28 schools to pilot new ways of sorting students into classes in 2020, in progress towards full subject-based banding
SINGAPORE — From 2020, Secondary One students at 28 selected secondary schools will be sorted into form classes by the level at which they take each subject, and not by their different academic streams.
This means that a form class may include students from Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) streams – and all will be studying common subjects such as Art, Music or Physical Education.
For subjects such as English or Mathematics, the students will then be grouped in classes according to the level at which they take each subject.
This is a key concept of full Subject-Based Banding (SBB), which will be rolled out to all secondary schools by 2024, and aims to provide a more customised secondary education for students.
“This common learning experience creates a valuable setting for students to mingle, build meaningful friendships, and appreciate different perspectives,” the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a media release on Tuesday (3 September) announcing the move.
“It can also help reduce the inadvertent labelling associated with streaming.”
Grouped according to level of subjects
Students under this reorganisation of form classes will still take a set of subjects at a common level. The subjects are Art, Music, Character and Citizenship Education, Design and Technology, Food and Consumer Education and Physical Education.
They amount to about one-third of curriculum time, and teachers will differentiate their teaching methods to meet the different learning needs of their students in the same form class.
For other subjects, students will be grouped in classes according to the level at which they take each subject.
Humanities subjects at higher level from Sec 2
Some of the 28 secondary schools have already been taking part in an earlier phase of SBB, which allows students to take the four PSLE subjects – English Language, Mathematics, Science and Mother Tongue Language – at a more demanding level based on their PSLE performance.
From next year, the pilot schools will also be able to offer Humanities subjects at a more demanding level from Secondary Two. The subjects are Geography, History and Literature in English.
The criteria for taking Humanities at a more demanding level will be based on the students’ aptitude for and interest in these subjects in Secondary One.
Bowen’s successful trial this year
Bowen Secondary School has rolled out SBB since 2017, and had conducted a trial in Term Two this year over five sessions, whereby Secondary 2 students attended Character and Citizenship Education (CCE) lessons together in their co-curricular activities (CCA) groups. Each group had about 30 to 35 students, and are all mixed gender, mixed race and mixed academic streams.
“Being in the environment where they did not know some of the other students, (the trial lessons) gave them a more authentic learning experience about building community,” Dorothy Lim, Bowen’s senior teacher of the CCE department, told Yahoo News Singapore.
“Students were able to mix and learn meaningfully with their CCA mates, who come from all three streams. Our trial blurred the lines of streaming, and provided for richer exchange of ideas and views from a wider range of social background and life experiences.”
From next year, former teachers in Bowen will seek to bond students more closely together through “Buddy Groups”, comprising two to four students, so that the students can look out for one another and learn how to work with others.
The school also plans to hold weekly “Class Bonding Time” where form teachers and students can choose to do class-bonding activities, such as reflecting on recent teachable moments or eating breakfast together.
Parent’s concerns alleviated
Parents are also supportive of grouping students of different academic streams together in the same class.
Homemaker Renu Devi was initially concerned when her daughter Gitika Tiwari, a Secondary One student at Edgefield Secondary School, was assigned to such a class under the school’s SBB initiative.
“I was worried if my daughter could cope with students from other streams; will she be able to gain confidence, get along well with them and ask them for help with her studies? Or will she be bullied if they find her weaknesses?” she told Yahoo News Singapore.
She was therefore pleasantly surprised to see her daughter forging close relationships with her peers, and growing in self-confidence.
“Nowadays, she is always willing to help others, and her views are completely changed in a positive way,” she said. “She is also more focused and well-organised in her work.”
More schools to introduce SBB aspects
Beyond the initial 28 pilot schools, more secondary schools will progressively introduce aspects of full SBB from 2022 to 2024. The pilot schools will share their learning points and best practices with other schools, to support smooth implementation across schools by 2024.
The 2024 Secondary One cohort will see a common national examination and certification framework, in addition to re-organised form classes. The Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical) courses will effectively be merged into a single course, such that these courses – together with their attendant labels – will be phased out.
The 28 schools are: Ang Mo Kio, Assumption English, Bedok Green, Bowen, Clementi Town, Deyi, Edgefield, Evergreen, Gan Eng Seng, Greendale, Jurong, Jurong West, Mayflower, Montfort, Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’, Pei Hwa, Ping Yi, Queenstown, Riverside, St Andrew’s, St Anthony’s Canossian, St Patrick’s, Swiss Cottage, Temasek, West Spring, Whitley, Yuying, Zhenghua.
Students and parents can visit the schools’ respective Open Houses and/or websites for more information, once details have been finalised, in the fourth quarter of 2019.
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