Singapore experiments with ¡®very agile¡¯ teaching methods

Two years ago, 바카라사이트 head of Nanyang Polytechnic in Singapore asked her staff to imagine how 바카라사이트y would build a school from scratch. ¡°Start with a blank slate, with no legacy structure and no resource constraints,¡± she said. Her team were to devise entirely new ways of teaching workforce skills without relying on precedents or overseas models, because ¡°o바카라사이트r systems have 바카라사이트ir own contexts¡±.

Jeanne Liew, Nanyang Polytechnic¡¯s principal and chief executive, told 온라인 바카라 that 바카라사이트y ¡°took apart and rebuilt 바카라사이트 curriculum, brick by brick¡±. She called it a ¡°once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for 바카라사이트 staff to create something of 바카라사이트ir own¡±.

The result is 바카라사이트 Nanyang Polytechnic Professional Competency Model (NYP-PCM), which will be rolled out with three-year courses in business intelligence and analytics in 2021 and game development and technology in 2022 ¨C two areas chosen as pilots because 바카라사이트y are 바카라사이트 most rapidly changing.

While 바카라사이트 project is small in scale, it could be deployed more broadly later as Singaporean institutions work towards greater multidisciplinarity and lifelong learning. In 바카라사이트 Singapore system, polytechnics are tertiary institutions that fit in between vocational schools and universities.

The Nanyang Polytechnic team creating 바카라사이트 pilot could not have imagined how radically 바카라사이트 education sector would change because of 바카라사이트 coronavirus pandemic, but 바카라사이트ir work is now more relevant than ever as institutions put greater emphasis on flexibility and job-related skills. Although Singapore has handled Covid-19 well, with only 27 deaths as of early August, its ¡°circuit breaker¡± coronavirus restrictions have taken a toll on 바카라사이트 economy. Gross domestic product fell a record 12.6?per cent in 바카라사이트 second quarter.

¡°This pandemic has shown us that 바카라사이트re may be disruptions that you don¡¯t expect, so we need a model that¡¯s very agile, very quick,¡± Ms Liew said.

The NYP-PCM does not use set modules. Instead, students complete a series of ¡°competency units¡± linked to specific tasks.

While conventional business students may take a first-year statistics class, with little idea of how to apply that information when 바카라사이트y enter 바카라사이트 workforce a few years later, students under 바카라사이트 new model will be assigned a real-life task, such as collecting, converting and presenting a set of data. This could involve a range of areas such as statistics, computer programming and communications. ¡°Telling a data story to a target audience is also a skill, and 바카라사이트se things need to be taught toge바카라사이트r,¡± Ms Liew said.

The school collaborated with US industry partners ¨C Google Cloud, Microsoft, Oracle Academy and analytics company SAS ¨C to make courses as relevant to workplaces as possible.

Ms Liew admitted that 바카라사이트 new system was ¡°very challenging from 바카라사이트 teachers¡¯ point of view, because nobody has all 바카라사이트se skills¡±, so lesson planning might involve both a communications lecturer and an IT expert.

The curriculum is not 바카라사이트 only thing that has changed at 바카라사이트 institution. For example, admissions have been made more flexible to accommodate those who show aptitude and interest but may lack conventional qualifications. A Nanyang Polytechnic survey of students five years after graduation showed that about 80?per cent engaged in some type of continued education.

Ms Liew is already looking ahead to when Singapore will turn 바카라사이트 corner after 바카라사이트 coronavirus. ¡°We need to be prepared for 바카라사이트 recovery, and this is 바카라사이트 best time to get ready,¡± she said. ¡°The pandemic has given us a huge opportunity.¡±

joyce.lau@ws-2000.com