Could you tell us about your background?
I began my teaching career as a primary school teacher and held the posts of head of science department and school staff developer. Prior to joining NIE, I had a stint as a Senior Academy Officer at the Academy of Singapore Teachers. There I was involved in the design and facilitation of professional learning programmes and school-based consultation for key personnel and teachers.
What prompted you to join NIE as a teaching fellow? What do you hope to accomplish through your stint here?
As a doctoral student in my last lap towards the finish line, a secondment to NIE offers an excellent opportunity to not only to connect with like-minded people but also to hone my skills as a teacher educator and a researcher. Most importantly, I am in a position to impact teaching and learning through my courses which bring theory closer to the practitioner— something I worked hard at doing as a curriculum leader in school. Through my courses, I hope to engage teachers, teacher leaders and key personnel in making meaningful links between theory and practice. As a strong believer of inquiry into practice, I hope to encourage more educators to experiment with research-informed practices collaboratively and in partnership with experts and knowledgeable others.
What are your areas of focus for your research and courses?
At NIE, I teach pre-service, in-service, post-graduate and graduate professional learning courses. My courses focus on areas ranging from general pedagogy to leadership in assessment and feedback practices in schools. Particularly, I teach courses in effective feedback practices as this is also an area of focus for my doctoral research. My research study focuses on primary science teachers conceptions and use of formative feedback through discourse analysis. I believe that research on the practices of feedback in classroom discourse can provide a more holistic view of teacher feedback literacy.
What are your beliefs towards assessment?
I believe that assessment should enable learning and learners. As a student, I experienced assessment as high-stakes examinations, the results of which determined what subjects I was good at and what courses I would be offered. I remember vividly how I got a fail score for Art in lower secondary. It was the last time I attempted to draw anything with confidence. Now that I look back, perhaps I would have been motivated to try again if the assessment had been formative and if feedback had been provided. It is heartening to see a shift in the national direction towards assessment in recent years. With this shift, my hope is that teachers can use assessment as an enabler for learning instead of for the purpose of testing alone.