Nurturing Future-Ready Learners in Singapore: A Focus on Digital Learning and Multiliteracies

• In Event: The Schools of the Future? The Future of Schools? Learning From the International Perspective

Abstract

Objectives: This talk describes how Singapore schools are nurturing its students to become future-ready. Set within the context of the Smart Nation drive in Singapore, the talk discusses the efforts towards developing students with 21st Century Competencies through pedagogical initiatives such as promoting digital learning in schools and through curricular reforms. It highlights the example of how the syllabus in classical subjects, such as the English Language, has been renewed to be future-oriented and broadened with an explicit focus on cultivating multiliteracies in students.

Perspectives: As a high performing education system, Singapore has continually reviewed its curricula and programmes to ensure that it prepares students well for the future. The latest set of curricular reforms and pedagogical initiatives are in light of the whole-of-nation drive towards the Smart Nation vision, which was launched in 2014 towards digital transformation. The goals of the Smart Nation are to support better living, stronger communities, offer more opportunities for all, improve people’s lives and connect citizens using technology, as well as create new economic opportunities using technology. Within the educational context, the ICT in Education masterplan has been launched to galvanise schools towards the effective use of educational technology to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. It spans from the active promotion of digital innovation projects, the provision of a national student digital learning platform, to the strengthening of cyber wellness practices amongst students. There is a keen emphasis on cultivating an ecological environment in schools for digital learning through efforts aimed at school leaders’ culture-building, professional learning of teachers, and reliable infrastructural provisions. In tandem with the developments, regular reviews of all subject curricula have led to the design and implementation of syllabi that are regularly refreshed and future-oriented. An example is the English Language 2020 Syllabus which has been revised to broaden beyond language learning (reading, writing, speaking, listening) to a focus on (multimodal) literacy development in the digital age. Multiliteracies is identified as one of the foci, with a cogent emphasis on communication in the digital age. Students will learn to view multimodal texts critically and to make multimodal representations effectively with digital technology.

Data & Methods: This study adopts a document analysis approach to the following set of data: 1) Singapore Smart Nation Initiative reports, 2) Singapore Ministry of Education ICT in Education Masterplan documents on the ICT Connection, and 3) Singapore Ministry of Education English Language 2020 Syllabus.

Results: The findings suggest that the Ministry of Education plans and curriculum are in concert with the national initiative towards the Smart Nation vision and are poised for implementation across schools in Singapore.

Scientific Significance: The findings suggest that education system and schools can prepare students for the future through pedagogical initiatives and curricular reforms that place an emphasis on digital learning and multimodal communication in the digital age.

Author

• Victor Fei Lim, Nanyang Technological University - National Institute of Education