Individual reflections

Chong Lin Lin

Sense of appreciation

I appreciate the MLS course includes this overseas trip to find out how educational institutions are keeping up with the fast-changing landscape.  Much of the learning had been captured in the group report.  In this individual reflection, it would capture my appreciation towards my group members who had in a way or another helped me or everyone. 

The journey started with ten of us from different background being grouped together.  Under normal situation, perhaps most of us would choose friends or family members of similar interest to travel together.  All had kept an open mind and had decided to be understanding and “give and take”. 

The group decision to self-organise the trip was certainly no easy one for me as I had never planned a trip without an agent.  Fortunately, I had two group members who stayed until late hours to do the booking of accommodation with me.  It would be certainly memorable as we witnessed how serene the night scene in NIE was.

The group decision to self-drive had allowed us flexibility in arranging school and industrial visits.  I am appreciative of our four members who took turns to drive.  There was little that I and the non-drivers within the car could do, except to try initiating dialogues and engaged everyone whenever the journey is long.  On the professional level, the interactions had been enriching as I gained perspectives from the different work experiences and working philosophy of each of my friends. On the personal level, it had moved me out of my comfort zone as I am usually reserved in sharing my personal thoughts.

The number of words had limited me to write down only a few examples.  Overall, I am appreciative I made new friends in this trip.

Chua Hwee Sze

Beyond the school visits and industrial visits, this trip also provided us the opportunity to get to know one another better.  From virtual strangers, we were forced to plan the itinerary within a short span of time and go on a trip together.  As we are ten individuals with diverse needs, preferences and cultural backgrounds, we have to learn to manage our own expectations and adopt a ‘give and take’ attitude to reach a collective consensus.  While group differences did slow down some of our decision making processes with respect to choice of accommodations and meal arrangements, everyone was professional and collegial enough to give and take.  Managing group dynamics was an interesting and important learning point for me in this trip.

One of the most memorable times I had was the time spent chatting inside the car when we did the self-drive throughout the trip.  Even though the journeys are long on some days, the conversations kept us awake and the time passed quickly.  The sincerity and openness demonstrated by my travel mates through those informal chit-chat sessions allowed me to deepen my understanding about my travel mates’ personal lives.  Such rich and intimate conversations might not be possible if we took a coach instead of a car as our main mode of transport.  In addition, the de-briefing session after each visit was rich and enlightening as I got to hear the different viewpoints from my group members.

Janageeraman Senivasan

The overseas trip to Melbourne was an enriching and illuminating experience. I was intrigued and learnt a lot from many of the school, industrial visits and my comrades in our travel group. In this reflection I would like to highlight the key areas that impressed me as an overseas visitor to Melbourne schools and industries.

The Australian experience was interesting. The partners that we met were very welcoming and warm. They were patient in answering our questions and some were keen to know more about us as well. Many started the meetings with a hot cup of coffee and a cookie. I found that while many people we met were friendly there were some who seemed unused to seeing foreigners or felt threatened by the sight of Asians.

I must say that I was impressed by the Melbourne Museum and how it took a stake in educating young people in school especially its immigration programme. Geelong Grammar’s Timbertop Campus was another highlight. It inspired me and gave ideas about how we can develop and strengthen young people’s character. 

I was fascinated by the lack of foreign workers working  in construction and other labour intensive jobs  unlike Singapore where all these jobs are done by foreign workers. Perhaps this why the cost of living especially the cost of food was very high. I could not get over the fact that I had to pay Aus$15 for a lamb curry and Aus$4 for a pack of plain rice! It made me miss Singapore. Food was close to all our hearts as we spent quite bit of our time looking for tasty treats. Alas it was not to be. I was impressed by my group members who were very understanding in accommodating the dietary needs of our group members.

The trip also brought the group together as we learnt about each other. Not only were we stuck driving in cars for long periods sometimes as long as 6 hours on occasion, we stayed together, we ate together and spent most of our free-time together. Nearly every evening we met for de-briefs and on other nights we met to discuss our curriculum project. In this way I got to learn about my members and their strengths very well.

In conclusion I would say that it was a rewarding experience as I learnt from my members as well as the schools and industries we visited.

Kannan Kalidasan

Self organising a trip with ten fellow HODs was to say the least - challenging. All of us were strong in our own ways and had steadfast ideas and opinions. Reaching consensus was a difficult task but eventually we all learnt how to accommodate and things began to move. It is to the credit of my fellow trip mates that we were matured, understanding and all kept our eye what was the best for the group in the face of some challenging situations.   

In Singapore we are now beginning to place stress the importance of quality Teacher Student Relationships (TSR). In the schools which we visited, which were exemplary schools in many ways, quality TSR was taken as a given. There was no need to emphasis this because its importance was widely acknowledged and accepted. It is something we in Singapore can aspire for.

There are not much summative assessments in Australian school during the early years of schooling. This is facilitated by there being no national examinations till grade 11/12. This allows for more formative assessments to be used in the early years. I realised that this allows teachers to foster growth in the students without much stress. In itself this was appealing though there are limitations especially in ensuring standards are met by students before the move on to the next level.

Koh Chee Keong

Building Autonomy with Integrity: Right from the start, when our group was planning for the overseas trip, we had decided to undertake the planning by ourselves and not to let any travel agency handle it. The group had, through common consensus, agreed on the state of Australia that we wanted to visit after considering everyone’s opinion. Subsequently, that was the mode of communication that the group had adopted diligently throughout the planning for the choice of schools to visit, the itinerary, the accommodation and the type of meals. Each one of us was given an area of responsibility for the trip and thus the autonomy to decide and plan what was the best for the group. Even during the trip, this autonomy was exercised with great integrity by all members in his or her area of responsibility despite the absence of external party or central authority.

Overcoming Self-limitation: Without the assistance of the local travel agency to plan for the trip, we had to do everything ourselves from contacting the school that we wanted to visit, booking of accommodation, renting of cars for self-driving to finding the way to our destination. Adding to the challenge was the fact that our group members were of different races, religions and cultural background. We really had to go out of our personal comfort zone to ensure that everyone’s needs were fulfilled and that the trip was a fruitful one. In a way, by challenging our limits and not limiting our challenges, we had gained more self-confidence and experience which would never be gained if the trip was planned otherwise. This new-found confidence in our own ability would hold us in good stead when we were faced with similar challenges in the future.

Building Closer Relationships: Through self-organisation, the group was responsible for every decision that it made before and during the trip and had to face any outcome, be it good or bad, resulting from the group’s decision. Inevitably, due to the group members’ diverse backgrounds, there were disputes along the way. However, the group was able to resolve them quickly and amicably. As each day passed by, the group members had gained better understanding of one another and were more tolerant towards everyone. In fact, when the itinerary had to be amended a few times during the trip due to unforeseen circumstances, the group was able to do so without any difficulty due to the ever-increasing level of support and self-sacrifice from the members. The whole experience of self-organisation of the trip had definitely made the relationships among the group members much closer than they first got together!   

Li Liangzi 

Throughout my tour of the schools in Melbourne, I was similarly able to observe how the Australian education system places emphasis on freedom and space for individual growth and flexibility to customize to their needs and interests. During our visits, we were able to identify the strengths and unique learning culture and models. For instance they offered programs such as Positive Education, Selected Entry Accelerated Learning Program. We do have programs of similar nature but not as structured and comprehensive as the Australians.

Australia’s low population density and ample natural resources meant that they could afford to have a less demanding curriculum. Equipping Australians with the right skills and expertise to manage their huge natural resources remain the top priority in their education. As a result, a flexible education system that focuses on character and practicality development become necessary. Singapore on the other hand, is an island state with few natural resources. In order to remain competitive in a global economy, our people have to become our only important resources. Facing a small population and intense global competition, the ultimate goal of education in Singapore is to maximize the potential of every student. Today, students not only need to demonstrate high level of mastery on the core subjects but also need to be developed holistically with sets of skills and competencies relevant to the 21st century.

Though there is much to be admired in the Australian education system, we should not be overly concerned or envy that they are able to implement a lot of programs at ease. We should take pride of our highly efficient and competent education system. However there are still things we could learn from others and with constant reflections, adjustments and refinements, we could continue to build on our strengths and at the same time not to overload our students.

Lim Hui Hui
I would like to summarise my main takeaways from the overseas trip with 2 Ps:

Partnership: According to freeonlinedictionary.com, a partnership is ‘a cooperative relationship between people or groups who agree to share responsibility for achieving some specific goal’.  Indeed, the schools and organisations that we visited in Melbourne all stress on the importance of working closely with stakeholders to enhance learning experiences for their students. At the Marine Discovery Centre, for example, its facilitators are all ex-teachers who know exactly what schools require. This is why the Centre is able to conduct learning journeys that are not only enjoyable for the students, but also closely linked to the school curriculum. On the other hand, the Melbourne Museum also works closely with schools to create Museum Kits so as to make learning more holistic. It would be good if our schools in Singapore could enhance their partnerships with the Science Centre and museums by working hand-in-hand with them to develop meaningful learning journeys that complement the school curriculum.

Positivity: There are lots of love and positive vibes displayed by staff to the students in two of the schools we visited in Melbourne. Fitzroy High School, for one, applies the principles of restorative justice to student discipline. This approach, which avoids scolding and lecturing, emphasizes the maintenance of positive relations between students and teachers at all times. The school aims to create a safe and secure environment to keep its students interested in coming to school to learn. At Geelong Grammar School – Timbertop Campus, a whole-school approach has been established integrating positive psychology into academic subjects, pastoral care and co-curricular activities. Students are taught explicitly and implicitly life-long skills such as resilience, gratitude, mindfulness and effective use of their character strengths. We could definitely apply some of these strategies to our own schools.

Lim Wan Seng Daniel

2 words stand out as key learning from the overseas trip - the value of collaboration and relationships. The trip has cemented their importance to me as being essential in attaining professional development collectively as a ministry. It is through an effort to appreciate others and in turn being honest in the course of building relations that useful professional ties are eventually established. It is such through trusting professional ties that collaboration for breakthroughs in education can eventually occur via the synergy of ideas. Dr Lim Lee Hean mentioned in her Self-management and Delegation module that the most vital skill in life is the ability to develop positive human relations if we seek personal growth and this was most evident in Australia, where during formal and informal sessions, our team members got to know, accepted and accommodated one another’s differences in behaviour, background and thinking and allowed for us to live together and engage in meaningful conversations, trade ideas, debunk and reinforced some and for new knowledge to be collectively understood and constructed while learning to operate harmoniously. I see the applicability and importance of this at my school, where there is a place for open and frank discussion within the bounds of civility and where there is an understanding that nobody’s ideas are superior until proven so through critical analysis and open discussion. Both people and ideas will emerge stronger to form the foundation for our education system’s long-term success.

Mohd Farid B Mohamad

I have not actually gone on a personally-planned free-and-easy overseas trip and this would be my first. However, I had little to worry because Kannan (a group member) had ample experience organising overseas trips for school leaders and directors. He had actually stayed and worked in Australia for a couple years. After short-listing several organisations, emails were sent out. My only concern was how the itinerary would turn out but I held strongly to the belief that “order will eventually emerge”. 

With half the group members coming from the Mother Tongue background and coupled with the fact that Halal eateries are almost non-existent outside Melbourne, I was sceptical about enjoying the trip. I learnt how to go about planning for overseas visits. In fact, the decision to move out of Melbourne proved to be worthwhile as we get to see more of Australia. I truly enjoyed the picturesque long drive flanked by vast open land and mountains. Seeing the thousands of cattle grazing on the fields was definitely an intriguing experience.  However, I was quite touched by the other group members’ constant concern about my meals. In fact, when a halal eatery was available nearby, they would all gladly join me. A few of them even bought me packets of instant noodles just in case I needed them. The trip duration was ample for me to feel and embrace the Aussie culture. Generally, Australians exhibit a lot of professionalism and pride in what they undertake. They are generally law-abiding citizens who show a lot of respect towards people and their freedom, and even towards animals as co-habitants.

Siew Ngoh Sim

I have been to Melbourne as a tourist a few years ago, but visiting schools and industries with a group of HODs has been a totally different experience. Group K is a combination of 2 curriculum project groups, but our teaching subjects range from Mathematics and Sciences to Languages and Humanities. We also have our own work experiences. It was this diversity that enabled us to harness our strengths collectively and each of us contributed in our own way to ensure that the trip ran smoothly. Although we had our own preferences and different opinions at times, we were able to exercise our professionalism to embrace these differences, create grounds for meaningful dialogue and work out the best possible solutions. The diversity we enjoyed also greatly enriched my learning. Our daily sharing sessions gave me the opportunity to think deeper by questioning the obvious. The different perspectives shared helped me deepen my understanding of the strengths and constraints in our system. This led me to reflect on my role in my department. Have I given my teachers sufficient space to share their expertise and exercise autonomy so that we are able to bring out the best in our students?

Another learning point I gained from this trip is the importance of building meaningful relationships with my students. Both in the schools and industries, strong relationship is the key to engagement. When I go back to school, I will constantly remind myself to look beyond content knowledge and focus on my students as unique individuals.