Lisa Toh

I've been hearing this word 'pedagogy' ever since I've been introduced into the teaching world. Never knew the exact definition of it until examples sprung out during ICT class two days back.. Wikipedia defines 'pedagogy' as "strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction".

We got to learn 8 pedagogical approaches in class and 2 of them are very familiar terms; IBL (Inquiry-based) and PBL (Problem-based). I first came across these 2 terms during one of the staff meetings back at Bedok North.. each department was required to generate a lesson plan using either pedagogy, to be used for 2009. Still remember the topic the Science department finally settled on was on creating a self-sustainable aquarium, cos we felt it could incorporate all 3 sciences into it! hmm.. lesson plan.. sounds very similar to what we've to do for Activity 3! :D

I guess for Biology, I find Project-based learning to be one of the more suitable pedagogical approaches. I remember during Sec school days, Biology was just a "memorizing subject".. I won't deny that it isn't, but it was just very drrrryyyy, and unless one can visualize how all the systems are linked, it'll then be very difficult to study. So I'm certain that with Project-based learning, students will be able to memorize with understanding and more effectively, since they gain knowlegde from hands-on experience and discovery. However, I'm only afraid that there won't be sufficient time to execute this pedagogy since teachers are always rushing to "complete the syllabus"! That won't be called 'learning' anymore.

Here, we are presented with 8 pedagogies, none of which is more superior than the others. In addition, I'm certain there are more out there.... more interesting stuff! This afternoon, I googled for "instructional strategies" and I was beyond shocked that the list was soooo long! Really enlightening.. click here if you're interested! :)