APRIL 2017
ISSUES EXPLORER SOCIAL STUDIES SECONDARY UNIT
Developing Our Students as Informed, Concerned and Participative Citizens
06-08 Dice it up
01 - 05 SELECTION OF THE MONTH
Singapore’s Foreign Policy: Why it Matters
Citizenship & Social Studies
09-12 What's simmering
Exploring Societal Issues
13-15 What's cooking
Professional Development
SELECTION OF THE MONTH Citizenship & Social Studies
Introducing our Master Teacher, Mrs Premaletha Gopalakrishnan
‘The largest thing we own is a storehouse of ignorance, what we can do is learning to reduce that storehouse of ignorance.’ Dr Terrence Roberts (member of the 1957, Little Rock Nine, NCSS 2015)
I was a Lead Teacher (History) at Yishun Town Secondary School before being appointed as Master Teacher in Social Studies. My personal philosophy is that: if we aspire to teach with passion, we will inspire the joy of learning in our students. I have tried various pedagogical approaches to bring the Humanities alive using role plays, debates and discussions in the class room; heritage trails at Singapore River, Labrador and through overseas learning experiences. With my appointment as Master Teacher (SS) in 2017, I hope to journey with fellow Social Studies teachers to collectively hone our craft and support the professional development and growth of teachers in the fraternity.
What I see... Making personal meaning and understanding of the Social Studies syllabus is important in delivering the Social Studies curriculum. The concept map (Figure 1, next page) is my understanding of how controversial or societal issues are situated within the Social Studies curriculum and the broader concept of citizenship in the 2017 syllabus. The concept map is a visualisation of the interaction between learning experience, skills, norms and values which guides teachers to adopt teaching strategies that develop democratic and global citizens of the future (Figure 1, next page). //01
SELECTION OF THE MONTH Citizenship
Figure 1: Concept map on teaching Controversial Issues and Citizenship This visual understanding provided a framework when I designed the learning experiences for my students. The Teaching and Learning Syllabus (TLS) and Teaching and Learning Guide (TLG) are very useful resources when I plan the learning for my students.
How I make sense... Education for citizenship has become the foundation of schools all over the world. “The development of good citizenship is the central purpose of Social Studies education” (Barr et al., 1977, Engle & Ochoa, 1988; Martorella et al., 2005). According to Ochao-Becker (1988) ‘social studies is concerned exclusively with the education of citizens who can be vigorous thinkers, competent decision makers and active participants’. Social Studies education is critical in developing citizens with values, skills and rootedness to the nation. According to Parker (2010), ‘Social Studies is at the centre of good school curriculum because it is where students learn to see and interpret the world’. Social studies allows for students to develop their critical thinking skills through the inquiry process of learning the subject. The Social Studies curriculum is designed to allow students to experience the world they live in, giving them the opportunity to understand, care and think deeply about their roles and responsibilities in the society and contribute to the development of the nation in creating a better society.
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SELECTION OF THE MONTH Teaching controversial or societal issues in the Singapore context, allows for a more active and engaged citizenry. Through the teaching of societal issues, it is believed that students learn to communicate differing viewpoints, to make informed decisions, and most importantly, develop critical thinking skills by analysing and evaluating information, ideas, and evidence. According to Malikow (2006), ‘a controversy exists when both a strong intellectual argument can be made for two or more conflicting positions, and the issue in dispute involves two or more parties with equal and competing interest’. This shows that controversial issues are issues of interest to different people who have different points of views and no one is right or wrong. In addition, Hess (2001) also stated that ‘controversial issues involve a clear conflict between competing values’. Simply put, controversial issues are well-supported arguments in which two parties compete based on interest and values.
How I create the learning experience… Teaching societal issues with differing viewpoints has its merits in preparing democratic citizens. To do so, Byford, Lennon and Russell (2009), state that ‘teachers must use a variety of teaching strategies (e.g. values, inquiries, case studies) that accommodate students’ individual learning needs and styles’. Through these teaching strategies, students will learn higher-order thinking skills like analysing, synthesising and evaluating. These are vital skills in the cognitive development for citizenship education. When teaching controversial issues, Hand and Levinson (2012) suggest that ‘discussion is widely held to be the pedagogical approach most appropriate to the exploration of controversial issues in the classroom’. Through discussions, students will be able to understand multiple perspectives, present their viewpoints and most importantly, have the opportunity to voice their opinion. At the same time, students learn to substantiate their points of views with relevant arguments or information and this will develop their thinking skills as they evaluate and synthesise the information and deepen their knowledge on societal issues (Bridges, 1979). Discussions are effectively used in deliberation, structured academic controversy or even in role-plays, like moot court or town council meeting models, and these are highly recommended approaches when teaching societal issues. In the Social Studies syllabus, there are critical thinking skills like analysing, evaluating and providing valid explanation using relevant examples. Thus, interpreting of sources, providing valid explanation of the factors and evaluating the factors to prove a hypothesis are important skills that must be taught to students.
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SELECTION OF THE MONTH There are scaffolding structures that we need to use to develop the thinking skills and teach the students to apply the skills.
The "T" Approach Analysing Questions I introduced the ‘T’ approach to help my students analyse questions before they plunge into answering the questions. The ‘T’ approach encourages students to think and provide a balanced argument in answering a structured-response question which is required in the Social Studies summative assessment. The ‘T’ approach infuses thinking skills and rich questioning like ‘What is…’ requires the students to define and provide details of the concept or factor and ‘How ..’ requires the students to provide relevant evidence or examples to support their stand and finally the ‘Why …’ question forces the students to provide relevant explanation and analysis of the factor to the question/issue given. This aspect is often not elaborated in the coursebook, as this has to be taught carefully to ensure that students provide a valid explanation for quality response. For example, in analysing ‘Why is there greater diversity in Singapore now?’, students must first know what is the concept of diversity in Singapore and explain the concept by identifying key characteristics/attributes that define the concept of ‘diversity’ and when asked, ‘how’ they must provide relevant evidence with examples to support how there is diversity and ‘why’ allows them to think through the explanation to analyse why Singapore has greater diversity now. This encourages students to provide an explanation when they use ‘because…’ (Magic word, TLG pg 205) to think critically and provide logical explanation. Along with this rich questioning, the ‘T’ helps students in providing not only a balanced argument, but also encourages them to weigh their arguments using a criteria to evaluate which factor is more important. The students may use criteria of impact – social, political, economic; time – short term long term; internal vs external; trigger factor; cost or ease of implementation to decide which factor is more important. When they are to use a criterion, students are forced to make certain decisions and tap on their personal decision-making experiences to help them decide which factor is important. The Zone of Relevance (TLG pg 242) can be used to decide on the possible criteria to use as an "individual, society or government or nation" when students evaluate the factors. Thus, rich questioning technique with the ‘T’ approach, helps to scaffold thinking and once this is internalised, students can naturally ask questions to analyse the issue to answer questions skillfully.
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SELECTION OF THE MONTH How I reflect on my teaching... As a teacher embarking on this journey of wanting to make the difference in the lives of my students, I have been dedicated in engaging my students to see the relevance and connections in what they are learning and create that ‘aha’ moment in them. John Dewey (1938) said, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” I am excited to learn new pedagogies and willing to try them in class. I reflect on how I have used a pedagogy in class and invite feedback from fellow teachers and students to improve teaching and learning. This has worked well for me especially since I am always trying to learn and keep an open mind towards acquiring knowledge. In teaching, one must be humble to learn.
As teachers, we must learn what works with/for our students, be willing to try, share with other teachers to become more confident and competent in teaching our students.
Knowledge shared is Knowledge deepened!
References Adler, S.A., & Sim, J.B.-Y.(2008). Secondary social studies in Singapore: Intentions and contradictions. In D.L. Grossman, & J.T.-Y. Lo (Eds.), Social education in the Asia-Paci c: Critical issues and multiple perspectives (pp. 163–182). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing. Baildon, M.C. and Sim, J.B.-Y.(2009) 'N ions of criticality: Singaporean teachers' perspectives of critical thinking in social studies', Cambridge Journal of Education, 39: 4, 407 — 422 Baildon, M.C. & Sim,J. B-Y. (2010).The dilemmas of Singapore's National Education in the global society. In A. Reid, J. Gill, & A. Sears (Eds.), Globalization, the Nation-State and the Citizen: Dilemmas and Directions for Civics and Citizenship Eduation. New York: Routledge. pp. 80-96 Barr, R. D., Barth, J. L. & Shermis, S. S. (1977) De ning the Social Studies, Bulletin 51 (Washington DC, National Council for the Social Studies). Barton, K. C. (1996). Using Magic Words to Teach Social Studies. Social Studies And The Young Learner, 9(2-), s5-8. Bridges, D. (1979). Education, Democracy and Discussion. (Slough, NFER)
Dewey, John. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Macmillan. Hand, M., & Levinson, R. (2012). Discussing Controversial Issues in the Classroom. Educational Philosophy And Theory, 44(6), 614-629. Hess, D. (2011). Discussions That Drive Democracy. Educational Leadership,69(1), 69-73. Kwok, K. W & Ali, M. (1998). Cultivating Citizenship and National Identity, Singapore: Re-Engineering Success, eds. Institute of Policy Studies and Oxford University Press, 1998, 112-22. Malikow, M. (2006). Engaging Students in Controversial Issues. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 42(3), 106-108. Ministry of Education (2016). Social Studies GCE Ordinary level (Revised Syllabus), Teaching and Learning Guide, CPDD, MOE. Parker, W. C. & Jarolimek, J. (1984). Citizenship and the critical role of the social studies, National Council of Social Studies, Washington, DC. Parker, W. C. (2010). Social studies today. Research & Practice, Routledge, New York.
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DICE IT UP Singapore’s Foreign Policy: Why it Matters Today, we see that the political space, in Singapore and in other countries, has become much more contested. It is hence important for us to provide our educators and students with useful lenses through which to make sense of these developments and engage effectively with different perspectives in order to arrive at well-reasoned and substantiated conclusions. PM Lee’s visit to six countries in three months in 2016 underscore the importance of diplomacy to Singapore’s survival and sovereignty as a small state that relies on open trade and respect for the rule of law globally. Such visits maintain Singapore’s international standing and relevance to its partner. In exploring the idea of diplomacy in Issue 1, how can we help students understand Singapore’s foreign policy in light of the recent episodes on Singapore’s position on the South China Sea and the seizure of the SAF Terrex Infantry Carrier Vehicles in Hong Kong? How does diplomacy work, such that we can reduce the potential for conflict and strive for a peaceful resolution? It is therefore necessary to examine and understand the fundamentals of Singapore foreign policy to make sense of these developments and engage effectively with different perspectives in order to arrive at well-reasoned and substantiated conclusions
Principles of Singapore’s foreign policy In understanding Singapore’s relations with other countries, one must be aware of key principles which guides our foreign policy. The fundamental principles of Singapore's foreign policy are:
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DICE IT UP - As a small state, Singapore has no illusions about the state of our region or the world. - We need to maintain a credible and deterrent military defence to underpin our foreign policy. - We must promote and work for good relations with our neighbours in all spheres. - We are friends with all those who wish to be friends with us. - We stand by our friends who have stood by us in times of need. - We fully support and are committed to ASEAN. - We work to maintain a secure and peaceful environment in and around Southeast Asia and in the Asia Pacific region. - We must work to maintain a free and open multilateral trading system. - We are ready to trade with any state for mutual benefit and will maintain an open market economy. - We will support and be active in international organisations such as the UN. When Singapore adheres by these principles, our actions can then be consistent and rational. These principles guide Singapore to advance its citizens' interests in the face of being pressured to choose sides in times of conflict. This ensures Singapore’s survival and sovereignty as an independent nation.
Challenges in a new and evolving global order Singapore has all along maintained its right to determine its own course of action and advance its citizens' interests, standing its ground in the face of pressure from other countries. In the face of power shifts around the world such as in Europe (with Brexit and the rise of right-wing movements in Continental Europe), the USA (Trump administration), China (the core leadership of the Chinese Communist Party) and the Philippines (Duterte administration), how should Singapore react?
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DICE IT UP Lessons for the Social Studies classroom Singapore seeks to build ties with partners and foster common interests among friendly nations so as to uphold a stable, secure region and a global order that abides by the rule of law. An example that can be used to engage students in discussion on how Singapore manages trade-offs is the seizure of the SAF Infantry Carrier Vehicles (ICVs) by the Hong Kong authorities which has since been resolved with the return of the Terrex ICVs. Defence analyst Bernard Loo of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) noted that opinions spanned two extremes when the Terrex ICVs were still being withheld in Hong Kong- that Singapore “should acquiesce to everything China demands” while others want Hong Kong to return the vehicles with no fuss. What does Singapore stand to gain and lose with each option? Such discussions call for the understanding of the unique position of Singapore in the global world order as well as the fundamentals to Singapore’s foreign policy.
References Lim, Y. L. and Leow, A. (29 Nov 2016). SAF vehicle seizure: Singapore will not allow any single issue to hijack ties with China, says Vivian Balakrishnan. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/saf-vehicle-seizure-singapore-will-not-allow-any-single-issue-to-hijack-ties-withchina Choong, W. (7 Jan 2017). Staying friends with all powers works best for small nations. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/staying-friends-with-all-powers-works-best-for-small-nations Mathieson, R and Wong, S. (2 Mar 2017). U.S.-China Tensions May Force Nations to Choose, Singapore Says. Bloomberg. Retrieved from https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/u-china-tensions-may-force-055844746.html Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2012). Singapore's Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content.mfa/overseasmission/manila/about_singapore/foreign_policy.html Salleh, N.A.M. (1 Dec 2016). Seizure of 9 SAF vehicles draws strong views from Singaporeans. The Straits Times. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com/politics/singapolitics/seizure-of-saf-vehicles-draws-strong-views-from-singapore-netizens Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (9 Jan 2017). Ministry of Defence Parliamentary Statement: Oral reply by Minister of Defence Dr Ng Eng Hen to parliamentary questions pm the detention of SAF Terrex Infantry Vehicles, 9 Jan 2017 Retrieved from https://www.mfa.gov.sg/content/mfa/overseasmission/hong_kong/whats-new/01/01/oral-reply-by-minister-for-defence-dr-ng-enghen-to-parliamentar.html
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WHAT'S SIMMERING #3 SOCIETAL ISSUES TO PAY ATTENTION TO What makes Social Studies engaging for students is the relevancy, relatability and currency of the issues discussed. Thus, this section looks at three currently evolving societal issues and provide suggestions on possible discussion questions that teachers can use in the Social Studies classroom.
ISSUE #1 'Gold' Stairs: Art or Vandalism? Exploring Citizenship and Governance
ISSUE #2 Examining Racial Tensions in a Diverse Society Living in a Diverse Society
ISSUE #3 New Organisation to Strengthen Cyber Defence Being Part of a Globalised World
To access possible perspectives regarding these issues, please refer to the Word Doc. attachment
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WHAT'S SIMMERING ISSUE #1 'Gold' Stairs: Art or Vandalism? Exploring Citizenship and Governance
This article looks at the various reactions to an art installation of a staircase paved with gold foil at a Housing Board block in Jalan Besar. Done by art student Priyageetha Dia, it has earned praise from netizens but the act was unauthorised under the town council's bylaws. Read on to find out the possible tensions that can arise when exercising one’s rights as a citizen. Click here for additional readings:
extra article #1 extra article #2
KNOWLEDGE OUTCOMES
Students will be able to understand:
1. The different perspectives of Singaporeans on the gold staircase. 2. Tensions that can arise when exercising one’s rights as a citizen
D IS C U
SS:
1. Consider the following groups of people: (a) the government; (b) members of the public; and (c) Ms Priyageetha Dia. What are their perspectives regarding this issue? 2. What are the tensions that can arise when one decides to exercise his/her rights as citizens without concern for others? 3. In your opinion, how can the arts be promoted without disrupting society? Explain your answer using two recommendations.
To access possible perspectives regarding these issues, please refer to the Word Doc. attachment
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WHAT'S SIMMERING ISSUE #2 Examining Racial Tensions in a Diverse Society Living in a Diverse Society
Article #1 This article
explores the harassment faced by some members of the Sikh community in Seattle, America. These instances of verbal, and sometimes physical abuses have shaken up the community and caused them to live in fear. As a result, many, such as The Sikh Coalition, a national civil rights group, are standing up and urging authorities to investigate these incidents of hate crime.
Article #2 This article
discusses the negative impact of some minority groups in France who have been badly treated by officials such as police officers. It depicts the injustice of some minority group members in France, especially those who are perceived to be Arab or black, and are indiscriminately profiled and have their identities checked.
KNOWLEDGE OUTCOMES
Students will be able to understand:
1. The experiences and effects of living in a diverse society 2. The need for everyone in the community to work together to manage harmony in a diverse society D IS C U
SS:
1. What are some negative experiences of living in a diverse society? 2. What could be a possible reason to explain such behaviours? Explain your answer, making references to the article. 3. In your opinion, how can we ensure harmony in a culturally and racially diverse society? Explain your answer giving two suggestions. To access possible perspectives regarding these issues, please refer to the Word Doc. attachment
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WHAT'S SIMMERING ISSUE #3 New Organisation to Strengthen Cyber Defence Being Part of a Globalised World This article looks at the how Singapore is setting up a Defence Cyber Organisation to strengthen its defences against the threat of online attacks. It is important to ensure round-the-clock protection of the military network systems. Cybercrime is becoming a growing danger and governments across the worlds are working hard to ensure the security of their own countries.
KNOWLEDGE OUTCOMES
Students will be able to understand:
1. the challenges of maintaining the security of a nation in a globalised world 2. the need for a whole of society approach to maintain security in a globalised world.
D IS C U
SS:
1. Why do you think the government set up DCO?
2. How do you think DCO will be an effective deterrent against “external threats through the digital front?” 3. In your opinion how can Singaporeans be on guard against “external threats through the digital front?” Explain your answer giving two suggestions.
To access possible perspectives regarding these issues, please refer to the Word Doc. attachment
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WHAT'S COOKING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES
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For more information on the various courses, please refer to our email blasts! //13
WHAT'S COOKING Useful resources
HSSE ONLINE
For example...
HSSE Online is published by the HSSE Academic Group, National Institute of Education (NIE), Singapore. The overarching purpose of the journal is to energize, inform and improve teaching practice in Humanities and Social Studies education in Singapore and to provide a venue to share ideas, research and resources that will be useful to teachers and scholars. Click here to access the website
Diversity: Approaches to building conceptual understanding in the Social Studies classroom
Abstract: With the heightened emphasis placed on students’ understanding of core content or key concepts in the 2016 Social Studies curriculum in secondary schools, it remains of utmost interest for the social studies teacher to revisit some of the key strategies and beliefs involved in building conceptual understanding in the classroom. This pedagogy was developed to strengthen students’ understanding and appreciation of key concepts and principles while encouraging them to apply these concepts to their understanding of the world around them. This article thus seeks to explore the various pedagogical beliefs, instructional strategies and challenges that would be applicable for the classroom teacher in the conduct of the new Social Studies syllabus.
Click here to access The Article //14
WHAT'S COOKING Useful Conferences
BUSINESS REPORT Social Studies Teacher Conference 2017 The Singapore Association for Social Studies Education (SASSE) is proud to present the inaugural Social Studies Teacher Conference 2017! The theme of the conference is Social Studies Education for Democratic Citizenship and it will focus on these two questions: (1) What does it mean to be an effective and inspirational social studies educator? (2) How can we help our primary, secondary, and JC students make sense of the increasingly complicated, diverse and interdependent world?
Maris Stella High
(Fri pm and Sat full day)
7 - 8 JULY 2017 Click here FOR MORE INFORMATION
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Professor Keith Barton
Professor David Hicks
Professor Jeremy Stoddard //15