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Wonder if your child can benefit from online classes? We have gathered the 8 critical features for Online tuition that boost the effectiveness of our classes! As a (online or offline) tuition centre with students coming from different schools, a robust and flexible curriculum and a strategic way of teaching (as opposed to going through answers solely using assessment books or past year papers) are essential to align students of different calibres and to steepen their learning curves. Now that all tuition classes have to go online, it’s no surprise that parents start wondering “Can my child learn as effectively in front of a computer?” and “Am I throwing money into the sea?” Over the past weeks of personal teaching experience, I have gathered 8 important and critical features to have for online classes that helps to close up the gap between online learning and classroom setting. 1. Teach using PowerPoint Slides with animation effects. In classroom setting, I have the luxury to show the step-by-step strategy to solve a question. I can now mimic this experience by using animated PowerPoint slides where points are shown as clicked, and as I speak! This helps my students to focus on one thing at a time, instead of being flashed with a cluster of information (this creates a kind of stress and they would probably switch off). This beats writing on the digital board as it takes more time, which gives our young ones the perfect opportunity to drift away. Besides, the digital fonts are nicer than my handwriting. On top of that, PowerPoint presentations still allow me to highlight, to write and to draw if I needed to fill up more information. And this works with English such as comprehension open-ended too! I simply place one question per slide, and accompanied with the comprehension text on the other side. Added on with the sequential animations, it works like a gem! 2. Don’t scroll the pages excessively! Sometimes I may need to use PDF/word/excel documents, and I make it a point not to scroll the pages excessively (up and down) or scroll them too quickly. This frustrates the kids (try doing that to yourself) and possibly makes them giddy. If need be, click on the page number at the top and move from page-to-page. Otherwise, attempt to scroll at a slower speed. Adding on, instead of flashing a big chunk of notes, try the Comment function and slowly release the information one at a time... 3. High Energy Speakers I cannot emphasise enough how this is so important for online classes. If I think engaging the kids in a classroom setting takes 100% of my energy, I am doing 200% for online classes! Easy to tell, try sitting through a monotonous lecture for 15 minutes, I bet you fall asleep before that. The volume and tone of my voice, my non-verbal actions… It doesn’t kill to drop in some humours into the lessons with some prepared jokes, no matter how serious an educator you are. Above and beyond, kids are still kids, I can get their attention easier with a ‘funnier’ way of teaching. 4. Live streaming Features Most of the tuition centres will be dealing with live-streaming. Against popular belief, live-streaming classes take a heavier toll (physically, emotionally and financially) on educators than classroom setting. The preparatory works, the transitions, the worries of whether your kids learn properly, whether they can trouble-shoot their digital devices, whether we can complete the syllabuses on time, if my parents are satisfied and the list goes on. That aside, what I want to say in this column are the features that we must have, or rather MUST NOT have. (i) Disable private chats among students or group chat. As much as sharing of knowledge is important, when the setting comes online, it is inevitable that the kids will spam the chat with non-related content. It is VERY disruptive for the class. (ii) Make sure the Share-Video is on. Privacy issue? Sits the kid against a wall so others still won’t see his/her background. Switching on the video allows me to check the facial expression of my students in order to determine the progression of the class. And for the tutors, I think it is psychologically very depressing to be talking to black screens! (iii) Mute the students during teaching (do not allow them to unmute themselves) As much as I encourage engagement, during teaching, I have to mute them. Being unmute somewhat encourages them to talk, and mostly irrelevant things. Rather, my take is to allow them to raise hand (digitally) and to keep directing questions to individuals for engagement, and so unmute him/her separately. (iv) Security Measures This is primarily the biggest concerns of parents around the world. So, please be sure that security measures are prioritised over monetary expenses. 5. Science Demonstrations, Online resources and Bring-the-experiment-home! I do a lot of Primary Science. One of the key features in Geno House is that we carry out experiments to explain certain concepts visually. Now that the kids aren’t able to do so, we improvise by recording Science Demonstrations and using online resources that allow the students to conduct digital experiments (recently the students were constructing their own electric circuits, some ‘exploded’ safely). We also post to our students the simpler experimental kits and protocol, so they can conduct the experiment while following our demonstration ((https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMcRvsS0tk). In this way, they can still bring the fun home! 6. Recorded Videos by Sections I provide pre/post-recorded videos for my students, for a couple of occasions and reasons. Mostly, they are done in segments such as lecture or certain sections of tutorials. Clearly, the file for the entire live-streaming will be too huge and trust me, I am almost 99% sure that they will not watch if I were to send them the entire 1.5-hour of the lesson video. (i) Recorded content, especially the important ones, they are still taught during live-streaming (in case they skip my video altogether). However, some lectures with deeper concepts will be pre-recorded to facilitate the transition between classroom setting to online learning. This gives them time to watch again on videos if they are unable to catch up during class (or if the platforms lag). (ii) Post-recorded content. Knowing that online learning could take a while for some students to get used to, if I spot any blur faces during, I will post-record that segment and send to them too. 7. Organising submissions and uploads Let’s say one tutor teaches 2 classes, with 10 pupils per class, we are talking about 20 emails per week, back-and-forth. And surely, we have more than one set of tutorials that needed to be submitted. Not just for the tutors, students would be confused and lost with emails flying around. At Geno House, we organise our uploads and submissions using the G-platform, so our students will always be able to retrieve the materials themselves, even if their parents aren’t around. One thing, my previous worry about kids unable to handle digital platforms, I am so wrong, IT is in their blood! 8. Small Tuition Class Size (maximum 10-12) Despite lessons conducted remotely, I strongly believe the live-streaming lessons would be the most effective if the student numbers do not exceed 12. This allows me to have enough contributions from the floor (learning the unknown) and yet I could monitor each of them and decide on the lesson progression. Hope these 8 critical features would be useful for your child’s learning journey over this period of online learning!

No matter how well prepared the child is for summative assessment, it is still very important for parents to get their children to be familiar with the assessment format. The table below summarises the duration, question types, mark allocation for upper (Primary 5 and 6) and lower block (Primary 3 and 4) sciences.

When marking students' scripts for GCE 'O' levels, there are general marking principles for the examiners. Here are six common ones below. Marking principle #1: Marks are awarded in line with the specific content of the mark scheme or the level descriptors for the question the specific skills defined in the mark scheme or in the level descriptors for the question the standard of response required by a student from the standardisation of scripts among examiners. Marking principle #2: Marks awarded are always whole marks, i.e. no half (fraction) marks. Marking principle #3: Marks must be awarded positively for / when: correct or valid answers, as defined in the mark scheme. valid answers which are beyond the scope of the syllabus and mark scheme. students clearly demonstrate what they know and can do. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are only judged when the mark scheme indicates so. Nevertheless, the meaning of the students' answer should not be ambiguous. Marking principle #4: Rules must be applied consistently e.g. in situations where students have not followed instructions or in the application of level descriptors. Marking principle #5: Marks are awarded using a range of marks defined in the mark scheme for the question. The marks awarded are also based on the quality of a student's answer. Marking principle #6: Marks are awarded solely on the requirements as defined in the mark scheme. Marks should not be pegged with cohort performance.

Instructions for this year's PSLE are found on SEAB website here. All the best to our pupils in their preparations!

Hooray! The June school holiday is around the corner! Geno House is a proud partner for this coming SAFRA Punggol Weekend Fun! There will be lots of fun installed for the little kiddos, where they embark on a fun learning journey through play, exploration and experimentation from a range of specially curated zonal workshops – Literacy zone, Arts zone, Science zone and Gourmet zone. In addition, Geno House will be providing a talk on primary science education. Don’t miss this great opportunity to build bonds and create memories with your children while developing their creativity through play! For more details and registration, go to https://www.safra.sg/juneweekendfun#.XOEzE8gzbIX

If we teach a child to read, yet develop not the taste for reading, all our teaching is for naught. We shall have produced a nation of “illiterate literates” – those who know how to read, but do not read. The major purpose for teaching children to read is to help them become readers who readily turn to books for information and enjoyment. (Charlotte S. Huck, 1973) Parents need to start the good habit of reading. The younger the child, the easier it is to inculcate this habit. In this post, we aim to help parents to identify the reader type that their child belongs to. We hope that this will enable parents and teachers to more quickly recommend early intervention strategies to improve the child’s literacy level. According to Beers (1998), there are five basic types of readers along a continuum of literacy level: “unskilled”, “unmotivated”, “uncommitted”, “dormant” and “avid” readers. It is our aim to move children towards the “avid reader” category. Reference: Beers, Kylene (1998). Choosing not to read: Understanding why some middle schoolers just say no. From “Into Focus: Understanding and Creating Middle School Readers”. Christopher-Gordon Pub.

Children habitually construct their own mental models to make sense of the world around them. When these constructions conflict with acceptable scientific ideas, they form the misconceptions – a barrier to successful learning in Science. It is important to identify a child’s misconception as early as when he is exposed to daily Science. Otherwise, the child would find misconceptions to be resistance to modification, partly due to the repetitive use of these constructions to explain his daily life occurrences. Clarification at the initial stage is therefore crucial to enhance the effectiveness of eradicating these erroneous mental models. A good science educationist offers content knowledge and helpful examples via reasoning processes that lead to conceptual generalizations. How would educators then, bust the misconceptions that were formed prior to a child’s formal Science education? Identifying Misconceptions Misconceptions need first to be identified before they can be corrected. Table 1 lists some common errors experienced by students. Without proper understanding of the concepts, students may also fail to apply to the correct context. To recognise students’ misconceptions at school, educators could integrate active discussions in a fun and engaging manner, so that the students could feel at ease and respond spontaneously, which often linked to what they actually believe. Other approaches include the after-class evaluation via True/False questions to check their understanding, or to increase the frequency of feedback sessions to unveil the mistaken beliefs. Overcoming Misconceptions Young learner tends to accept a “new” concept when he is not satisfied with his “old” one, and that the replacement idea is able to assist him to solve a current problem. Once accepted, educators and parents should include activities that support the building of this replacement concept, such as exposing the child with more problems that embed with the right concepts in the solutions. Listed below are some other approaches that could be adopted; (1) Construct concept maps or Venn diagrams to visualize a group of concepts and their interrelationships (2) Conduct demonstrations or hands-on activities to address to the misconceptions (3) Design and establish process skill questions that are not resolvable with their mistaken theories (4) Assess and reassess the validity of students’ concepts Parents could facilitate the corrective process by addressing to the child’s misconceptions instantly when discovered. Classroom activities need to clearly refute misconceptions so that students can successfully assimilate the accurate scientific facts. Notably, a proper reassessment tool must also be established to ensure that the efforts of clarification have not gone down to waste. #ssciencemisconceptions #dowellinscience

Over the years, we have come across many concerning parents with questions like “Does your centre use keywords in (primary) Science?” or “My child did not score well because he is not using the right keywords in his answers.” Needless to say, it is the job every tuition centre to seek for the right keywords that are used in Science and programmed into the curricula- through encounters and experiences. But what about those who do not attend tuition classes and hence do not get to enjoy such ‘luxury’? Here are the suggestions of some easy ways where students can pick up those keywords by themselves. It does take a bit of effort considering students are young learners and may need more time to put together information. (1) Corrections from school tutorials Many kids probably do corrections for their mistakes as obligations. But this way of picking up keywords from corrections is impeccable! Moreover, if he regurgitates those words in exam and does not get the marks, correction sheet instantly become evidence! (2) Given Options in MCQ Every MCQ gives a selection of options and the keywords (especially the correct option) will be imbedded in it. Besides, it seldom happens that schools will randomly use words in the other options, except that the inaccuracy of content is intended. Hence, this can be a good way to find the right words / phrasing to use in your section B answers. (3) Science Assessment Books Many assessment books (based on MOE syllabuses) these days have included keywords in their answers. (Like our S.O.A.R. In Science! that incorporates keywords into our study notes, summary maps and answer sheets). To ensure that the phrasing method works, students could simply pick up the phrases, use them in their school tutorials and wait for the papers to come back! Why do we say so? Different schools have different expectations. We personally encounter a student who get full marks for using the phrase ‘get oxygen’ while another kid got a BIG, RED CROSS! Reason? The comment in his exam wrote ‘take in oxygen’. (Thankfully, our students are taught ‘take in oxygen’) Hope these tips help!

Failure to follow instructions, basic errors in computation and data extraction, or even a wrong label may eventuate in a grade that does not reflect your child’s true understanding of concepts. How often have you, a parent, done through your child’s test, only to experience the familiar lamentation of, “Oh, if it weren’t for carelessness?” Despite bringing up the issue again and again, its prevalence belies the promised efficacy of proposed solutions from educators, often leaving you perplexed and exasperated. We believe carelessness is due quality attention, and that by clearly defining the issue, we are best positioned to manage it. Cause and Effect There are two root causes for the malady of carelessness, students’ attitude and mentality. These are some familiar instances of both, with their associated results. Students with sound grasp of concepts work relatively quickly and believe they could obtain the correct answer. These students find it unnecessary to review their work, or perhaps find it too tedious to go through the entire paper again. As a result, they tend to make more careless mistakes than a slower, less confident child. Another group of students who do not take the time to think metacognitively tend to avoid situations in their area of weakness. Instead of spending time to review those “harder” questions after they were done, they seem to conspire within themselves to deliberately pay less attention in checking those answers, which in fact require more attention as they are more prone to carelessness. For some reason, when the first person turns in his test script, the majority of the other students start to speed up. This haste produces more careless mistakes and reduces the quality of work. Moreover, this concept of “faster being smarter” has induced unnecessary anxiety on the slower ones, which causes them to lose concentration for the test, and thus, a surge in careless mistakes. This sampling of some causes of carelessness and the associated types of lapses demonstrate how we can classify and prepare to engage these issues; by aligning them with a framework such as this. Refer to Figure A. Complacency should never be an excuse, and a proper process of checking can mitigate the problem of carelessness to a large degree. Anxiety can be managed with good pacing; even systematic way of working and reviewing can help to build confidence and allay nervousness. Over time, a good personal time management can overwrite the wrong mindset of being affected by others’ pace. Carelessness is not to be taken lightly; with proper processes and consistency, it is something that can surely be handled to a good degree. Reference Van Kraayenoord, C.E. & Paris, S. (1997) Australian Students Self-Appraisal of Their Work Samples and Academic Progress. In :The Elementary School Journal” 97 (5), 532-537 #minimisecareflessness #scoreinexam