OUR APPROACH: MAKING (X) VISIBLE
Learning institutions partner us in making learning explicit, adaptive and joyful.
Supporting wellbeing, 21st century skills and character growth cannot just be a buzzword. Too often, growth in these qualities stay abstract and unseen. This is especially so for the 90% of learners that ‘fly under the radar’ in school, at work and even at home.
To advance education, it is fundamental that we learn to observe, affirm and support growth in these holistic dimensions. The challenge is being able to do so in a way that is authentic and practical (without extra, repetitive work for educators).
This is why learning institutions have partnered us to make abstract ‘whole-person’ qualities visible in a systematic and meaningful way. Here are some case studies selected from our 30,000+ educators and learners:
Strengthening self-esteem, self-motivation and confidence in students at West Spring Primary
How do we bring about strong student and parent involvement in character development for West Springers?
In line with their mission to help students recognise their personal strengths, develop healthy identities and nurture self-awareness of their growth, West Spring Primary School launched the Values Identified Through the Actions of Learners (VITAL) programme in 2022. This programme involves teachers regularly recording positive behaviours of their students using HoloTracker, and sharing the data with students and parents via the VITAL student report.
The VITAL student report is not just any regular student report – embedded within are exercises created by the CCE team for students to practice reflective journaling, as well as parent exercises to affirm their children’s positive character from home! Together, they reinforce powerful school-home relationships on nurturing positive character. Over the last two years, the school has scaled this programme to a school-wide approach with all students and teachers participating.
Find out more about West Spring’s initiative on their school website here: https://www.westspringpri.moe.edu.sg/values/CCE-Programmes/VITAL/
Involving student voice in formative assessments of 21CC at Dunman Secondary School
How do we empower students to build strong self-awareness on 21CC and increase peer support using technology?
At Dunman Secondary, their flagship STEMviaDT programme marks a transformative journey to realise student potential in their adaptive and inventive thinking skills. Weekly, on top of working on hands-on projects to solve real-world problems, students also engage in reflection exercises to share observations of their learning experience. This process is done through HoloTracker, where students make positive affirmations of their behaviours first for themselves, and then for their peers. The data is augmented with teachers’ observations and processing of the information in real time.
Over time, these regular metacognitive exercises build muscle in their student’s self-perceptions in developing 21CC. Trends in the school’s meta-data suggest that students mature in their ability to articulate personal learning after every lesson. We even see students stepping up in support of group mates that they feel have gone less noticed by their teachers by using HoloTracker as a means to surface these moments! This important learning data, now made visible to teachers, creates a healthy ecosystem of giving regular formative feedback in the school environment.
Find out more about Dunman Secondary’s programme via their school website here: https://www.dunmansec.moe.edu.sg/our-dunman-experience/stemviadt/
Every student and parent is a CCE champion at Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore School
How do we create a dignified learning environment that celebrates the growth of students with special education needs?
When working with children with Special Education Needs (SEN), one has to strongly fight the urge to label. Labelling is when misconceptions begin – that these children are less able to grow or be independent by themselves. Conversely, when given the time, space, and opportunity to respond, these children can do much more than we think they might be capable of doing.
Running with the ethos to show others that their students can live meaningfully, learn continuously and work productively, CPASS uses HoloTracker to continuously emphasise growth in their students’ social-emotional competencies. By recognising that the smallest moments are worth acknowledging – such as their openness to participate in a mobility exercise, or confidence to greet teachers with a grin coming into school – we create colourful profiles of how students have shown strengths in creating personal and communal wellbeing.
Our collaboration has also enabled each student to receive a comprehensive affirmative report card that details each student’s positive interactions with others in the school environment.
