Ministry of Education Singapore: BlueSky

What is Teach Less, Learn More?

Teach Less, Learn More is about teaching better, to engage our learners and prepare them for life, rather than teaching more, for tests and examinations.

• TLLM aims to touch the hearts and engage the minds of our learners, to prepare them for life. It reaches into the core of education - why we teach, what we teach and how we teach.

• It is about shifting the focus from “quantity” to “quality” in education. “More quality” in terms of classroom interaction, opportunities for expression, the learning of life-long skills and the building of character through innovative and effective teaching approaches and strategies. “Less quantity” in terms of rote-learning, repetitive tests, and following prescribed answers and set formulae.

• Teachers, school leaders and MOE all have important roles to play to make Teach Less, Learn More happen.

It calls on everyone of us to go back to the basics

• Thinking Schools, Learning Nation (TSLN) was adopted as the vision statement for MOE in 1997. It continues to be the over-arching descriptor of the transformation in the education system, comprising changes in all aspects of education. These changes articulate how MOE would strive toward the Desired Outcomes of Education (DOEs).

• Since 2003, we have focused more on one aspect of our DOEs, i.e. nurturing a spirit of Innovation and Enterprise (I&E). This will build up a core set of life skills and attitudes that we want in our students. It promotes the mindsets that we want to see in our students, teacher, school leaders and beyond.

• TLLM builds on the groundwork laid in place by the systemic and structural improvements under TSLN, and the mindset changes encouraged in our schools under I&E. It continues the TSLN journey to improve the quality of interaction between teachers and learners, so that our learners can be more engaged in learning and better achieve the desired outcomes of education. The relationship between TSLN, I&E and TLLM is shown in Figure 1 below.

To Remember Why We Teach

• We should keep in mind that we do what we do in education for the learner, his needs, interests and aspirations, and not simply to cover the content.

• We should encourage our students to learn because they are passionate about learning, and less because they are afraid of failure.

• We should teach to help our students achieve understanding of essential concepts and ideas, and not only to dispense information.

• We should teach more to prepare our students for the test of life and less for a life of tests.

To Reflect on What We Teach

• We should focus more on teaching the whole child, in nurturing him holistically across different domains, and less on teaching our subjects per se.

• We should teach our students the values, attitudes and mindsets that will serve him well in life, and not only how to score good grades in exams.

• We should focus more on the process of learning, to build confidence and capacity in our students, and less on the product.

• We should help the students to ask more searching questions, encourage curiosity and critical thinking, and not only to follow prescribed answers.

To Reconsider How We Teach

• We should encourage more active and engaged learning in our students, and depend less on drill and practice and rote learning.

• We should do more guiding, facilitating and modelling, to motivate students to take ownership of their own learning, and do less telling and teacher talk.

• We should recognise and cater better to our students’ differing interests, readiness and modes of learning, through various differentiated pedagogies, and do less of ‘one-size-fits-all’ instruction.

• We should assess our students more qualitatively, through a wider variety of authentic means, over a period of time to help in their own learning and
growth, and less quantitatively through one-off and summative examinations.

• We should teach more to encourage a spirit of innovation and enterprise in our students, to nurture intellectual curiosity, passion, and courage to try new and untested routes, rather than to follow set formulae and standard answers.

It calls on everyone of us to go back to the basics, to

Remember Why We Teach -

More…	Less…
For the Learner	To Rush through the Syllabus
To Excite Passion	Out of Fear of Failure
For Understanding	To Dispense Information Only
For the Test of Life	For a Life of Tests

Reflect on What We Teach -

More…	Less…
The Whole Child	The Subject
Values-centric	Grades-centric
Process	Product
Searching Questions	Textbook Answers

Reconsider How We Teach -

More…	Less…
Engaged Learning	Drill and Practice
Differentiated Teaching	‘One-size-fits-all’ Instruction
Guiding, Facilitating, Modelling	Telling
Formative and Qualitative Assessing	Summative and Quantitative Testing
Spirit of innovation and enterprise	Set Formulae, Standard Answers

Resource Materials on Teach Less, Learn More

• Minister's Speech
Click here to read Minister's speech at the MOE Work Plan Seminar on 22 Sep 2005.

• Press Release on Teach Less, Learn More
Click here to read the press releases on greater support for teachers and school leaders.
Click here to read the press releases on greater flexibility and choice for learners.

• Contact - The Teachers' Digest Oct 2005 Issue
Click here to read the Oct 2005 issue of Teachers' Digest on Teach Less, Learn More.

• Framework for Teach Less, Learn More Recommendations
Click here to access Powerpoint slides that explain the framework for TLLM recommendations that were announced at the 2005 Work Plan Seminar.
- (File Format .PDF - File size 3.3mb)

• Teach Less, Learn More Journal

Click here to download softcopy of the TLLM Journal in low resolution.
- (File Format .PDF - File size 2.2mb)

Click here to download softcopy of the TLLM Journal in high resolution.
- (File Format .PDF - File size 9.7mb)

• Teach Less, Learn More Posters

Click here to download softcopy of the TLLM Posters in low resolution.
- (File Format .PDF - File size 1.2mb)

Click here to download softcopy of the TLLM Posters in high resolution.
- (File Format .PDF - File size 4.1mb)

• Teach Less, Learn More Facilitation Plan
Click here to download a sample of a Facilitation Plan to help your school reflect on what TLLM means for plans ahead!
- (File Format .PPT - File size 797kb)

The Teach Less, Learn More Logo

The logo, constructed from the acronym derived from “Teach Less, Learn More” (TLLM), depicts a happy student with outstretched arms, eagerly embracing learning. The star-shaped hands remind us of the starfish story. From it, we learn that we can make a difference to every student, develop him to his fullest potential, help him make his own future, and reach for the stars. The designer of the logo is Mr Lak Yau Hui, Vice-Principal, Bedok South Secondary School.

Teach Less, Learn More Ignite!

Click here to download Ignite! Invitation Kit
- (File Format .PDF – File size 55kb)

Click here to download Ignite! Application Form
- (File Format .DOC – File size 282kb)

Click here to read Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Ignite! Package
- (File Format .PDF – File size 37kb)