REACH 505 - What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?
(SK)
23 Oct 2023 (10am - 7pm)
REACH
23/10/23, 9:45 am - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
Welcome back! π
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Megan π
23/10/23, 9:58 am - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
Yesterday (23 Oct), DPM Lawrence Wong announced that more than 500 children have benefited from a tool that helps teachers to better evaluate children’s language skills, social perception and other abilities. The assessment will enable PCF teachers to better customise their classroom activities and raise teaching standards.
This tool has been rolled out at 18 pre-schools run by the PAP Community Foundation (PCF), and is part of PCF’s collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences (SICS) and NUS from July 2023 to June 2025 to ensure that children at its Sparkletots centres are ready for formal schooling.
*π¬ What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
DPM Wong also announced that PCF will disburse around $4 million in 2023 to help children in lower-income families, providing them with financial assistance, access to enrichment activities and improvements to their home environment.
_*π Helps in the early detection of children with developmental requirements*_
Designed as a series of games and questions, the 30-minute screening tool can evaluate a child’s competencies across six vital developmental domains, including general knowledge, literacy, numeracy and executive function, before they are admitted to Primary 1.
Dr Evelyn Law, a principal investigator at SICS, said this approach addresses a critical gap in the current system, where at-risk children are typically identified only when they begin primary school. Thus, they may miss early intervention opportunities, which are critical in preparing them for school.
_*πProvision of all three mother-tongue languages at all pre-schools by 2027*_
DPM Wong said, “This is an ambitious goal. It is not going to be easy. It will take a few years to achieve because there are not enough educators with the right language qualifications in Singapore.” He also noted that “It is good that PCF is setting high standards, and we hope that over time, all PCF children will be able to get good exposure and strong foundation in their respective mother tongues.”
πhttps://str.sg/iG3s
πhttps://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/pcf-tests-new-tool-gauge-students-abilities-more-tailored-teaching-video-3864826
23/10/23, 9:59 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed the group description
23/10/23, 10:00 am - ~ REACH Singapore changed this group's settings to allow all participants to send messages to this group
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23/10/23, 10:07 am - +Poh S Lim: The development of this tool is admirable. I hope it was developed rigorously and scientifically. However, I think that holistic development of a child, with home environment considerations is also necessary, as a young child spends significant amount of time at home. The tool is probably more of a cognitive diagnostic tool than a holistic development tool.
23/10/23, 10:38 am - +Kenneth Lee WM: Sounds like a great tool! Since the tool was developed with public funds, I hope that the tool can be made open to all kindergarten as well and not just PAP run ones.
23/10/23, 10:46 am - +Rama: Yes
23/10/23, 11:26 am - +Smiley face: 22 October, 2023
"Three Critical Years and The Three Crucial Stage" ( 3 by 3 roadmap)
"The Pre-School Tests?
The early age of interventions and identifying key attributes of our kinderkid is a good starting point to better placed targeted supports and resources both at the school level and to the parents.
This is a 'limits & adaptability'' tests lightly covering a general specs of the abilities and the propensities of the young minds.
The next three stage is the actual or the realization phase based on this early test results of individuals. At the end of Primary 2, at the end of Primary 4 and the PSLE results; data received from on each of these key milestones of learnings, the abilities and the capacities has to be separately analysed. It is a great chance to build the data sets, the valuable data points, collates and collaterally plans for each incoming kinder kids at the age of 4. Are there existing empirical and reviewed studies and how about the available curated data, both local and abroad, to cross refer, to reexamine each thesis and hypothesis and applies it to craft for our localised tests? How to craft such an unique mass testing?
Our hypothesis/ thesis/test needs a minimum of up to 10 years from the first test results and simultaneously the last PSLE results. At each data harvesting season; Researchers, Educators and Policymakers will reassess these results into clusters based on birth year, birth month, and in four quadrangle to seive the core out of it. This core perhaps is the prospect of a cohort of STEM in the future drilling and making.
The final objective is to achieve a predictive and confidence level of 95% for these interventions and testings to be implemented prior to students entering the Primary education and onto the Secondary and thereafter, the IHL end of education. It must be proven rock solid, the tests and the methodologies"
- - anonymity
What to test and how to craft questions or through illustration?
What is the average mental abilities of a 4,5,6 years old? And using average as a gauge may not necessarily be a proven central of fact!
So what is the true meaning of average and how statisticians derived these sacred numbers more often cross referred and referred by researchers and policymakers as the safer spot to land on whether to justify a hypothesis or to approve a policy?
- - in progress - -
23/10/23, 11:28 am - +Smiley face: Relationships between mean and median, let's start with these two Variables!
23/10/23, 11:30 am - +Smiley face: What is the meaning of hypothesis if we are searching for the Core, that is the STEM?
How about the fringe benefits out of this Core?
This Quadrangle and why not a triangle? Why?
23/10/23, 11:39 am - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
23/10/23, 11:39 am - +Smiley face: "Research to research or Research to Invent and Innovate "
23/10/23, 11:42 am - +Smiley face: Question #1(for 4 yr old)
Is A = B?
1) ✅ yes
2) ❌ no
3) yes and no ✅❌
4) Don't Know ❌❌
From each answer, each kid mentally differs. Using signs and words.
So what is so important about each of these choices?
Choice vs decision!
23/10/23, 11:42 am - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
Megan π
23/10/23, 11:43 am - +Smiley face: Question #1 (for 6 yrs old)
Is A = B and 1 = 2 ?
23/10/23, 12:44 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
We have had good feedback from this group, and we hope that we can keep the discussion robust and active!
Megan π
23/10/23, 1:43 pm - +Jimmy Chew: Any tool to help them is great.
23/10/23, 1:48 pm - +Kenneth Lee WM: Another thought, use the tool to encourage parents to read to their kids everyday. It would cultivate the child’s love for books which will bring long term results.
23/10/23, 1:50 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. Early identification and early intervention of slow development in certain skills of young children before entering into Primary schools - will be helpful.
2. Correction and development of deficient skills to enable pre-school children to catch up in their 1 to 2 pre-school years before entering Primary schools - will ensure no young children are left behind in their learning formative years.
3. This will ensure more children do well in their education from Primary schools onwards - and become more rounded - not letting some of their deficiencies or slow development hinder their learning process.
4. Looking at the areas in which the tools are used to detect deficiencies :-
a. Language skills - eg. English, 2nd language - ability to speak well and convey the right meanings and intents.
b. Social perception - eg. able to interact with peer classmates, to teachers and others.
c. Numeracy abilities - eg. able to add, subtract simple math
d. Science curiousitiy - eg. curious about science and display inqusitiveness to explore science
etc.
I think the tools must be AI driven that look into the various behaviourial attributes and scientific outcomes of how each children respond.
5. Feel that the tools have the potential to greatly help pre-school teachers to surgically target the specific skillsets each children need to develop - and bring every children up to par and ensure Singapore can develop a more capable student cohorts and workforce across-the-board - and make us more competitive - as well as ensure a higher income labour force with higher value added skillsets.
23/10/23, 1:59 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. Understand that the Government is trying to promote more career pathways other than the academic pathways such as hands-on skill, specialised technical skills etc to fetch higher income - STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and math skills) + language skills (that is needed to read, understand and communicate) --- are still the pre-requisite for every children and adults.
2. For eg. now our Society are very digitalised with mobile apps - which is STEM, and we communicate via English or Mother Tongue --- in our day-to-day life.
3. Hence, good foundation in STEM and Languages is a necessity - not "good to know" skillsets for everyone - be it children or adults --- even though we also want to promote other skill based pathways to uplift the income of skill based career folks.
4. Hence introducing AI driven tools in pre-school to identify and intervene in pre-schoolers deficient skills --- will be a very capable and competitive approach - to uplift the learning experience of every children.
23/10/23, 2:03 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
23/10/23, 2:12 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
Megan π
23/10/23, 2:22 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. To elaborate why non-academic career path also needs STEM - not the primary domain of academic career path.
2. There is a need to maintain accounts and finance, add, subtract, multiply and divide money --- which is Math.
3. There is a need to operate mobile apps, mobile payment eg. eWallet (paynow, paylah), Digital Transfer - online banking (as cheque will be slowly phase out).
Use AI such as ChatGPT, Googles, web-based online transaction etc.
Use mobile apps to effect eTransaction, eCommerce ---- and how to use cybersecurity to protect against scammers - which are Science and Technology.
4. There is a need to use tools, automation, machine, robots, drones etc - which are Engineering.
5. To learn these STEM and communicate with boss, partners, colleagues, customers, supliers, public, Government etc - people will need English languages or Mother Tongue.
6. Hence, as Government promote non-academic career pathways, it is important not to get the impression that STEM not important, languages not important.
7. STEM and languages are the bedrock of how we learn, how we live, how we study, how we work and how we communicate.
23/10/23, 2:42 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
Megan π
23/10/23, 4:00 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
23/10/23, 4:23 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors*
We want to *HEAR MORE* from you!
π¬ *What are your thoughts on this new tool designed to support early intervention for children? How can we continue to support our pre-schools to encourage our children to progress together and leave no child behind?*
Megan π
23/10/23, 4:23 pm - +REACH: <Media omitted>
23/10/23, 5:01 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. But after primary school, where children have established their potential in academic path or skill based path, then those who are more inclined to academic will have deeper dwelling into STEM and those who are more adapt to skill base training or vocational training will deep dive into vocational and skill based training.
2. Likewise when come to decisions to go A level or polytechnic.
3. Those who are more inclined to do R&D will deep dive into math, physics, chemistry and biology, and GP.
Those who are more technology and skill based can deep dive into polytechnic specialisation.
3. But both JC and polytechnic should be given equal opportunities to study universities and graduate with a degree.
23/10/23, 5:16 pm - +Sunshine Pooh: agree on point #3. our local universities have to expand their enrollment to ensure that poly students are given equal opportunities
23/10/23, 5:32 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
1. Reason being, those who go along polytechnic path are industry relevant.
Whereas those who go along STEM deep dive in math and science are mainly R&D path with heavy emphasis on complex math and deep science.
2. Hence more universities seat may be required for polytechnic graduates if industries need more skill driven education to meet industries need.
3. For those who are extremely talented in R&D, then academic deep dive will be more suitable for them in Universities that conduct alot of R&D stuff.
23/10/23, 5:41 pm - +Sunshine Pooh: Universities are also moving beyond academic and classroom learning to encourage industry relevance thru SEP, year long internships or even GAP year
23/10/23, 5:42 pm - +Sunshine Pooh: Putting a limit or % to intakes from poly or that matter jc goes agst the grain of providing equal opportunities for all.
23/10/23, 5:45 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
I think NUS and NTU are 2 very research based universities.
With deep emphasis on R&D and hence able to be rank on par with ivy league in the top 20 and top 50.
Maybe the rest of the other 4 universities have to ramp up to take in more polytechnic graduates.
23/10/23, 5:51 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
SIT in particular is polytechnic university focus.
Maybe it is time for SIT to consolidate to become a full fledged university and take in more Polytechnic graduates with industries focus.
23/10/23, 6:04 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
For example, notice that Polytechnic graduates in these 2 R&D based universities - struggling with their math and science subjects - but do very well in their specialisation.
Some questions why need to study those high complex math and science?
Because these complex math and science are the requisite for R&D.
23/10/23, 6:05 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
In fact those math and science are comparable to those taught in ivy league universities such as mit, UCLA, Stanford, Havard, Oxford, Cambridge etc.
23/10/23, 6:08 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Eg. The underlying engine of chatgpt is relying on reinforcement learning which are nothing but very complex math model.
The entire coding of the chatgpt is based on these complex math.
If our 2 universities don't deep dive in complex math and science, how to do R&D?
23/10/23, 6:10 pm - +REACH: *π’ Topic π’*
23/10/23, 6:12 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
So assume Polytechnic graduates very strong in coding but not so good in math, how to code the chatgpt engine that is make up of nothing but math model - which is R&D - not application development project. <This message was edited>
23/10/23, 6:14 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Hence "A" pre-school has direct link to "Z" R&D.
23/10/23, 6:15 pm - ☸️ Danny εΏ:
Getting "A" on the right path will lead to "Z".
23/10/23, 6:22 pm - +Smiley face: <Media omitted>
23/10/23, 6:22 pm - +Smiley face: <Media omitted>
23/10/23, 6:28 pm - +Smiley face: " Learning is a science, is a technique and Teaching is an art, is a human touch"
- - anonymity
Family Supports?
Each family has its own unique settings and circumstances, how they connect and bond with their toddlers and kinder kids.
Each parent has different educational and working backgrounds. Starting from the median income family to the lower income family. The priorities, involvements and abilities of each family to nurture their children varies from opportunities to private nututing programs for academics, music , arts, and sports.
School Supports?
How to equalise the delivery of Early childhood education modules? The burden lies on the kinder school and at home!
What is the ratio of teacher and pupils and how kindergarten can introduce methods to cultivate keen learning with resilience and the chance to build better charterer of its pupils? Character building is an on going task and a long and complex thing up to adulthood or in NS. Character and resilience are two things in a healthy mind of all human being. What is the definition of character flaw?
How to encourage good habits of sitting down to complete a task or a worksheet at the guidance of a teacher? "Sit & Complete"
If some pupils are unable to sit and complete, it may be an early sign of attention deficiency or overly active or just being naughty?
Parents & Teachers Support?
Parents and teachers should engage in a briefing sessions at each quarter of the school term. The object is to highlight and help each other to nurture the child and better prepared for the next year and so on. By knowing the gap, teachers and parents will calibrate ways to address the Issues at school or at home before small gaps becoming a big crack!
Policymakering?
Arguably, there are limits as to what policy can drive the success of the early childhood education system. The idea that government will settle all challenges and resolutions is perhaps a wishful thought and the future of a child lies flat on the family.
Family is the most important unit and It is the core responsibilities of parents to actively support their children and nurture them to the best abilities. Some children are fast learners while majority are normal children and a small percentage falls under the spectrum of mentally challenging children that needs specialized education to see through to adulthood.
Effective Early Interventions?
Whether is to early detect any mental issues such as autism or ADHA or other complicated mental or physical challenges a child may have and into the growth stage; teachers are the early wirhess of such short comings and learning disabilities.
Reducing sufferings or Suffices?
How can the system help and support in the many events of abnormality?
Should the system redirect and classify these children into a special needs cluster and let them grow along the kinder years until the time to proceed into the formal path of Primary education?
If it is good to do so such early measures through testings and observations, perhaps it is an opportunity to address, to engage multiparty and apprehend it at this early interval of growing up before things go out of control for the next school, the parents and the larger society. The end game of raising children can be devastating to parents and it may means a child ending his or her life!
- - in progress - -
23/10/23, 6:45 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
⏰ We will be closing the chat in *15 minutes* ⏰
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
23/10/23, 6:58 pm - +Smiley face: This message was deleted
23/10/23, 6:58 pm - +Smiley face: 22 October, 2023
"Three Critical Years and The Three Crucial Stage" ( 3 by 3 roadmap)
"The Pre-School Tests?
The early age of interventions and identifying key attributes of our kinderkid is a good starting point to better placed targeted supports and resources both at the school level and to the parents.
This is a 'limits & adaptability'' tests lightly covering a general specs of the abilities and the propensities of the young minds.
The next three stage is the actual or the realization phase based on this early test results of individuals. At the end of Primary 2, at the end of Primary 4 and the PSLE results; data received from on each of these key milestones of learnings, the abilities and the capacities has to be separately analysed. It is a great chance to build the data sets, the valuable data points, collates and collaterally plans for each incoming kinder kids at the age of 4. Are there existing empirical and reviewed studies and how about the available curated data, both local and abroad, to cross refer, to reexamine each thesis and hypothesis and applies it to craft for our localised tests? How to craft such an unique mass testing?
Our hypothesis/ thesis/test needs a minimum of up to 10 years from the first test results and simultaneously the last PSLE results. At each data harvesting season; Researchers, Educators and Policymakers will reassess these results into clusters based on birth year, birth month, and in four quadrangle to seive the core out of it. This core perhaps is the prospect of a cohort of STEM in the future drilling and making.
The final objective is to achieve a predictive and confidence level of 95% for these interventions and testings to be implemented prior to students entering the Primary education and onto the Secondary and thereafter, the IHL end of education. It must be proven rock solid, the tests and the methodologies"
- - anonymity
What to test and how to craft questions or through illustrations?
What is the average mental abilities of a 4,5,6 years old? And using average as a gauge may not necessarily be a proven central of fact!
So what is the true meaning of average and how statisticians derived these sacred numbers more often cross referred and referred by researchers and policymakers as the safer spot to land on whether to justify a hypothesis or to approve a policy?
"The Long Battle Ahead"
*π Helps in the early detection of children with developmental requirements*
Setting up of a Special kindergarten crafted to the needs of these affected children. It will be a good extension of the Path light school. Are parents of these children willingly enroll or willingly accept that their children are perhaps different from the rest of the normal cohort? What is stimatisation and followed by discrimination? How can policymaker marked it down the above two disincentive and the social willingly to embrace, accept and compassionatly creating simple jobs at the workplace for these future adults?
The statistics has shown that up to 80% of these adults are under employed or unemployed while the 20% are able to land a job, the pay scale is not totally desirable and it is unfair to them.
*πProvision of all three mother-tongue languages at all pre-schools by 2027*
Numeracy and Literacy are two metric measurements of future academic success or failure.
Nature or Nurture or Both?
How to cultivate an early age to love up to two languages?
It is through fun and play & show & tell activities. The overly emphasis of competency is the pitfall of pupils to not engage in class when mother tongue lessons arrive into the desk!
Why create funtime and why not enforce more learning time?
Only through less stress, the mind will open up and absorb and more willing learn more. The key is the teacher, is he or she equip with the tools to motivate all pupils and how about the techniques and the art of teachings that will differentiate the outcomes of this class of pupils and the next class of pupils. It is not about KPI nor it is about competition and competency of the teacher. It is the correct teacher matching the correct teaching environment and the pupils are the variety of childhood and they all comes with the virtue of innocence, "a clean white sheet of paper"!
How to select the teacher, teach the teachers before the teacher reaches to the Students?
The candidate must posses a sense of childishness and a warming love for children. Likewise for parents, plus the sacrifices and unconditional loves without discrimination nor favoritism!
So how to create creativity in each child?
Each child is unique! The performances and the pitfalls; all sum up to nurturing and educating the child.
- - in progress - -
https://issuu.com/drclasbrazil/docs/harvard_brazil_ecd
https://cehd.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/JCOP_draft_0901b.pdf
23/10/23, 6:59 pm - +REACH: *Dear Contributors,*
We will be closing the chat for today.
Thank you very much for being part of our WhatsApp chat and participating actively.
Goodnight!
Megan π
23/10/23, 7:00 pm - ~ REACH Singapore changed this group's settings to allow only admins to send messages to this group
===
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