Session 1: TfU and My Practice

How is TfU similar to and different from your usual way of talking about curriculum?

How I see Curriculum: It is equivalent to what is outlined in the exam syllabus – that spells out the deliverables by each key stage (that is, primary and secondary levels). They are content knowledge and skills expected of the child. On the other hand, the mathematics framework guides us in the way we teach. It is supported by the 5 dimensions, namely attitudes, metacognition, process, concepts and skills.

My experience: In a typical neighbourhood school, many of us place high emphasis on process, concepts and skills, largely because these are areas to leverage on to prepare our pupils for school and nationwide assessments. Hence, we rely a lot on what’s presented in the textbook and many a time, we follow so it so closely that leaves us very little reason to deviate what’s suggested – teach the concept, explain with the example, get pupils to work on the sums… since it has proven workable (as many of us went through way). Once in a while or when time permits, some activities are included to raise pupils’ interest on the topic (Dimension: Attitudes) or relate it to matters related to national education.

Now I think: Through the TfU framework, I examine and understand better what I teach and what I want my pupils to learn. I thought the first question (under Generative Topic) “Why is this topic worth teaching and learning?” is very powerful. It triggers me to look at something that I take for granted – “since it is in the syllabus, just teach”. If I have not seen meaning and agree that the topic is worth teaching, how would I able to help pupils to make connections, to see what they are going to learn is worth learning? So, the ‘self’ buying-in process is important to get others to buy in.

In fact, I believe that as I go through the elements in the framework (in the course of doing our project), I would be to find opportunities me to factor to touch on all 5 dimensions (in the mathematics framework) and integrate them in a way meaningful to my pupils.