PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF
PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS:
THE SINGAPORE WAY
Hanif A. Rahman (Master Teacher)
Mabel Yong (Lead Teacher)
Tan Seck Heong (Lead Teacher)
Timothy D’Cruz (Programme Manager)
Physical Education and Sports Teacher Academy
Ministry of Education, Singapore
17th UNESCO-APEID International Conference 2014
Bangkok, Thailand
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
 Overview of Teacher Education in Singapore
o Pre-service
o In-service
 Roles of PE & Sports Teacher Academy (PESTA)
o Professional Development plan
o Infuse expert knowledge
o Build communities of practice
o PE Lesson Observation Tool
OVERVIEW: PRE-SERVICE
 National Institute of Education (Nanyang Technological
University) is the only pre-service training institution
for teacher education
o Diploma in Education (2 years)
o Post-Graduate Diploma in Education (1 or 2 years)
o Bachelor of Science/Arts (4 years)
 Employed by MOE and salaried (3-year bond)
OVERVIEW: IN-SERVICE
 Academy of Singapore Teachers (AST) – Humanities,
Mathematics & Sciences subject chapters
 English Language Institute of Singapore (ELIS)
 Singapore Centre for Chinese Language (SCCL)
 Malay Language Centre of Singapore (MLCS)
 Umar Pulavar Tamil Language Centre (UPTLC)
 Singapore Teachers’ Academy for the Arts (STAR)
 PE and Sports Teacher Academy (PESTA)
A HOME BASE FOR
PE AND SPORTS TEACHERS
NURTURING A COMMUNITY OF
PASSIONATE AND SKILFUL TEACHERS
TEACHER ATTRIBUTES
PESTA TEACHER ATTRIBUTES
Practising Professionals of PE and Sports
Embodiment of Fitness and Health
Stewards of Students’ Needs and Safety
Teachers of Values
Advocates of PE and Sports
WHAT WE DO
Roles of Teacher Academies
What PESTA does
Champion professional
 Nurture a strong teacher-led
development
culture in professional
development
Research hub where teachers
 Put in place good practices at the
can develop their expertise
school planning level that lead to
quality delivery of PE & Sports
Resource hub with rich sharing  Forge local and global
platforms and learning
partnerships for the enhancement
repositories
of professional development
One-stop centre for teacher
renewal
 Develop pipeline of Teacher
Leaders in PE
WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
 To ensure fidelity in the implementation of the
national PE syllabus
 Bridging the intended to the enacted curriculum
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PD) PLAN
PESTA PD Plan
Strategies
Infuse Expert Knowledge
Build Communities of Practice
Expected Outcomes
Higher capacity of qualified PE teachers leading to quality PE lessons
and growth of teacher leaders
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PD) PLAN
PESTA PD Plan
Strategies
Infuse Expert Knowledge
 Developing Subject Matter Knowledge (SMK) & Pedagogical
Content Knowledge (PCK) using the ‘Learn-Apply-Reinforce’
approach
 Collaboration with local partners
 Engaging overseas Visiting Fellows
 Implementing enhanced PD for teacher leaders
 Conducting research
 Building capacity of PESTA officers
Expected Outcomes
Higher capacity of qualified PE teachers leading to
quality PE lessons and growth of teacher leaders
WORKSHOP APPROACH
Learn
 Workshop
(2-3 days)
Apply
 Transfer of learning
 Reflection on
effectiveness by individual
teachers
 Peer Observations
 Coaching and Lesson
Observations by PESTA
Programme Managers
Reinforce
 Post-course
workshop (0.5 day)
 Bridge learning gaps
 Share best practice
 Reinforce learning
“Effective Continual Professional Development should be rooted in the
day-to-day complexities of teaching. One-off courses have to be
supplemented by support measures (in schools) to ensure the application
of teachers’ learning that would enhance student learning outcomes”.
Kathleen Armour (2005)
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (PD) PLAN
PESTA PD Plan
Strategies
Build Communities of Practice
 Develop partner schools’ strength in PE and their role as mentors
for other schools
 Engage PESTA networks
 Provide platforms for the sharing of good practices
 Provide opportunities for teacher attachment
Expected Outcomes
Higher capacity of qualified PE teachers leading to
quality PE lessons and growth of teacher leaders
NETWORKS
PE LESSON OBSERVATION TOOL
 Developed by PESTA
 Internal distribution to
Singapore schools
 “Use of PELOT” workshops at
networks
 Promoting the use of PELOT
through PESTA PD platforms
and school support
KEY FEATURES OF A GOOD PE LESSON
Engaged Learning
Positive Learning
Environment
Creating a caring and participatory
learning environment
Engaging students meaningfully and
guiding them in practice
4 Pedagogical Principles
(CASEL,2010; Hellison, 2011; Rink, 2010; Saphier,Haley-Speca & Gower, 2008)
Effective communication
Skilful Management
Giving clear instructions and useful
feedback; modelling good behaviour
Managing students with clear
boundaries and routines
PROCESS FLOW
Possible follow-up actions: areas for
improvement:
• Schedule another lesson observation
• Observe peers' lessons
• Lesson observed by peers
• Self-review of lesson through videos
Confirmation
of lesson
observation
Submission of
lesson plan by
the teacher
Pre-lesson
discussion
Reflection by
the teacher
Lesson
observation
Post-lesson
discussion
Reflection by
the teacher
WHY DO WE DO WHAT WE DO?
“These professional learning approaches are being supplemented
by school-managed professional learning that supports teachers to
attend network, region and state-wide professional
learning events in order to share their experience, learn from other
teachers and teaching experts, and bring new suggestions for
improving school and teacher practice back into the school.
By being clear about their instructional and classroom
management models, well-versed in the literature of effective
teaching and committed to working collaboratively to improve
each other’s lesson planning and instructional techniques, schools are
able to achieve the twin targets of improving teaching effectiveness
and consistency.”
Peter Cole (2012)
THANK YOU
Academy Principal, Programme Director, 2 Master Teachers,
3 Lead Teachers, 11 Programme Managers, Admin Manager, Support Staff
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.pesta.moe.edu.sg