Story 1: Teaching and Learning

Innovative Teach Less, Learn More approach for pupils to appreciate and enjoy the learning journeys in Rivervale Primary School.

CL, TL & ML Learning @ The Rivervale Mall and the Neighbourhood

§ Learning of the Mother Tongue Languages is made interesting and meaningful through experiential learning at the Rivervale Mall and the neighbourhood. This innovative TLLM approach is spearheaded by the Mother Tongue teachers, the parents-volunteers and Primary Five pupils, who participated as learning buddies to all Primary one pupils.

§ This wholesome learning through fun strategy provides pupils with the opportunity to love the language through speaking before detailed learning. This approach greatly emphasizes the importance of arousing the pupils’ interest in learning the three Mother Tongue Languages. This in turn inculcates the passion in learning of the mother tongue languages in the pupils from young. At the Mall, the pupils visit the NTUC Fair Price Supermarket and the stationery shop to identify and pronounce the different shapes, colours and sizes of the various items they see in their daily lives. Then they have to complete the worksheets which are carefully tailored to their learning needs. The pupils visit the Rivervale Neighbourhood, the playgrounds and the distinctive infrastructures within the vicinity. Then they have to identify and fill in the names of the these infrastructures onto the worksheets, which are normally not found in the planned curriculum for Primary one pupils.

§ This value-added teaching strategy, whereby pupils will only become aware of such challenging words when they reach upper primary, is definitely beneficial to the pupils. The spirit of team work is also fostered among the pupils when they complete their group project after their experiential learning journey. The pupils build the infrastructures that are erected in the neighbourhood, using boxes and recyclable materials, which brings the pupils to a further test in logical thinking, memory power, creativity and spatial intelligence. Positive feedback had been received so far with regards to the school’s initiative and efforts to make learning interesting for the young pupils.

The Primary Five learning buddies help to guide the Primary One pupils during the learning journey.	Wow, now I know how to name the swings and slides in the playground in Mandarin.	The pupils are doing well during the TL learning @ Rivervale Mall with the help of their caring teacher, Mdm Siva.

Name of Contact Person: Miss Andrea Leong

Email Address: leong_wen_hsi@moe.edu.sg

Story 2: Teaching and Learning

WHIZ Trail @The Mall

• In respond to the Teach Less, Learn More initiative that is infused in the learning journey of all pupils, Rivervale Primary School has started to conduct formal lessons outside the school compound during curriculum time. The primary one pupils embark on experiential learning journeys to the Rivervale Mall to complete assignments and projects, which are of a multi-disciplinary nature.

• The objectives of the WHIZ Trail under the English and Art aspects, are to provide the pupils with opportunities to be creative in expressing their ideas and thoughts in both writing and pictorial illustrations, based on the different themes assigned for the four terms. Pupils would then relate their ideas and thoughts and form their own story, under the three categories of a class-dictated story, a group story and an individual story. This is coupled with Public Speaking, where pupils would take turn to station themselves at the Speaker’s Corner in their individual classrooms. This is when pupils have the freedom of speech, to express their ideas and thoughts verbally based on their written expression.

• Under the Mathematics aspect, the objectives encompass application of the two main operations of addition and subtraction in the daily lives of the pupils. Pupils also learn the different Mathematical jargons commonly used to differentiate different amounts and comparison of prices such as “the cheapest” and “the most expensive”.

• Under the Science aspect, pupils learn about the various habitats of the fishes that they keep in their classrooms and their feed. Through fish–rearing, the pupils learn to be patient when they take care of small animals. The pupils also learn to appreciate nature and become more aware of their surroundings and learn new knowledge.

Name of Contact Person: Miss Andrea Leong

Email Address: leong_wen_hsi@moe.edu.sg

Group effort brings about greater success as the pupils co-operate and work as a team.	One of the speakers is expressing her innovative ideas at the Speaker’s Corner in the classroom.