Enhancing Learning Experiences for Students in the Normal Course

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1. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and schools will be taking further steps to enhance the learning experiences of Normal Course students, who make up 40% of the secondary school cohort[1]. Additional resources, both manpower and financial, will be given to schools which have more Normal Course students. Students in the Normal (Academic) Course [N(A)] will be helped in building stronger foundations for post-secondary education. Three schools will try out fresh approaches to learning in the Normal (Technical) Course [N(T)] course.

2. All in, the new initiatives will help students in the Normal Course engage better in their learning, and succeed in school and in post-secondary education.

3. These initiatives were announced by Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Minister for Education & Second Minister for Finance, at the 2007 MOE Work Plan Seminar on 2 October.

4. To provide additional support for secondary schools with Normal Course students, MOE will introduce a new Education Associate (EDA) scheme from 2008. The EDAs will provide additional manpower for schools, on top of the teaching force that is also being expanded.

5. The EDAs will work closely with trained teachers, focussing especially on the teaching of the Normal course. Their roles will include co-teaching with the teachers in classes and complementing the teachers’ efforts in providing pastoral support to students. EDAs with the requisite skills, expertise or teaching experience, can also be deployed to teach special modules or subjects in applied areas, such as computer animation, digital music or drama. These could include existing Elective Modules and Advanced Elective Modules[2] offered by N(A) and N(T) students.

6. EDAs should possess post-secondary qualifications and have the passion, aptitude and skills to teach Normal course students. MOE will provide them with a structured pre-service training programme to equip them with basic teaching skills. This will be a four-week full-time training programme in the National Institute of Education (NIE) where the EDAs will study topics ranging from educational psychology to classroom management and teaching strategies.

7. EDAs who are keen, and have demonstrated their suitability to become teachers, could be recommended by the schools to join the Education Service after they have served a minimum of two years.

8. The EDA scheme will be extended to all secondary schools with Normal course students in phases by end 2010. Priority will initially be given to schools with higher Normal course enrolment, or higher N(T) enrolment. We expect 37 schools to qualify for priority deployment of EDAs in 2008. Annex A provides the list of schools.

9. MOE will also increase the Manpower Grant for secondary schools with Normal course students. Since 1999, Manpower Grant has been given to all government and government-aided schools to buy services of support staff or to employ relief teaching staff to supplement their manpower needs.

10. 140 secondary schools will each receive about $20,000 more in Manpower Grant every year. A typical secondary school currently receives about $150,000 of Manpower Grant each year. In total, these schools will receive about $23 million in manpower grant yearly, up from $20 million currently. Schools could use these extra resources to engage additional staff to support programmes tailored for the Normal course students.

11. Schools with a relatively higher proportion of N(T) students would benefit from having a key appointment holder dedicated to looking after the academic and non-academic needs of the N(T) students, as well as to oversee coordination and provide guidance for teachers who teach the N(T) classes. MOE will establish a key appointment position - Head of Department N(T), or HOD N(T).

12. Secondary schools with at least 20% of their student population comprising N(T) students, or with eight or more N(T) classes with a minimum of 30 students in each class, are eligible to appoint an HOD N(T) with immediate effect. This will be in addition to the existing key appointment holders that these schools currently have. 32 schools are currently eligible to appoint an HOD N(T) based on the criteria. Please refer to the italicised school names in Annex A.

13. MOE will provide further training for teachers who are passionate about teaching N(T) students and whose responsibilities are focussed on teaching these students. With the additional teachers provided to schools through the Adjunct Teacher Scheme, schools have greater flexibility in teacher deployment and specialisation across the courses within the school.

14. MOE will collaborate with the NIE and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) to provide a customised training programme that equips these teachers with in-depth skills for teaching and relating to N(T) students. The programme will include teaching skills and pedagogy for engaging N(T) students, classroom management as well as counselling skills. MOE will also facilitate greater sharing of practices by tapping on the Master and Senior Teachers network to mentor and coach these teachers. The first customised training programme will be introduced from mid 2008.

(A) Refinement of Promotion Criteria to Sec 5N for better alignment with Polytechnic Admission Criteria

15. To better prepare students for progression to post-secondary education, MOE will better align the promotion criteria for N(A) students’ promotion from Sec 4N to Sec 5N with the admission requirements to the polytechnics.

16. Currently, the criteria for promoting the N(A) students to Sec 5N comprise a pass in English Language (EL) and the aggregate score of their best 3 subjects at the ‘N’ level examinations. MOE will introduce the following refinements:

(a) Include both EL and Mathematics as compulsory subjects for computation in the aggregate score; and

17. The changes will align the promotion criteria with the admission requirements to the polytechnics which likewise include 5 subjects in the computation of the aggregate score. EL and Mathematics are also required for most of the polytechnic courses. The refined promotion criteria will apply to the 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort onwards. Please refer to the table below.

18. Currently, 78% of Sec 4N students go on to Sec 5N after sitting for their ‘N’ levels. However, only 60% of Sec 5N students do well enough at their ‘O’ levels to be eligible for admission to the polytechnics. Hence, amongst the Sec 4N cohort, slightly less than half (48%) are eventually eligible for the polytechnics. With the refinement in promotion criteria to Sec 5N, MOE anticipates that more students will be motivated earlier in their secondary years, before they enter Sec 5N, in their studies aimed at progressing to the polytechnics.

19. Students who do well enough in their ‘N’ levels to meet the revised criteria for progression to Sec 5N (EL-Maths-B3 ≤ 19) will be given the additional option of enrolling in a new curriculum track comprising direct entry to Higher Nitec courses at the ITE. With this option, the students can start their Higher Nitec studies a year earlier, compared to the current situation where N(A) students have to sit for their ‘O’ level examinations first before being eligible for Higher Nitec courses. Annex B illustrates the possible pathways for Sec 4 N(A) students.

20. The ITE will pilot the new curriculum track starting from 2008, for qualifying students from the 2007 Sec 4 N(A) cohort.

21. N(A) students admitted into the new curriculum track will go through a ten-week preparatory course. This will comprise relevant topics focussing on mathematical concepts and scientific principles required for the Higher Nitec curriculum. Oral and written communication skills will also be emphasised in the preparatory course to strengthen students’ literary skills.

(C) Sec 4N(A) Students Allowed to Offer More than Two ‘O’ level Subjects

22. Since 2004, N(A) students have been allowed to offer up to two ‘O’ level subjects at Sec 4N(A), when they also sit for their ‘N’ level examinations. These ‘O’ level subjects are in addition to the ‘N’ level subjects they are already taking.

23. The cap of two ‘O’ level subjects was aimed at ensuring that N(A) students could cope well with both their ‘N’ level and ‘O’ level subjects. Over the past 3 years, 90% of the Sec 4N(A) students who took ‘O’ level subjects passed the examinations, with over 25% of these students scoring distinctions.

24. Starting with the 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort, MOE will lift the cap on the number of ‘O’ level subjects N(A) students can offer at Sec 4N(A). Schools will continue to have the flexibility and discretion in assessing the suitability of students to take up these options and the number of ‘O’ level subjects these students can offer.

25. In addition, schools are also encouraged to adopt a more customised approach towards the teaching of N(A) students, by allowing students who are strong in specific subjects to offer these subjects at the Express Course level from Sec 1 onwards. This will allow students to be stretched in their areas of strengths, and will better prepare them for post-secondary education.

26. In recent years, several initiatives have been introduced to better engage the N(T) students who prefer a more practice-oriented approach towards learning. Schools have been customising their programmes and developing new practices to enhance the quality of learning and engagement for their N(T) students.

27. To further develop excellence in teaching N(T) students, Bedok Town Secondary, Shuqun Secondary and Si Ling Secondary will pilot new variants of the N(T) programme that build on their existing efforts. These “N(T) Mark II” schools will partner ITE and be supported by MOE to develop their own curricular offerings and programmes. The collaboration will involve the following initiatives:

a. The three schools will offer new N(T) subjects which have greater emphasis on practice-based learning. The new subjects will be piloted in the three schools at Sec 3 from 2009 onwards. Unlike current elective modules, the new subjects will also be reflected in the students’ GCE ‘N’ level Examination Certificates and be recognised for admission into the ITE. The new N(T) subjects being explored include Mechatronics & Robotics, Electrical Technology & Applications, Computer Networking, as well as Business and Health Science.

b. The schools will also offer a larger number and variety of Elective Modules. Some of these modules could eventually be developed to form new N(T)-level subjects.

c. The schools will allow their students to take a mix of the new N(T) subjects and existing subjects. For instance, students could offer three existing N(T) subjects (such as the core subjects of English Language, Mathematics and Mother Tongue Language), and two of the new N(T) subjects.

d. In collaboration with the ITE, the schools will further customise the teaching of existing N(T) subjects, such as Mathematics, to bring about a greater focus on practice-oriented skills and approaches.

e. Students will be given opportunity to do industrial attachments and internships, as an integral part of the schools’ N(T) programmes. They will also have attachment opportunities in ITE.

28. To promote the cross-fertilisation of ideas and teaching strategies, MOE will pilot a scheme in 2008 to second ITE lecturers[3] to the three N(T) Mark II schools.

29. These seconded ITE lecturers will be deployed to teach the new N(T) subjects. In addition, they will work with the teachers to customise the existing N(T) subjects and develop practice-oriented enrichment programmes that will enrich the schooling experiences of the N(T) students. The ITE lecturers would also have industrial experiences and networks that the schools can tap on.

[1] Students in the Normal (Academic) Course comprise about 25% of each Sec 1 cohort, while students in the Normal (Technical) Course comprise about 15% of each Sec 1 cohort.

[2] EMs and AEMs are optional modules offered to students to develop their interests and strengths in specific areas. These modules introduce students to a course of study in post-secondary education institutes (PSEIs) and expose them to possible career paths, giving them the opportunity to experience practice-oriented learning in fields as diverse as digital media and entrepreneurship. Schools can develop EMs in collaboration with PSEIs like ITE and the polytechnics or external agencies. The AEMs are developed and conducted by the polytechnics.

[3] The ITE will be boosting its overall recruitment of lecturers to cater to its increased involvement in our schools under the secondment framework.

Current Promotion Criteria	Refined Promotion Criteria (from 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort)
EL ≤ 5 B3 ≤ 10 (B3 refers to the aggregate score of the best 3 subjects at the ‘N’ level examinations)	EL ≤ 5 EL-Maths-B3 ≤ 19 (EL-Maths-B3 refers to the aggregate score of English Language, Mathematics and best 3 subjects at the ‘N’ level examinations)

Current Promotion Criteria

Refined Promotion Criteria (from 2009 Sec 4N(A) cohort)