Ministry of Education, Brunei Darussalam
IBSE: The Brunei Story
MASDIAH TUAH
Senior Education Officer
Human Resource Development Division
Ministry of Education
Brunei Darussalam
AIMS
TO DEVELOP INQUIRY-BASED APPROACH SKILLS
IN ACHIEVING TEACHING AND LEARNING
EFFECTIVENESS AND A PROLONGED POSITIVE
IMPACT ON THE OVERALL QUALITY SCIENCE
EDUCATION
WHY IBSE
• In support of the nation’s drive to contribute to the achievement of
the Brunei Vision 2035 (the accomplishment of its educated and
highly skilled people)
• Heavy emphasis has been placed on improving the teaching of
science in schools to enhance the quality of science education as
envisioned in the Ministry of Education Strategic Plan 2007-2011 and
subsequently 2012-2017
• To promote inquiry teaching and learning in the science classroom
through the inquiry-based approach, represent one of the Ministry of
Education’s initiatives to support the continued growth and success
of the National Education System for the 21st century
Expected Outcome
100% of science teachers achieved the required competency
level in inquiry-based approach by 2017
Students will be more interested in school science and in science
in the wider world and that more of them will want to study
science at higher levels
Encourage best practice in science teaching so that students’
experiences of learning science are of the highest quality
Overview Of IBSE, Brunei
Phase I (Collaboration with Academies
of Science, France) - 2008
IBSE Phase II
Capacity Building Core Trainers
Developing IBSE Resources using 7E Learning
Cycle
IBSE Phase I Evaluation
(January, 2013)
IBSE Website
Dissemination Of IBSE T & L
Identified IBSE Teaching
& Learning Gaps
IBSE Phase II (Collaboration
with University Sheffield
Hallam, UK)
Phase I programme
• IBSE Phase I is an initiative adopted from French version known
as La main á la páte
(LAMAP),
by
the
Academies
des
Science
• Training of first cohort on LAMAP in April 2008 and July 2009
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between
Academies des Science, France and Ministry of Education, Brunei
Darussalam in November 2010
• Second cohort trained in July and September 2011
• All training carried out by LAMAP science educators from France
Phase I programme
• November 2011, 52 trainers identified
• Training of all science teachers on LAMAP started in February
2012
Phase I programme
• IBSE research was carried out in January 2013 by the international expert,
Dr Martin Braund from the Centre for Research and Innovation in Science
Education (CIRSE) at the University of York, UK.
• The purpose of this research was to explore to what extent professional
development training in Inquiry-Based Science Education (IBSE) has
resulted in inquiry-based science teaching in Brunei government schools.
The report uses the evaluation research to suggest actions needed at this
stage to promote, improve and sustain IBSE
Phase I evaluation
• elements of LAMAP framework could be seen in all 17
lessons observed
• most teachers used the LAMAP framework to plan
IBSE lessons
• true inquiry in the spirit of LAMAP and as represented
in training only seen in 2 lessons
• the productive questions ‘box’ often used to enter
lesson aims or new knowledge and skills to be
learned rather than to set questions to stimulate
thinking about ideas or to lead to practical inquiries
• productive questions, where they were properly
stated, rarely lead to inquiry
Phase I challenges
• structuring and scaffolding inquiry
• questioning skills, including
 productive questions
 questions to stimulate and scaffold open-ended inquiry and
monitor and assess pupil outcomes of IBSE
 questioning during crucial points of lessons to challenge pupils’
ideas and their decisions on actions or results of inquiries
• contextualising inquiry
• outcomes of learning from practical activities remain
stuck in the domain of actions rather than also being in
the domain of ideas
• developing scientific inquiry process skills
Phase II program
• set out to address the challenges identified by the Phase I
evaluation
• capacity build a core team of trainers to write contextbased IBSE resources using a 7E learning cycle model
• develop the core trainers to train and support teachers
across the clusters
• develop a comprehensive set of teaching resources to
support implementation and make available on a website
• support and develop the teachers' capability to ask
questions that progressively facilitate inquiry, thinking and
the development of ideas
• provide scaffolds for inquiry and set inquiry in context
• develop students' scientific inquiry and key skills capability
Project Model
Sustainable
support for
science
teaching and
learning
Capacity
Building
Development
of Teaching
Resources
Supporting science education
developments
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Inquiry-based teaching and learning
7E learning cycle
Context-based teaching and learning
Constructivism
Student-centred teaching and learning
Scientific inquiry
Development of key skills
Development of critical, creative and
higher order thinking skills
• ICT
Supporting Achievement of
SPN21
• Higher Order Thinking
• Student-centred
• Creative and
Collaborative
• Project-based Approach
• Authentic Learning
Developing core competencies
• Collaboration
• Digital literacy
• Critical thinking
• Problem-solving
Capacity Building Core Trainers
• 14 day capacity building
workshops to develop core
group of 60 science teachers as
expert developers of teaching
resources
• 2 Writing workshops per year
• trialling
• classroom observation,
feedback and editing
• Step by step approach
• Over the three years develop
as a sustainable group
Teaching Resources
• Each Unit covers a distinct part of the
curriculum
• 3 - 5 context-based learning episodes
• The resources include
• Teacher PowerPoints
• Video clips
• Unit and Episode Teacher’s
Guides
• Student Support Sheets
Inquiry embedded in 7E
• Inquiry embedded within a
serial constructivist model,
the 7E learning cycle
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Engage
Elicit
Explore
Explain
Elaborate
Extend
Evaluate
Set in context
• use appropriate real-life contexts
from Brunei
• introduce science concepts in ways
relevant to students
• allow conceptual interconnections to
be formed
• context integral part of the learning
experience, rather than used only for
illustrative purposes or for sparking
interest
In context
• Concepts embedded in the context
to make them more meaningful and
ensure the construction of more
coherent mental maps
• relevant, authentic contexts
stimulate dialogue, develop and
use the language of science and
foster curiosity and inquiry
Wide range of active
learning approaches used
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Active reading
Active writing
Group discussion
Simulation
Role play
Models
Investigation
Experiment
ICT
Supported Scientific Inquiry
• At least one whole
scientific inquiry per unit
• Enabling questions
• Scaffolds
• Planning sheets
• Varied starting points
• Additional advice in
Teachers Guides
Developing key skills
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Team work
Problem Solving
Leadership
Communication
Critical and creative
thinking
• ICT
Website
• Home page
• Resources
• Year
• Subject
• Support
Units on Website include
• Sports School
• Mini Chili Garden
• Electrical circuits
• Black out
• Drugs in society
• Animal Nutrition
• Junior Science
Master Chef
• Music in my life
• Water conservation
• Fauna and Flora
• Tristate
• Gases
Year 2 - Dissemination training
• At least one teacher from each level
• Introduction to the pedagogical model
• Introduction to the teaching resources and the
website
• Hands-on experience
• Reflection, Discussion, Feedback, Q&A
• Action planning implementation
• Reflective partners and action research
communities
• Take away the resources
Year 2 and 3 - School-based support for
implementation and embedding
• Core trainers mentor and support
through
• Email and telephone every month
• One visit per semester
• One cluster meeting per semester
• Responding to questions
• Posting zone reports and school
reports on forum
• In-school support include
• Action plan and preparation in teams
• Reflective Partners
• Action Research Communities
• Report to trainer
• classroom observations and
feedback
Year 2 - Classroom Observations
• teachers using the resources
• like the resources and feel having
the resources makes a big
difference. They want more!
• teachers now asking the right
questions, in the right order at the
right time
• students highly motivated
• progression in learning
• inquiry-based learning in practice
• lessons generally well organised
and executed
Characteristics of successful
lessons
• involved core trainer in planning
• teachers planned in teams or as reflective partners leading to well
planned and executed lessons
• adapted resources to suit needs of students
• teacher used the planned narrative and questions
• organised students effectively for small group or pair discussion and
activities
• used pair and small group discussion techniques effectively
• good questioning technique involving all
• use of individual wipe boards
• development of literacy skills
• students share ideas
• teachers challenged group and individual ideas through additional
questions
• students challenged each others ideas
• looked critically at evidence
Less successful lessons
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teacher had chosen to work in isolation
not well planned and executed
whole class questioning
no thinking time
teacher leading students to correct
answers
students not engaged in paired or small
group discussion during whole class
questioning stages
students not organised for effective
small group discussion or group work
groups too large
evidence collected and ideas not
challenged
Year 3 training
• new resources
• organising students for effective group work and discussion
• questioning techniques
• thinking time and progression of questions
• small group discussion techniques
• facilitating questions
• developing literacy
Recommendations
• involve all divisions of the ministry of education
• teachers cannot make the paradigm shift from teachercentred to open-ended inquiry in one step
• teachers need to be taken and supported through small
steps to ultimately achieve the goal, including
• organising classroom for student-centred learning
• organising student groups for effective group work and
discussion
• questioning techniques
• group management
• active learning
• guided inquiry scaffolded through questions
• comprehensive teaching resources
Recommendations
• capacity build the team of core trainers
• professional development of teachers should be staged with
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a series of face to face workshops
school-based support through
core trainer mentoring
reflective partners
action research communities
cluster meetings for sharing
electronic support and sharing
comprehensive teaching resources
• classroom observation should be carried out at all stages to
provide additional professional development, evaluate, and
influence next stages of professional and project development