2024 Staff Conference

At our annual staff conference, teachers from each department come together to share insights and experiences from their classrooms over the past year. This year’s theme, "Readying Our Students for the Future," underscores our collective commitment to equipping every child with the skills and mindset needed to thrive in a rapidly changing world. Undoubtedly, a common topic of interest among the different departments was the incorporation of EdTech and Emerging 21st Century Competencies (e21CC) in the classroom.

Throughout the conference, our teachers took turns to present innovative pedagogical approaches and meaningful classroom activities that have made a positive impact on our students' holistic education. These successes (peaks) were discussed in tandem with areas for growth (valleys), thereby sparking moments of reflection and metacognition in our teachers. These sharings not only foster professional growth among staff, but also strengthen our school-wide culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.

EdTech-focused Highlights:

Exploring ShortAnsFA(SAFA) for feedback in Science Open-Ended Questions by Science Department

EduTech Initiative in Physical Education at Innova by PE Department

Empowering Self-Assessment: Leveraging AI for Enhanced Situational Writing Skills in P5 by English Department

e21CC-focused Highlights:

Lower Primary Mathematics: Inquiry Based Learning in 2024 by Mathematics Department

Enhancing Classroom Communication: A Journey Through Oracy Mats by Tamil Department

Feedback Matters: Teaching Students the Art of Giving and Receiving by Music Department

2023 Staff Conference

IPS' Staff Conference 2023 was held on 21st November last year. Running with the theme ‘Peaks and Valleys’, the different departments stepped up to podium to share various lessons they have developed, reflecting the theme. They talked about what their journey was like, planning, executing and reflecting upon the lessons that were carried out. For example, the Maths Department carried out a Dividing Decimals lesson where they shared about the ‘plateau’ of the lesson. They planned for a three-part lesson journey where students got to experience classroom, blended and online learning. The Music Department on the other hand carried out an open classroom facilitation. In their ‘future plans’, they decided on running another open classroom facilitation where they can involve more students and have a variation in the musical content.

GSS 2023 focused on three key areas: differentiated instruction, e-pedagogy, and assessment literacy.

Differentiated instruction emphasised tailoring teaching methods to diverse student needs, encouraging teachers to adapt content, process, and assessment to cater to varying learning styles and abilities.
E-pedagogy explored the integration of digital tools and online platforms in education, promoting interactive, student-centered learning environments. It highlighted the importance of digital fluency in both teachers and students for effective learning.
Assessment literacy centered on developing teachers' understanding of creating and using assessments to gauge student learning effectively. It included discussions on assessments, feedback strategies, and aligning assessments with learning goals.

GSS 2023 stressed the importance of these areas in fostering inclusive, engaging, and effective learning experiences.

Highlights from English Language Department

The English Language Department focused on e-pedagogy and shared a lesson designed on Nearpod. It was pitched at the Primary 2 level. Students worked on a grammar lesson where they learnt to spot patterns to learn grammar rules.

The EL Department members shared that although the lesson objectives were achieved, it was accompanied by challenges. The students were very young and were not as skilled to handle the iPads or the learning platform itself. Thus, more time was needed for the children to maneuver the functions and move between pages on Nearpod.

One of the best ways to overcome this challenge is to continually expose the young learners to the use of iPads and various learning platforms. Reflecting upon the lesson, despite the challenges, the team felt that e-pedagogy should still be used in lower primary EL classrooms as a form of formative assessment. It not only teaches students to be more technologically savvy, but it was also able to engage students for the entirety of their lesson.

Highlights from Tamil Language Department

The Tamil Language Department adopted the cubing pedagogy. Cubing is an instructional strategy that encourages students to explore a subject from multiple perspectives through a set of questioning techniques. This method gets its name from a six-sided cube, with each side representing a different type of thinking or analysis. Cubing helps students develop critical thinking, improve their understanding of complex topics, and consider various angles before forming conclusions.

Each side of the "cube" represents a unique type of questioning or task that guides students in thinking about the subject in diverse ways.

The TL department used this pedagogy for oral, composition and comprehension components incorporating the 5W1H questioning techniques in the cube. The method allowed pupils to engage in a fun and interactive activity. Most students from diverse learning backgrounds were able to grasp the concept and apply it accordingly. Although, teachers had to use more lessons to conduct the lesson, pupils gave feedback that they enjoyed the lessons and were able to identify the requirements of the assignment independently.

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