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EDUN N25-02-004 

04403 

8 August 2003 

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE TEACHERS’ PROGRAMME 2003 (SINGAPORE InSTeP)

1         Educators from 10 countries will be in Singapore from 11 - 23 August 2003 to participate in the Singapore International Science Teachers' Programme 2003 (InSTeP 2003) organised by the Ministry of Education. InSTeP aims to bring together science teachers from different parts of the world to exchange ideas on the teaching and learning of science. This year, the InSTeP participants hail from Brunei, Chile, China, Finland, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United Kingdom. Participating in InSTeP for the first time are science teachers from Chile, Finland and Ireland.

2         During the two-week programme, Singapore teachers will have the opportunity to share with their overseas counterparts our educational policies, curriculum design and various teaching strategies. International participants will also have the opportunity to impart their best practices to Singapore teachers through their co-teaching sessions during a four-day school attachment and other presentations. Their attachment to secondary schools will provide them with an opportunity to experience the culture of Singapore schools.

3         InSTeP participants will also visit science hubs such as the Science Resource Centre at Concord Primary and the Science Exploria at East Spring Primary, science and technology centres at National Junior College and Anderson Junior College, the Institute of Technical Education, the polytechnics, the universities, and the Singapore Science Centre. These field trips will offer participants a better understanding of science research activities conducted by the various institutions and how they collaborate with schools to enthuse students and encourage a lively interest in science.

4         Acting Minister for Education, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will officiate at the InSTeP 2003 opening ceremony at MOE Function Room, MOE Building on 12 August 2003.

5         The inaugural InSTeP, also organised by the Ministry of Education, was held in 2001. Then, it brought together educators from fourteen countries.