The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Singapore teachers bowled over by students of SBOA School

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Sep 09, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Singapore teachers bowled over by students of SBOA School

Staff Reporter

Delegation in Chennai to pick up English and maths teaching tips

KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE: Principals and vice-principals of Singapore schools get to know methods of classroom interaction in the city at SBOA School and Junior College, Anna Nagar, on Friday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: Things got hot, hotter, hottest at Standard III grammar class in SBOA School and Junior College on Friday, when visiting Singapore delegates were bowled over by the students' knowledge of the positive, comparative and superlative degrees.

Said one delegate, over coffee, later, "In Singapore, the grammar classes are more incidental. Students learn grammar in the context of a lesson. We should consider teaching grammar explicitly again, it is very important."

The delegation, comprising principals and vice-principals from 12 Singapore schools, was visiting schools in Chennai and Bangalore to pick up tips on how to teach English and maths.

In the maths class, they noted that teachers at SBOA managed to make the abstract concrete by using paper models to explain theorems.

Another aspect that impressed the visitors was how the teachers managed large classes. "In Singapore, the average student to teacher ratio is 1:40."

The Singapore teachers said that if they were to offer advice to their Indian counterparts, it would be on IT application, resources available in their schools and investment in teacher training.

They said that the Singapore government funds part of all this.

"But we do have the same goals and ideas, ultimately: value-based, academic education," said one of the delegates.

To increase the exposure of students to each other's countries, the schools are also considering an arrangement for teachers and students between the schools.

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