I hope that you had a restful break over the June holidays and Term 3 has gotten off to a good start!
This edition of iSSues Explorer centres around a very important group of people standing at the forefront of Social Studies education – you! We have been impressed time and again by the many innovative ways you have made the SS learning experience rich and meaningful for our students
With the upcoming implementation of e-Examination for the Secondary 4N(A)SS students, my team and I would like to take this opportunity to express our deepest appreciation for all the effort that you have put into preparing the students We encourage you to continue providing the Secondary 3 and 4 N(A) students with consistent practices in SLS to build confidence in typing and prepare for e-assessment. Adapting to new circumstances is something that we have seen our fraternity excel at time and again, and I have no doubt you will rise to the occasion.
This edition features contributions from the fraternity to showcase the different strategies that teachers have adopted for the teaching and learning of Social Studies:
Mr Joel Lee from Riverside Secondary School shares how his school uses their customised version of the Model United Nations conference to engage students, facilitate Inquiry-Based Learning and guide them to better understand trade-offs that the government has to consider in making decisions for the good of society
Mr Lin Jie Hui, from Damai Secondary School, and Dr Zhu Gaoxia, from the National Institute of Education, explore the use of ChatGPT to enhance student learning and use technology to help them to achieve 21CC outcomes in critical and inventive thinking and communication and collaboration skills
Mr Mohammad Nasser Jaafar from Jurongville Secondary School shares how he and his colleagues came up with a way to help students better understand the different stakeholders in societal issues and analyse sources, developing their 21st Century Competencies in Civic Literacy and Critical Thinking
To continue our support for you this semester, we have prepared digital resources and PD opportunities For G1 SS / SS N(T) teachers, we have a set of new SLS lessons for your use (head over to our Glow Up! section to find out what they are) If you need more guidance in enacting discussion-based inquiry, we have an "Enacting Discussion-based Inquiry in the Social Studies Classroom" workshop to share discussion-based strategies (those interested can sign up here by 2 August) Do also look out for Micro-Learning Units (MLU) on Inquiry-Based Learning coming out later this year!
As always, your innovations and efforts continue to inspire us, and we continue to stand with you to steer Social Studies education together for the good of our students I would like to wish you a great semester ahead with many memorable Social Studies classroom experiences Keep well and continue inspiring our students!
Sincerely,
Vikneswari Assistant Director, SSS
If you know any Social Studies teachers who have not been receiving our enewsletters or are not on our mailing list (especially Beginning Teachers), please drop us an email at cheung zhi xuan@moe.gov.sg.
6
VOICES Your
Model United Nations Conference
Issue Investigation
Student engagement
Inquiry-Based Learning
Trade-offs
Differentiated Instruction
10 Knowledge Building and ChatGPT
Co-construction of knowledge e-Pedagogy
Use of ChatGPT
15
Utilising the Society Frayer Model to better understand stakeholders in society
Society Triangle
Frayer Model
Stakeholders in society
Source analysis
Differentiated Instruction
e-Pedagogy
MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE
In this article, the iSSues Explorer team sat down with Mr Joel Lee from Riverside Secondary School to understand more about the school’s Riverside Model United Nations (RSMUN) conference The RSMUN is a yearly programme that the school conducts and which was started in 2021
As Social Studies (SS) teachers, we aspire for our students to develop a genuine interest in current affairs, possess the ability to critically examine sources, and be motivated to contribute to the good of society However, the challenge lies in how we can make SS lessons authentic, interesting and relevant within our classrooms We felt that one way to do so was through a Model United Nations (MUN) conference The RSMUN is a modified version where students represent stakeholders in Singapore’s society instead of representing different countries, which is the usual practice with MUN conferences.
As our school places strong emphasis on student centricity and autonomy, we used the Social Studies Inquiry Process – Sparking Curiosity, Gathering Data, Exercising Reasoning and Reflective Thinking – to guide our planning This approach enabled student-directed learning where they explore and address pertinent societal concerns in Singapore while fostering a deeper understanding of Singapore and the world. The planning phase of RSMUN highlighted the importance of student autonomy as students were encouraged to propose diverse topics for discussion and select the one that resonated most with their interests, thereby fostering a sense of ownership and enthusiasm
To further strengthen student autonomy, we planned for the actual conference to be predominantly student-led, and positioned teachers as mentors and facilitators to help students clarify facts and address doubts rather than just taking charge of running the event This encouraged students to become active participants rather than passive recipients of information The teachers continued to play an important role in ensuring that students had done sufficient research before the conference.
To ensure that all students got the opportunity to engage in this conference, we ran the programme across Express, Normal (Academic) and Normal (Technical), with each stream independently led by its students Teacher guidance was differentiated for the different streams
Stream
Express
Normal (Academic)
Normal (Technical)
Extent of guidance given
Teacher guidance was given during the crafting of the study guide and feedback on the sources.
Teacher guidance given on the choice of topics, study guide and feedback on the sources
Emphasis on a more hands-on experience, featuring a MUN discussion on environmental issues, (in line with Issue 4 of the Social Studies Normal (Technical) syllabus), together with a learning journey to deepen their understanding of what was discussed
All students were also expected to attend the same opening and closing ceremonies to listen to speakers addressing the selected topics for that year.
RSMUN began in Term 1, with student organisers proposing topics to a diverse panel consisting of school leaders, key personnel, teachers, and peers After a comprehensive discussion, eight topics were selected for the conference The student organisers then spent six weeks to develop a study guide with case studies and the scope of the debate, which was presented to the panel and released to peers one month before the conference
For more information on the study guides, you can contact Mr Joel Lee from Riverside Secondary School at lee jin wee@schools gov sg
Following this, a lesson was assigned on the Student Learning Space (SLS) to equip students with essential research skills and allow them to select a topic and stakeholder to represent Students delved into in-depth research They presented their findings in the form of 5 sources for a casestudy, which teachers provided feedback on Students then used the study guide and sources to create a position paper outlining the issue, stakeholder stance, and proposed solutions for presentation on the conference's first day.
The conference began and ended with speeches from invited subject matter experts For example, the 2022 RSMUN started with a speech by Dr Elaine Lim, Master Specialist from the Humanities Branch. Students then receive training on presentation norms and rules of procedure, before engaging in 1.5 days of in-depth discussions, considering various stakeholder perspectives and crafting agreeable resolutions In the 2023 closing ceremony, Mr Benjamin Huang, a grassroots leader and environmental engineer, provided expertise in social and environmental issues relevant to all topics raised in the RSMUN conference
Dr Elaine Lim speaking at the opening of the RSMUN conference
Students taking on various perspectives to discuss issues
Q4. WHATWERESOMEOUTCOMESOFRSMUN?
Students reported better understanding of the concept of trade-offs and the complexities of the government’s decision-making, often citing the challenge of achieving unanimous council consensus and recognising the diverse needs of stakeholders as an example. They also gained insights into the importance of complementing government policies with efforts from individuals and organised groups
Furthermore, students participating in the RSMUN conference expressed confidence in speaking up during the event, attributing this to the empowering nature of the rules of procedure They appreciated that the conference was a safe space where their voices represented stakeholders, not personal opinions
Finally, the programme taught students that patience was paramount as good ideas need time and critique to flourish Trusting the process and embracing a framework that encourages peer critique contributes to the overarching goal of empowering students to become informed, concerned, and participative citizens who take personal and collective actions to effect positive changes in society.
Student reflections from RSMUN 2023
WHATARESOMETHINGSYOULEARNTFROMRSMUN2023?
We learn to be brave and speak up for ourselves even though we are nervous about the thoughts and opinions of others especially when we are talking abut sensitive issues This also taught us to express ourselves in a more confident and professional way because of the strict formalities during the sessions This allowed us to have an open-mind towards all the different perspectives shared and also help us create a greater understanding towards the current affairs in Singapore and that it makes me feel more grateful about what the government had done
About the parliamentary procedures, the rules in the parliament and the Rules of Procedure.
I learnt the importance of respecting other people's views even when they are different from mine. I have also learnt the importance of being confident in conveying your stakeholder's stance so that the other delegates would listen more attentively to your views
I learned how an actual UN conference works
About what goes on in the parliament and more about the politics of Singapore
KnowledgeBuilding andChatGPT
In this article, Mr Lin Jiehui, currently Subject Head/SS at Damai Secondary School, collaborated with Dr Zhu Gaoxia, an Assistant Professor from National Institute of Education - Learning Sciences and Assessment to codesign a Social Studies lesson on citizenship. This collaboration took place when Mr Lin was at Choa Chu Kang Secondary School in 2022, where they codesigned a Social Studies lesson on citizenship through adaptively integrating the Knowledge Building (KB) approach and the latest artificial intelligence tool –ChatGPT.
Understanding Social Studies key concepts and understandings is a dynamic process shaped by the diverse perspectives of social actors and their lived experiences. When it comes to teaching and learning of concepts like citizenship, it cannot be approached by mere memorisation of facts nor frontal teaching. Rote memorisation and passive instruction fall short Instead, students need to actively construct their knowledge by integrating new information with their own experiences¹
KnowledgeBuilding
To support students as inquirers and in the co-construction of knowledge, we recommend using Knowledge Building (KB), an approach emphasising sharing cognitive responsibility with all students rather than depending on teachers as the sole authority². In this way, students can practise responsible decision-making, a key component of 21st Century Competencies³, and are more likely to engage in their learning and show positive emotions⁴ ⁵
In the KB classroom, every student is a contributor and cocreator of knowledge. Effective learning of abstract concepts can be achieved through a collaborative approach where students contribute their ideas based on their understanding, build on each other’s ideas and engage in collective inquiry KB seem to offer more promise for high-quality learning than approaches that take content as given and experiment only with methods of acquisition, thereby developing a deeper understanding of the key concepts whilst building a culture of inquiry in the classroom.
For instance, using KB can help students grasp abstract and multifaceted concepts like 'identity' and by contributing their own ideas and relating them to others, students can gain a deeper understanding of 'identity' beyond notions such as race and religion.
ChatGPT&ItsRoleinKnowledgeBuilding
In late 2022, the introduction of ChatGPT, an advanced artificial chatbot developed by OpenAI, sparked our curiosity about its potential role in knowledge building We wondered if ChatGPT could serve as a "friend" to students, aiding in the construction of knowledge, especially when students work on relatively new and abstract questions
Given its robustness and ability to generate relevant responses in different areas, ChatGPT might contribute to idea diversity, a principle of Knowledge Building⁶ that is essential to improving ideas and advancing community understanding because for learners to deeply understand an idea, they need to understand all the surrounding ideas.
Specifically, ChatGPT may support KB by providing initial theories to an enquiry and alternative responses to students’ current theories It can potentially enrich the collective understanding and knowledge of students, fostering critical analysis of information and understanding different perspectives and viewpoints
OurLessonDesign
In a recent lesson on citizenship, we integrated KB principles and explored the potential of ChatGPT in generating and providing alternative ideas to inspire and complement students’ thinking. Using the inquiry question “What does it mean to be a citizen?”, we encouraged students to critically engage with ChatGPT's theories and build on them, fostering idea diversity and the concept of improvable ideas. Students utilised the Interactive Thinking Tool (ITT) on the Student Learning Space (SLS) to input their responses and engage in discourse, showcasing diverse perspectives and refining their initial stances. The emergence of ChatGPT presents an opportunity for collective knowledge advancement, acting as a "critical friend" in initiating and refining theories
Topic: Citizenship and four of its attributes - legal status, sense of identity, shared values, and civic participation.
Class Profile: 29 Secondary 3 Express students
During our lesson design, we followed a set of KB principles established by the KB community* (e.g., real ideas & authentic problems, idea diversity, improvable ideas, rise above) and considered ChatGPT’s potential in generating initial ideas and providing alternative ideas, which might inspire and complement students’ thinking.
*A set of KB principles can be found on the KB Singapore community website: https://www kbsingapore org/12-principles-of-kb
ChatGPT
In applying the KB principle of Real Ideas, Authentic Problems, we framed our lesson using the inquiry question “What does it mean to be a citizen?” The concept of citizenship is considered abstract and multi-faceted yet essential for students to explore the meaning of their identity as citizens (real and authentic) Therefore, to inspire students’ initial ideas and enrich their understanding and consolidation of the concept, we encouraged students to critically engage with ChatGPT's theories and build on them The process of generating and building-on ChatGPT’s responses was guided by the KB principle of Idea Diversity and Improvable Ideas, which postulates that all initial ideas and theories are treated as improvable, even theories generated by ChatGPT. A snapshot of ChatGPT’s theory on citizenship can be seen below:
To facilitate the process of KB, we tasked our students to analyse the information generated by ChatGPT and build on it by selecting and justifying their stance based on what they learnt from Chapter 1 of the Social Studies coursebook using the Interactive Thinking Tool (ITT) of the Student Learning Space (SLS):
After providing their responses on ITT, students were led to the interaction board, which showcased the responses generated by other students Those who agreed with ChatGPT’s responses highlighted the points of legal status to support their stance For the others who disagreed, a few were able to identify other attributes such as a sense of identity, shared values and civic participation that were missing from ChatGPT’s responses It is these diverse theories that can help provide the foundation for ideas and theories to evolve and develop.
The next part of the lesson then required students to further refine the initial stance by undergoing KB discourse In other words, students contributed new ideas, gave suggestions and/or feedback to their peers. To facilitate the discourse, a set of KB scaffolds such as <I need to understand> and <I have additional information> were provided to students:
The KB discourse would encourage students to be better questioners, and be able to locate, gather and critique complex information sources to build their own knowledge and make suggestions supported by evidence To assist students, we role-modelled the use of each scaffold and mediated the discourse between students.
Interestingly, several students used <I have a different stand from you> as build-on during the discourse while the other two scaffolds (i e , I need to understand, and I have additional information) were rarely utilised. As a result, numerous refinements made by students for their better theories showcased a more multi-faceted understanding of the concept by incorporating both the points for agreement and disagreement. Below are the improvements made by student A that illustrate their improved theories:
Student A’s initial theory
“I agree with CHATGPT on its conclusion of what it meant to be a citizen of Singapore This is because we citizen have the rights and responsibility”
Student A’s improved theory
“I agree with CHATGPT on its conclusion This is because being a citizen in Singapore does come with rights and responsibilities. Rights such as freedom to practice religions as Singapore is a multi-racial country that have many different religions practiced here and responsibilities such as having contributions as a citizen to country like working, studying, following the laws and so on which allows everyone to play their part for the country
I disagree as there are also many other things that represents being a citizen in Singapore such as the usage of Singlish that is something only Singaporeans understand or speak some examples could be "chope" the word used to reserve a table at a hawker centre which nonSingaporean citizens would not understand. As well as GST that stands for goods and service tax which is something only Singaporeans pay and non-Singaporeans may not understand what it means ”
For another student (Student B), her refinement could be seen from added details illustrated below:
Student B’s initial theory
“I agree because of the rights and privilege as a citizen of Singapore, laws and values ”
Student B’s
improved theory
“I agree that Singaporeans have the rights as a citizenship to have privileges such as gaining support from the government (financial assistance, lesser the amount needed to pay for school fees)”
Lastly, the better theories by the students were showcased together and the four main attributes shaping citizenship were accentuated as a form of final consolidation.
Reflections
During our post-lesson reflection, we realised that while students found it easy to respond to ChatGPT's ideas, the challenge lay in refining and improving ideas from ChatGPT and their peers through KB discourse, including providing constructive feedback on peers’ theories. We hypothesised that with more practice and teachers’ guidance, students could improve their ability to provide and utilise constructive feedback to build knowledge together.
The use of technology affordances, such as ChatGPT, presents an opportunity for collective knowledge advancement, where it plays a “critical friend” role with the potential of initiating theories, building-on theories and guiding in the refinements of theories In this lesson, ChatGPT enhanced the learning experience in the classroom by fostering critical analysis of information and thinking skills. In the KB classroom, it enabled students to reflect on the different perspectives presented and be actively engaged in knowledge construction and understanding different perspectives and viewpoints. Looking ahead, educators can explore how technology like ChatGPT can further enhance the learning experience and support the development of 21st Century Competencies such as critical and inventive thinking, and communication and collaboration skills.
REFERENCES
Find out more from the KB Singapore Community!
If you are interested in finding out more about the Knowledge Building practice and how you may use KB in your Social Studies classroom, visit the website https://www kbsingapore org/ to begin your Knowledge Building journey Alternatively, you may email Mr Lin Jiehui at Lin Jiehui@schools gov sg, and the KB Singapore community will get in touch with you
Utilising the Society Frayer Model to better understand stakeholders in society
In this article, Mr Mohammad Nasser Jaafar from Jurongville Secondary School shares how he and his colleagues combined the Society Triangle, an organisation model that the JVSS team created, with the Frayer Model to help students better comprehend the key stakeholders in society and apply that understanding to analyse sources
Creating the Society Triangle
A common challenge our students face is to sense make how society is organised and the roles played by the various stakeholders This is due to their lack of life experiences and interactions with the various stakeholders We found explaining these ideas in a didactic manner can result in a lesson that lacks engagement and does not result in meaningful understanding
Tohelpstudentsseethat thegoodof societyinvolvedtheworkandcontributionof morethan just one group in society, we created the Society Triangle, where we organised society into three big aspects - the government, businesses / organisations, and citizens/people. The purposeoftheTriangleistohelpstudentsmakesenseofthedifferentstakeholdersinsociety, and how each of these groups can contribute to the good of society We thought that a triangle model fits nicely with the government, comprising fewer people, at the top, and the rest of society, with far more people, at the bottom of the triangle Furthermore, the triangle model allowed teachers to show the relationships between the three stakeholders (see diagrambelow)
Armed with the Society Triangle, students were required to come up with plausible actions by thevariousstakeholderswheneverasocietalissuewasdiscussedinclass
Building Vocabulary
This exercise built students' vocabulary for the various stakeholders’ plausible actions For example, students learnt that the government could implement laws and policies, whereas people/citizens could raise awareness In this example, the Triangle helped students consolidatewhattheyhadlearntinChapter4ofthe2023ENASyllabuses
Stakeholders
E g Government
Responsible to the people/ citizens Responsible for ensuring people’s safety
What action(s) can they take?
The government can enact/ implement laws and policies
Merging the Society Triangle with the Frayer Model
After introducing our students to the Society Triangle, we weaved it into our graph organiser, based on the Frayer Model. The use of the Frayer Model helped students b conceptual understanding and vocabulary A common version of the Frayer Model involve organiser consisting of four squares, with each representing the Definitions, Characteris ExamplesandNon-Examplesofagiventopic ThebenefitsoftheregularFrayerModelinclude providing students with a clear, concise definition of a term, enhancing their understanding of the concept, with examples and non-examples to help students contextualise the concept, making it more relatable However, we realised that it was difficult for students to identify appropriateandrelevantexamples(andnon-examples)ofsomeconcepts Thisdifficultycould perhaps be due to students being unfamiliar with the concept as well as them having varied andsubjectiveperspectivesandinterpretations.
Thus, we used the Society Triangle with the three stakeholder groups in place of the “ExamplesandNon-Examples”portion,allowingstudentstobetterunderstandtheconceptsin relationtowhatthevariousstakeholdersinsocietycando.
Using the Society Frayer Model for Analysing Sources
Students were instructed to apply the model In analysing sources, students picked up evidence of the government, businesses/organisations and/or people at work With the help of the vocabulary that they previously learnt about the plausible actions of the various stakeholders; they applied the evidence as part of their inferences/answers.
Students applying the Society Triangle Frayer Model across sources in a SCBS worksheet ►
The following success criteria could be used to assess students’ understanding, ie, sensemakingofthesourceandapplicationoftheskills:
Student is able to:
Level 1
- Identify stakeholder
E g A supports the statement A tells me that the government is responsible
Student is able to:
- Identify stakeholder
Level 2
- Describe actions of stakeholder
Extending the model using e-Pedagogy and Differentiated Instruction (DI)
I shared ‘the Society Triangle’ idea with my colleagues in the W4 Cluster Social Studies Network Learning Community. Over a period of two terms, we trialled this thinking routine with our students, and along the way improved it by incorporating e-Pedagogy, differentiated instructionsandpartsoftheFrayerModelintotheoriginalidea
One example of this extension of the Society Triangle is the utilisation of Google Classroom and Google Documents to facilitate collaborative learning amongst students, where they would work together in groups to analyse given sources Tasks were differentiated and assigned based on each group's proficiency level, ensuring that every student could engage with the assigned materials pitched appropriately to them. This promoted active participation, peerlearning,andadeeperunderstandingoftheSocietyTriangle.
Reflection
We found that with the use of Society Triangle and Society Frayer Model, students demonstrated clearer responses for SBCS Question 5. It was clear that the ability to apply vocabularyassociatedwiththedifferentstakeholdershelpedinthisprocess
Overall, the Society Triangle and Society Frayer Model have been effective in engaging students on societal perspective and fostering 21st Century Competencies such as critical thinkingskillsandcivicliteracy
PD opportunities and resources!
STEERING SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION WITH YOU
Discussion-based Inquiry Workshop
A collaboration between CPDD and Master Teacher Mdm Premaletha,theworkshopaimstoguideSSteachersontheuse of discussion-based inquiry to design learning experiences and support learning in the Social Studies classroom Join us on 20 August if you are interested to find out more on enacting discussion-basedinquiryintheSSclassroom!
Sign-upLink:https://go.gov.sg/2024ssdbiworkshop
SourceFinder
Please note that the functional prototype of Source Finder has been fully transitioned to the new Source Finder platform. You can now access Source Finder here.
The documents on Blending Learning have been updated You can find the documents here
New IDT / SLS lessons
2023 SS E/N(A) Syllabus Issue Investigation Issue 1, Issue 2 and Issue 3
2020 SS N(T) Syllabus Book 2B - Checking Casey (Chapter 2)
2020 SS N(T) Syllabus Book 2B - Land Pollution
Launch of new CPIB e-book
In a multi-agency collaboration, CPIB partnered with students from the Singapore Polytechnic Media, Arts & Design School, a journalist from The Straits Times and the Attorney-General’s Chambers on a new e-book for teenagers titled The Corruption Casebook 2: Hidden Victims of Corruption This illustrative publication aims to educate students that corruption is not a victimless crime, through an art-style depiction of actual CPIB cases To complement the content, the e-book also features fresh insights from AGC’s prosecutors on selected cases Interactive activities, quizzes and a glossary also serve to enhance the learning value of the e-book as a useful resource for the youth, their parents, and educators In particular, the e-book can serve as a resource in exploring how the public can work with CPIB to report wrongdoings as well as the functions and roles of the government in maintaining law and order and enforcing laws
CPIB’s first publication of The Corruption Casebook 2: Hidden Victims of Corruption is available for download on the CPIB website here
