Reading this book 13 years ago, transformed my life and was one of the reasons why I decided to be an educator. Worlds in Creation by Daniel Greenberg introduces Sudbury Valley School, a democratic school where student agency and play are highly valued. Students decide what passion project they want to work on and there are no traditional classes. Students get to decide how the school is run through an electoral process and they even get to vote for the tenure of the staff. Most interestingly to me, was the amount of freedom and responsibility they got in the school to run the school. It changed the way I viewed Education and opened my world to many other educational models around the world. This led to my studies in early childhood and learning all the different pedagogies around the world. I love the spirit of learning and asking questions! 

1 Aug 2026

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the Classroom Experiment. There were some takeaways that I would like to implement in my classrooms.  I also appreciated how creative the teachers were as they tried to make the new implementations work. 

1. Using sticks to increase participation and engagement. I loved how one teacher called two sticks at a time to get more students involved. Another strategy I learned was to let students pick the sticks. 

2. Each child gets a Red, Green and Yellow cups to track their learning progress. If many students are stuck and show red cups, the teacher could have a mini-lesson with a small group of students to clarify the concept. It also gives teachers a bird's-eye view of how the task is going. 

3. Using mini whiteboards to engage students, especially the high-achieving students. Students want to contribute and show what they learned. Using mini whiteboards helps all students have a chance at attempting the challenge and showing what they know. Furthermore, it is a great way to illustrate different ways to solve a problem. 

4. Morning exercises provide students with an energetic start, and they are in turn more focused, engaged, and calm in class. 

5. Giving qualitative feedback rather than quantitative feedback was found to encourage deeper learning in students; students don't just want to do well for the grade.

6. Having students participate in giving feedback on the teacher's learning and providing alternative learning strategies also helped students and teachers better understand each other's needs and helped create empathy for each other.  

Click here for the second half of The Classroom Experiment. 

1 Aug 2026

This was a thought-provoking video that made me think of how important it is to engage in self-reflection. It also brings a call to action. Instead of questioning 'why' things may happen the way they do, we could ask 'what' we can do about it to make a change for ourselves and others around us. 

11 Jan 2025

I thoroughly enjoyed my time working in this school. There was agency for the student as well as the teacher; we often interacted with nature; play happened and there were many aha IB PYP moments in the learning.  I would do it all over again! Reflecting on my time as an early years teacher in an IB International School in Japan.  

11 Jan 2025

There are many different educational programs around the world. What is the difference between an International Baccalaureate (IB) school system and a Singapore school system? 

Here are a few key differences that I found. 

1. Different Desired Outcomes 

Whilst most of the attributes in their learner profiles are similar and universal, there was one distinct outcome.  

One of the desired outcomes for a child schooled in the Singapore education system is that they should be “concerned citizens who are rooted to Singapore, have a strong civic consciousness, are responsible to their family, community, and nation and take active roles in improving the lives of others.” 

On the other hand, the aim of the IB programes is to “develop internationally minded people who, recognizing their common humanity and shared guardianship of the planet, help to create a better and more peaceful world. “

The IB takes a broader stance whilst the Singapore education system calls for allegiance to the country. 

https://www.moe.gov.sg/education-in-sg/desired-outcomes

https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/fd82f70643ef4086b7d3f292cc214962/learner-profile-en.pdf 

2. Different learning approach  

In the Singapore primary education system, standalone subjects are taught whereas the IB takes a more transdisciplinary approach. Simply explained, this means that lessons may be integrated to include more than one subject. Learning using concepts to connect different disciplines in the learning. Asking questions using the Inquiry Learning Cycle is often used in IB Primary years program (PYP) schools. A central idea guides the learning process for all learning areas in the IB whereas in the Singapore primary education system, subjects are taught separately. However, in the Singapore early years, I found similarities. The Singapore early years also follow an integrated approach where two learning areas are taught concurrently. Depending on the philosophy of the school, they may adopt a project-based approach or thematic-based approach towards learning. There are many approaches in the early years as many of the schools are privately owned. There are some schools that also adopt the IB PYP whilst aligning to the Singapore early years framework. 

3. PSLE vs. PYP exhibition 

In the last year of primary school, students in the Singapore education system would have to participate in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE). It is a placement exam where students would be given a score to help them transition to secondary school. This a summative assessment in the written format. Certain components in language may have a listening component. 

Students in the IB PYP program would be involved in a culminating project to showcase all that they have learned in primary school. They would work in groups to choose and research a topic related to the world and they would present their learning in an exhibition format. They would be assessed using a combination of formative and summative assessments. There is more emphasis on the assessment of skills rather than knowledge.

More on the Singapore education system - https://www.moe.gov.sg/

More on the IB program - https://ibo.org/ 

11 Jan 2025