"The modern world no longer rewards people for what they know... but for what they can do with what they know. It is therefore encouraging that Singapore students are not just leading the world in scientific knowledge, but they excel particularly in their capacity to think like scientists." – Mr Andreas Schleicher, director for education and skills at Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In the recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), a prestigious international benchmarking test dubbed as the "World Cup for Education", Singapore’s 15-year-olds were ranked first for Mathematics, Science and reading. The triennial study, run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), measures how well students around the world use their knowledge and skills to solve real-world problems.
Read the Straits Times report: Singapore students bag education 'World Cup'
When it comes to developing our curriculum, TLL programmes are designed not only to educate students and help them improve academically, but also cultivate a genuine interest and curiosity in the subjects students are learning about. From incorporating individual presentations to real-life applications in each lesson, our curriculum includes constructive discussions on global affairs to give students a world view beyond their classroom walls.
TLL Curriculum: A Cut Above The Rest
At The Learning Lab, our specialised curriculum teams have been crafting lesson materials for more than a decade. Each of our four teams – one for every subject that we offer – is made up of resourceful and dedicated individuals who have a common love for the subject they manage.
Meet The Makers: Behind The Scences Of TLL's Curriculum Development Teams
The most important part of our curriculum planning is to ensure that our weekly content captivates students, and sparks the curiosity in them to better understand the world. This is an integral part of our core belief - to nurture the love of learning in our students. From foundational practice worksheets to advanced and critical-thinking questions, we provide an extensive pool of materials at our centres to suit every student's learning needs and to equip them with problem-solving and higher-order thinking skills.
DEVELOPING A PASSION FOR LANGUAGE
Our English classes aim to get students discussing and thinking about trends around the world, from innovative technological breakthroughs (e.g. virtual reality, Tesla’s Powerwall, Uber Elevate etc.) to the latest current affairs. These elements are continually featured in our comprehension, summary, and cloze passage exercises. On top of each week’s core components, we also give students critical thinking passages so they can learn more about issues that are pertinent to them.
“Brexit, Panama Papers, the US Presidential Elections – these are just some examples of the wide range of topics that students are introduced to in our English classes. Students are encouraged to articulate their opinions through debates and class discussion to deliberate the implications of these issues on themselves, our country and the world.” – Crystal Ngu, Head of English Curriculum Team.
Headed by an ex-HOD from an MOE school, our Chinese curriculum team is well aware of the challenges faced by students when it comes to learning and excelling in their Mother Tongue. To help students overcome their personal barriers to doing well in Chinese, the team constantly looks out for best practices in cultivating an interest in the Chinese language and culture. This includes using contemporary songs, videos, traditional poems and stories in addition to the requisite dose of writing drills, written assessments and grammar exercises.
MATH IS MORE THAN JUST PROBLEM SOLVING
We incorporate interesting case studies and infographics into our Math lessons, introducing topics that are beyond the curriculum. Critical thinking skills handouts are offered for preschool (N2 to K2) & lower primary (P1 & P2) students. Covering spatial sense, logical thinking and pattern recognition concepts, the GEP modules for Primary 3 students and the Math Olympiad handouts for upper primary students hone their analytical thinking skills. Through our in-house designed games, students also develop higher order thinking skills.
“The creative teaching methods – games, projects and presentations, embodies the strengths and aims of our Math team - we push the boundaries of what comes to mind when one thinks “Math” and “learning Math”. Besides teaching students the most elegant solutions for their school math problems, we also show them how Math is used in so many real-life situations.” – Goh Wan Mei, Head of Math Curriculum Team.
DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF SCIENCE
Be it the groundbreaking discovery of the new elements in the Periodic Table or the celebration of World Penguin Day, the Science curriculum team is always on the lookout for opportunities to bring real-world science into the classroom. Challenged to think like scientists, students are often encouraged to apply their scientific knowledge to daily life. In our latest speaker symposium with Boyan Slat(Dutch inventor, entrepreneur and environmental conservationalist), our students were given a platform to think about the possibilities of creating something bigger based on their scientific knowledge.
"This year, for instance, we linked the topic of electricity to our Mother’s Day gift, which our Science students were supposed to make for their mums. Other examples of hands-on and fun Science activities carried out in the TLL classroom include using lemons as battery cells, building your own terrarium, making your own periscope… the list goes on and keeps growing!" - Chen Yilin, Head of Science Curriculum.
Learning Beyond The Classroom
At The Learning Lab, a successful education isn’t solely defined by stellar grades. Beyond crafting lesson materials that equip our students with the skillsets to cope and excel in examinations, our specialised curriculum teams also develop materials that broaden our students’ perspectives of global affairs and instilling priceless life skills to prepare them for the world ahead.
Registration For Our 2017 Classes Is Ongoing
If you are interested to speak with our enrolment specialists about our 2017 programmes, please email enrollment@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist.
Classes are filling fast!
If your child is already a student with us, secure your child’s place for the new term by logging on to the PARENT PORTAL to accept the allocated class(es) for your child.