Rapid Research

From 2026, MOE introduced a Rapid Research Fund (RRF) to supplement existing education research efforts. The RRF supports studies that can be completed within 6 to 9 months and focuses on (but is not limited to) local and empirical educational technology (EdTech) research.

Research questions (RQ) for RRF studies are tightly scoped. They can be answered through surveys, case studies or randomised controlled trials that involve EdTech tools (including artificial intelligence ones) and how they are used.

RR’s research questions, methodologies, interventional materials, metrics, instruments and findings are shared publicly at the end of each study. Teachers and researchers are invited to replicate the studies within their own contexts and for their students.

List of studies (Findings will be available after July 2026)

1. Survey of Teacher and Student Use of AI tools for T&L
2. Case Study on Teacher use of Learning Data
3. Effect of Linking Gamification to Learning Content on Students’ Motivation and Learning
4. Effect of Scaffolds and AI Chatbots during Discussion on Equitable Participation and Students’ Diversity of Thinking
5. Effect of Contingent and Fading Scaffolding provided by an AI Tutoring Bot on Student Learning
6. Effect of AI Tool Design on Mitigating Teacher Deskilling

Grant cycles begin in March and September each year, with a list of draft RQs proposed by MOE divisions. Findings from each completed cycle will be released in July and January. Each study will be led by an MOE specialist.

We invite interested researchers (both international and local) and teacher collaborators to join as co-Principal Investigators (PI). Co-PIs may separately publish findings (suitably anonymised) in research journals if they receive approval from an Institutional Review Board.

RRF complements other education research efforts funded by MOE:

• Education Research Funding Programme (ERFP)
  Objective: Research to improve classroom practice, enhance student outcomes, build organisational and teacher capacities in Singapore schools, and inform MOE policies
  Research cycle: 3 to 5 years
• Senior Specialist Track Research Fund (SSTRF)
  Objective: Single year research to inform upcoming policy, programme or system design
  Research cycle: 1.5 years
• Rapid Research Fund (RRF)
  Objective: RR to inform or validate refinements to policy, programme, system or practice
  Research cycle: 6 to 9 months

If you have any questions, interest to join any of the upcoming studies, or would like to propose lines of inquiry for consideration in the next RRF cycle, please write to Chia_Hai_Siang@moe.gov.sg or Jean_PHUA@moe.gov.sg.

Upcoming cycle - 2H2026

Period of Study: March 2026 to December 2026

1. Vibe Coded Interactives: Findings from Cross Subject Analysis
2. Effect of Micro-Adaptivity in Intelligent Tutoring Systems on Student Learning, Domain-Specific Metacognitive Knowledge and Teacher Understanding of Student Mastery
3. Using Word Embeddings to Detect Cultural Bias in LLM Generated Text
4. Effect of Multi-agent Orchestration on Improving Curriculum Alignment of Educational LLMs
5. Using “Copy-Pasted” Student Responses to Evaluate Cognitive Offloading
6. Exploring the Impact of AI and Teacher mediation in Student Notetaking on Learning
7. Exploring How Digital Note-Taking Supports Primary Five Students' Learning Documentation and Reflection in Music Classrooms