1) introducing/relating real-life application/context to learning

2) choice of examples - from students' perspectives

I believe in learning with context (foundation to inquiry-based learning) so I really love the three contexts that you have provided - classroom, vehicle system and warning system. Students were able to relate and they naturally were interested in discussing and show high engagement.

And I know how difficult it is to find context that is current and at the same time students find it relatable to.

So after the lesson, you have reminded/inspired me to put in more effort to relate what the students are learning to application in real-world context.

Moreover, the scenarios he gives are very original and students were genuinely engaged throughout the lesson without having to ‘remind’ them.

I also observed exploratory talk in the classroom as Thomas does not limit the conversation of his students to a predetermined set of response. He builds on their ideas and gets them to justify and explain their responses and effortlessly makes the link to the bigger concepts. Students really participated in his classroom too! It was a very fruitful time spent. Thank you Thomas 🙏

I wasn’t expecting to ‘work’ since I was just an observer (context: observing teachers had to play judge). But alright, I shan’t be a free loader.

In my notes:

• Warming up exercises were quick and effective while progressively levelling up the students, from reducing the no. of syllabus to the effectiveness of the messages (persuasiveness).

• I like how the main task was designed to be low entry high ceiling.

• Having 12 scenarios for DI is really impressive. And they are all possible situations in everyday life where automated voice system can be used.

• I like how the instructions appeal to the HAL as they enjoy being challenged, like deciding on a scenario to work on quickly before other groups grab them (ability to work under time pressure is a valuable skill). Even how the difficulty level of the task was labelled was appealing (hard vs horribly hard) to the students.

• Happy to see the kids work in a non-judgemental setting.

• I could tell that the students have been nicely conditioned to respond to the sound of the bell. So pleasant when a teacher doesn’t have to raise his/her voice to get attention of students.

That’s about all. Thanks again.

3 ideas learnt:

1. Design Thinking (empathy): interview and ‘talk back’(‘Is this what you want to learn…?)to ask as many questions to elicit responses fr users to improve on the App design 2. Opportunities for all to take on different roles to understand perspectives 3. Focus is on language learning (trs’ emphasis on this helps students streamline and some interviewers were able to remind users when they deviated fr the topic)

2 practices to adapt:

1. Will try this interview approach in the current p3 thinking lesson (‘Meeting the User’) to reinforce listening & summarising skills to be reinforced using this ‘talk back’ strategy

2. Good idea to have an intermediate task while students use the iPad to work on unfinished online work or to prepare for the next stage on ‘Define’ -reading up and post on GC

1 challenge:

How am I to sustain students’ interest? Mr Lim is knowledgeable, providing such timely, useful and thought provoking feedback to the kids to get them thinking; good time management and varied interesting & engaging activities. Continued to engage certain groups of students(1-1 gp conferencing to check on understanding and progress during short break before stage 2 of lesson-Define ) Kudos to Thomas!

By Li-Hwang

Though I only managed to attend the second period of the lesson, I did takeaway a few good points that I can use in designing my lessons in the future.

I would like to share what I like in the lesson.

1) Students having a voice and freedom of sharing their opinions - I was amazed of their thoughts and they were able to articulate and shared their views. The views were rather broad and deep. So this brings on belief that children can learn if we give them the space and time to explore.

2) Thomas did a summary of the points to consolidate their thoughts and processes. Thereafter, linking this to the topic. Making sense of what they are learning is important and motivate them to want to learn more.

3) Thomas giving them suggestions to get them to throw their ideas. He didn't provide an immediate solution so as to leave them room to think further and explore by themselves later. This is useful as it doesn't kill their curiosity and growth.

4) Thomas making use of the critical thinking skills portion to link them to their oracy skills (when they need to interview their end users). Students find meaning in their learning as it is something relevant to them and they feel important to master.

On a side note, I would also like to suggest possible improvement.

1) I would have like students to ask further questions instead of accepting the questions being thrown to them. They were probably engrossed in thinking about the questions. How we as teachers can encourage them to think a little deeper and ask them questions to challenge their thinking processes.

2) More clarity in the task given. Provide examples if needed. There was a time when most students answered the question wrongly when Thomas asked them to think about the users' needs and how they would approach to design the app.

Really thankful for the rich sharing. :)

Always learn something new from you.

~Anne~

Encouraging divergence during ideation phase. Important message that the teacher has emphasised to set the tone right for the activity.

~Anne~

~Anne~

Teacher as the facilitator and student agency are what I have learnt from your lesson. This is made possible with good Teacher Student Relationship (TSR) and an intentional effort by the teacher to respect student voice! Yay! 🙌🏻

~Anne~

~Anne~

Interestingly, students, especially children, tend to get caught up in the activities or tasks, and my students are no exception. Thus, students may appear to be completing tasks, or themselves think that they are completing challenges. A consolidation phase after all the learning activities to engage the metacognitive process of learning is thus needed for the students to make sense of the learning experiences and link it back to language learning, language skills development and above all, how their thinking has "advanced". In the midst of all the activities, students may not be able to step back and think metacognitively, as the cognitive processes are fully engaged with the task. Metacognitive consolidation thus allows them to think through their learning process, strategies and outcomes, while fossilizing power changes in thinking and regulate/motivate themselves for future learning.

In the future, it's worth exploring the incorporation of elementary concepts from other subjects, such as Math, Science, and Chinese Language, into design thinking-based lessons. For example, students could learn UI principles like juxtaposing pictures and words using basic math concepts like ratios, percentages, and fractions. Alternatively, they could design an online advertisement using both English and Chinese. This would allow students to appreciate the relevance of their school learning, synthesize concepts from various subjects, and recognize interconnections and alternative solutions to challenges.

Thanks for letting me to be part of your lesson. Looking forward to attending your next one. I have learned lots from and inspired by your lesson.

Brandon

I took away some good points that I may use in my future lessons:

Divergent Thinking Mini-activity: An activity that arouses learners' interest and curiosity by asking them to think of 10 uses for a rubber chicken in various contexts or venues. This demonstrates that NO IDEA IS IMPOSSIBLE!

Ideation: Allow students to enter their ideas freely when asked to suggest features for a language learning app, even if other groups can see them. This reduces their concerns. Furthermore, since students can view each other's inputs, the teacher can use this opportunity to have students review and refine their ideas based on what other groups have suggested. This process helps students build knowledge through the activity before they design the app features.

Questions:

1. Is this learning activity intended to be implemented in English classes for the entire P4 level?

2. Are there any challenges in implementing this lesson?

By Kiah Mun

The use of ICT to help them see each other's response and also why some responses are rejected also give some sensing and clarity to students what is expected and accepted.

I also like the fact that there is choice in perspective taking. Firstly it gives the students a choice and secondly the perspective taking forces them to think - how they are going to portray that perspective through that writing.

Lai Peng

Thank you Thomas for opening up your classroom for teachers to come by and observe your students and their lessons.

As a student, I think I would feel empowered to teach and learn together with my classmates and would be inspired to learn in this way, as it is fun and engaging.

I could see how they also engaged with their own interests (gaming, designing, etc), which made the learning process interesting. At the same time, they also got to interact with their peers in a constructive way, allowing them practice their speaking and listening skills.

~ Violet

I missed the start and end, but was there from 8-9am.

I observed the students having fun and learning, although there were varying standards of how they taught their peers as well as learnt from their peers.

I realised that in order for the lesson to work, all the students must be aware of how they need to contribute to creating a conducive learning environment, of which they each play a part to support.

They also all took ownership for making the lesson work, as they had each created an app/mini lesson for their peers.

I am inspired to see something like this happen in my own classrooms in future.

Thank you!

~ Violet