SPEECH BY MR HAWAZI DAIPI, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & MINISTRY OF MANPOWER, AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE STUDY OF COOPERATION IN EDUCATION (IASCE) 2004 AT CARLTON HOTEL, ON TUESDAY, 22 JUNE

SPEECH BY MR HAWAZI DAIPI, PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY, MINISTRY OF EDUCATION & MINISTRY OF MANPOWER, AT THE OPENING OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE STUDY OF COOPERATION IN EDUCATION (IASCE) 2004 AT CARLTON HOTEL, ON TUESDAY, 22 JUNE 2004, AT 9AM

General Lim Chuan Poh,

Second Permanent Secretary (Education) and NIE Council Chairman

Prof Lee Sing Kong,

Dean, Graduate Programme and Research, NIE

Prof Lynda Baloche and Prof Celeste Brody,

Co-Presidents of the International Association of the Study of Cooperation in Education (IASCE)

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning

Introduction

1. I am pleased to be here this morning at the opening of this international conference on cooperative learning. I want to extend my warm greetings to all participants especially our foreign participants who have come to Singapore for this conference. I note with pleasure that this is the first time that the conference of the International Association for the Study of Cooperation in Education (IASCE) is being hosted in Asia. It is fitting that the organisers have elected to stage the conference in Asia, and more specifically, in Singapore, this year.

2. Collaboration and cooperation – these are words central to the vocabulary of any modern educator, whether he hails from Europe or from Asia. Wherever the modern educator hails from, it is clear to me that it is the shared vision to educate that has brought you from across all cultures here this morning. And let me just add that there is no location more apt to host a discussion on advancing cooperative learning than Singapore.

Systemic Changes in Singapore’s Educational Approach

3. Not least among the reasons why I hold this belief is the dynamism that characterises Singapore’s education system. The system of education that has emerged and that continues to evolve here in Singapore represents a deliberate effort by the government, school leaders, teachers, pupils, and countless other stakeholders to work together to create a viable and successful future for the nation.

“The Learning Tapestry” in TemasekPrimary School

4. Schools in Singapore are breaking the rules and traditional modes of education, moving from teacher-centered, examination-focused learning to student-directed, inter-disciplinary problem-solving approaches. Temasek Primary School suspends their formal time-table for one week each year – an innovation unheard of until in recent years. For one whole week of “The Learning Tapestry” programme, teachers, students and parents break from the monotony of normal curriculum and homework to embark on solving “real-life problems”. A couple of things about the “Learning Tapestry” excite me: one, as the key stake-holder in a child’s life, the parent gets a chance to be involved with the planning, execution and review process of his education, and two, only “just-in-time” instruction is given. What that means is a greater collaboration between stakeholders of education, accompanied by a greater scope of growth for the pupils – just the bare knowledge scaffolding is given to the young ones, and the rest is up to them, working in teams, to formulate the knowledge and strategies necessary to get the job done. Remarkably, some very adult life-skills of negotiation, leadership, idea-sharing and elimination, and consensus-building are displayed in some very young pupils, with very little help from the traditional dispensers of knowledge – their teachers.

“Character Development” in ACS Junior

5. Another example is the year-long character development programme run in ACS Junior (Anglo-Chinese Junior School). Parent volunteers (and sometimes grand-parents too) go down each week to conduct activities that depart from the traditional modes. The action-oriented singing, story-telling, skit presentations, and competitions stimulate discussion and place the onus of character-formation on the pupil himself. Again, the integration of the key stakeholder in the child’s development – his immediate family – is consistent with our emphasis on the partnership between home and school.

6. Temasek Primary and ACS Junior are but two noteworthy examples displaying the way paradigms of education in Singapore have evolved, and are evolving. Implicit in this evolution has been a spirit of mutual respect, consultation, and consensus-building among the stakeholders. A spirit made necessary by the unique diversity of Singapore’s demographic composition. Indeed, the Singapore experience in the evolution of educational excellence exemplifies the theme of this year’s conference – ‘cooperation and collaboration: diversity of practice, cultural contexts and creative innovations’.

7. Over the next few days, you will be privileged to hear from, and interact with, not only some renowned names in cooperative learning but also presenters hailing from the Middle East to the Baltic states, from the Americas to Southeast Asia. Together, you will have an unprecedented opportunity to learn from each other, and to inspire innovations large and small, which are currently only the faintest glint in your mind’s eye. I urge all of you not to let this opportunity pass.

8. As the topics of discussion unravel this morning, I believe there are at least five key ideas that you may wish to bear in mind, in relation to how you may, as educators harness the tool of cooperative learning in your work.

Innovate

9. First, ‘innovate’. It is no accident that you will hear this word popping up in conversations everywhere over, and beyond, the next few days. Innovation is truly central to the long-term survival of any system, organic or otherwise. An organism which does not evolve and adapt to changes in its environment will surely perish. For instance, it is no coincidence that, whatever you believe to have brought the age of the large dinosaurs to an end, it was the smaller, nimble, innovative, mammals that superseded them.

10. I believe Singaporeans have the potential to appreciate a special insight into the need to innovate, because we are not a monolithic, homogeneous, society. Instead, our very heterogeneity is not only our strength, but also the very fuel that could power our sustained growth.

11. Teachers in Singapore schools, of whom there are many among you today, are aware of the emphasis that the Ministry of Education places upon the twin ideas of Innovation & Enterprise, to be practised among all members of the school community. I encourage participants to seize the opportunity provided over these few days to engage in constructive critique of the ideas exchanged, for, as the theme of this conference reminds us, education would be that much richer with a diversity of practice, as well as a consideration of cultural context.

Anticipate

12. The second key idea that I would like to share with you this morning is ‘anticipate’. The concept of anticipation carries with it keenness, alertness and sharpness. Anticipation is a state of mind which describes an excited preparedness and readiness, to forge the path ahead. To the self-aware learner, all manner of things can be anticipated. What might most readily come to mind are the anticipation of problems and opportunities. I would like to go a little further, by suggesting that if problems are well and truly anticipated, they cease to be problems and instead present themselves as opportunities.

13. Such a habit of mind does not come naturally to everyone – some in a population are naturally more entrepreneurial than others. Yet we in Singapore believe that this same habit of mind – what we term ‘edupreneurship’ – can, and indeed must, be nurtured in all our pupils. This spirit of edupreneurship distinguishes itself from more traditional concepts of entrepreneurship in that it is not motivated by selfish ambition, but instead by risk-taking in the cause of improving educational practice as a whole.

14. Anticipation, then, is the second key idea in the debate as to present and future directions of cooperative learning. Anticipation produces the sparks which keep the engine of innovation running.

Salivate

15. The third key idea is ‘salivate’. If anticipation is defined by a sense of keenness, then salivation is characterised by a constant yearning – a hunger for the acquisition, synthesis and creation of new knowledge. This endeavour has to be societal, and therefore collaborative, in nature and in scale; if not, any knowledge created would be transient and of little value. If a society does not salivate, it will never be able to appreciate the value of the nourishment of learning. If a society does not salivate, it will always be content with whatever paltry laurels it has already achieved, and will never thirst to know what new peaks lie beyond, waiting to be conquered. A society which does not salivate will wither and die.

16. The challenge which lies ahead for you, throughout the course of this conference and beyond, is to explore and debate new and relevant ways to keep your pupils salivating, for the rest of their lives. The spirit of salivation is the spirit of life-long learning.

Collaborate

17. The fourth key idea is ‘collaborate’. Each of your professional achievements and academic credentials in the field of cooperative learning speak for themselves. Many of you represent the cutting edge of research and practice in cooperative learning in your respective countries of origin. Yet, the charting of future directions and next steps in cooperative learning is not one person’s burden to bear. It is my earnest hope that all of you will forge networks over the next few days which will sustain and inspire you for many years to come.

Educate

18. Finally, please do not forget to ‘educate’. All of us here today, regardless of which country we hail from, and regardless of our varied career histories, believe in education whole-heartedly. That much I am sure. At one or other time in our lives, we all have experienced first-hand the unforgettable “a-ha” moment the very first time one of our charges makes a cognitive insight.

19. As teachers, we live for the “a-ha” moment. It is what gives us the energy each dawn to rise and shine in our schools, polytechnics and universities. It is what causes us to salivate with anticipation each time we set foot in a new class of learners young or old.

20. Innovate, anticipate, salivate, collaborate, educate. Together they represent the key imperatives of any successful learning endeavour, especially one which embraces diversity of practice, cultural contexts and creative innovations. Together they also spell IASCE.

21. At this IASCE 2004 conference, it is my hope that you will rediscover that the best learning takes place not when it is an individual endeavour, but when the experience – the “a-ha” moment – is shared among one’s fellow learners.

22. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the National Institute of Education for co-hosting and organizing this conference, and to wish all of you a fruitful and enriching conference over the next three days.

23. Thank you.