|
 It
was a holiday with a difference for the 360 spunky
16-year-olds who signed up for the 10-day Proficiency
Development Programme (Mathematics and Science).
Actually, the course title, “Proficiency Development
Programme”, is a little misleading. Many came
with the expectation of an intensive remedial programme
that will equip them with the required knowledge
of the “O” level syllabus. In the final
analysis, it was not merely proficiency that the
student had to strive hard to achieve – they
had to learn patience, courage and self-discipline
as well.
The PDP was designed to help very weak students
who were keen on joining a polytechnic after their “O” levels.
The idea stemmed from the sad experience some of
us had during the Joint-Admissions Exercise when
we were forced to turn away prospective applicants
who did not have the minimum pass grade for both
Mathematics and Science. We did not intend the PDP
to be a panacea for all educational ills – it
would be nothing short of a miracle to help students
master the entire syllabus within 10 half-days.
Our aim was to address several key areas of weakness
using the Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach in
the hope that it would enable students to see the
given problem in a new light. Facilitators at Republic
Polytechnic were tasked to lead the students from
the initial situation of not knowing what they had
to solve to a stage where they could discover for
themselves what they could do to solve the given
problem.
 For 10 days, they had to lead students in this manner
through different problems, all of which were specially
designed by the Academic Director, Professor Alwis.
We believe the PBL process, when understood properly,
would help the student master fundamental concepts
in those key areas of weaknesses and improve their
performance in the “O” levels sufficiently
to secure the required C6 or better.
As expected, some students found the PBL process
a little bewildering, accustomed as they were to
the traditional instructional mode of teaching. Some
were disappointed they could not have the correct
answer straight away. Instead, together with their
teammates, they had to think how best to approach
the given problem. Fortunately, most of our student
participants chose to sweat it out with their facilitators
to the end.
On a concluding note, over 200 students turned up
to sit their test on Jun 21 and 28. While most did
not ace the paper, they showed an increased confidence
in themselves as learners. To these students, we
thank you for joining us at Republic Polytechnic
and filing up our evaluation form. We certainly wish
you all the best for your coming “O” levels!
|
