils are often overly enthusiatic about obtaining marks which they think they deserve and pester the teachers for extra marks.

To ensure the smooth flow of the checking and allow the pupils an opportunity to seek extra marks/correction for marking, a procedure for checking is important.

Therefore, I have designed a standard list of procedure for checking of test/exam scripts and for the marks to be keyed into the school cockpit accurately.

Standard Procedure after test/exam scripts have been marked

1. Prepare a set of answer sheet
2. Key in the marks into the school cockpit and click 'Save and Calculate'
3. Print the school cockpit classlist with the marks which have been keyed into the system earlier
4. Bring this marklist along with the scripts
5. Write the procedure of collecting the scripts on to whiteboard and emphasize to the pupil the importance of following the steps
6. Items on the whiteboard as follows:-
7. Sign against the classlist when collecting the script to ensure that the mark on the script tallies with the mark on the list
8. Refrain from discussing with your classmates but spend the short duration to check your anwers on the scripts to the answer sheet and ensure that the answers have been marked accurately and marks added correctly
9. If there are questions about the marks allocation, write in pencil the question number on the cover page
10. I would look through the entire set of scripts to add/deduct marks if necessary.
11. Do not ask me for marks in the lesson itself
12. At the end of the whole checking, all question papers will be returned according to your index numbers.
13. If there are corrections to your marks after the checking, the new marklist will be printed and all amendments should be acknowledged by the pupils by signing against the new marks.

Having procedures in class and setting the expectations for the pupils would enhance the checking process and pupils understand their role in the whole exercise.

Reflection on Term 2 Wk 8

Revision tests were conducted for the 2E1, 5A1 and 5A2 classes.

Advantages:

The pupils are kept in tune with the subject matter and are encouraged to constantly revise and to check their own understanding. For those pupils who did not do as well as expected, they now know which areas they need to work on and the teacher also knows which pupils are doing alright and which pupils need additional support.

How the test is administered:

For immediate feedback for both the teacher and the pupil, peer marking is done after the test. Every pupil will know their scores and then will do corrections for the tests.

Revision Tests conducted:

2E1: Light, Electricity, Using Electricity
5A1: Electricity
5A2: Electricity