My two-day work experience at Ministry of Education

By cryotosensei | diaperfinancingfund | 17 Nov 2023

This week, I embarked on a two-day attachment with Student Learning Space. Student Learning Space is Singapore’s premier online Learning Management System that serves about 500k teachers and students. Hence, I was excited to gain a better understanding of its operations.

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My Experience

I listened to a video conferencing pitch by Microsoft Teams, gave my inputs to two SLS lessons that aimed to guide school leaders and key personnel on their institution’s journey towards adopting SLS as a one-stop hub, and contributed to the design of a learning journey to SLS@Grange Road.
I was also fortunate enough to have in-depth chats with 3 SLS staff, namely Hai Siang, Xiao Yi and Jensen. The chats made me reflect on the nature and meaning of work. What values do I prioritise in my professional life and am I working steadily towards actualising them?

My Learning

I gained a better understanding of the processes governing the operations of SLS. I found out that users’ needs and wishes were captured in the form of story points and that the educational technology officers have to work closely with external vendors to ensure that these story points come to fruition within the stipulated budget.
I also appreciated how the various sub-teams in the SLS Office (marketing and communications, design and product development, school support) worked independently of and collaboratively with one another to communicate its vision (SLS as a One-Stop Hub) to a wide range of stakeholders.
I will walk away from this TWA+ with a more holistic understanding of design thinking. It’s important to uncover the underlying needs of teachers and students using SLS so that they can be addressed effectively. Sometimes, teachers may propose certain solutions. However, they may not be familiar enough with SLS, so they would not be aware of existing solutions that SLS can already provide. Other times, there is a need to balance budget and time constraints as well as users’ needs. Thus, the SLS team has to prioritise the bugs that urgently need fixing and features that should be installed soonest.

Application of My Learning

I will tell my colleagues of SLS’s current focus on flexible and adaptive learning so that both my colleagues and students will understand how SLS can enhance teaching and learning.
I will tell my colleagues that SLS launches two releases every year - once in June and once in December. This is to debunk the misconception that SLS releases new iterations too fast too furious. Also, SLS user guides can be easily Googled and downloaded for teachers to learn some of the newer SLS features - something useful for my colleagues to know.
I will guide my students to use the Student Planner feature of SLS so that they learn how to organise their lives and manage their stress better. Enhancing their metacognition will help them to become more productive and happier individuals.

1c. How did the work attachment contribute to your personal and professional growth? Did it change your perception of your own abilities or potential?

I’m glad that SLS walked the talk and utilised SLS and iPads to organise a treasure hunt activity. The activity employed 3 distinct areas of the room to get us participants to collect clues and proceed from one station to the next. Planning such a lesson didn’t seem all that onerous, as can be gathered from what I observed in their SLS lesson. Moving forward, I am motivated to modify the SLS Office’s lesson and organise similar treasure hunt activities for my students. Hopefully, getting them to move around the classroom in search of clues would help them to be more motivated for English!

1d. Were there any noteworthy moments or experiences that stood out to you during the attachment? Why were they significant?

My SWEe experience coincided with the SLS Office team organising a learning journey for Friends of SLS and Learning Partnerships staff. This meant that on the first day, I was discussing with the Marketing Comms sub-team certain aspects of the journey, trying to pre-empt hiccups and inputting questions that would elevate the quality of engagement.

I had fun brainstorming with the team.

On the second day, I underwent the learning journey as a participant. It was a unique experience for me since the treasure hunt and design grooming were new to me but I already knew how to play the superheroes card game. So, it was interesting for me to feel both as an insider and outsider at the same time. This was particularly so because I stayed on after the learning journey to listen to Hai Siang debrief the SLS Office staff.

I think it instilled in me a deeper appreciation of the thousand and one things a team has to juggle in order to pull off a successful event. I was gratified to be able to give inputs on the learning journey to the SLS Office team based on my perspective as a participant. It made me feel special - having insider access to the planning team while being an outsider. I hope I fulfilled this role well enough!

PART B: MY RECOMMENDATIONS

(Answer both Qn 2 & 3)

2. What advice would you give to other staff who are considering a work attachment at an external organization? How could they make the most of the experience?

It would be best to read up on the host organisation before you go for the attachment. I read up on the latest developments of the SLS Office and was duly rewarded because I was familiar with some of the terms used during conversations, such as Adaptive Learning and One-Stop Hub. I attained a deeper understanding of SLS’s direction because I could have deeper conversations about these terms.

3. Would you recommend this SWEe partner/experience to colleagues?

A resounding Yes! I really appreciate how people took precious time out of their schedules to enlighten me on the following: