In the 2010 NE Survey, the Secondary 2 student cohort’s score for 78 out of 100 in the “Defence” domain score, a dip from the 2008 survey finding. In view of this result, Clementi Town Secondary School (CTSS) Humanities and ICT Departments, together with the National Education (NE) Unit, pioneered the use of LOTM (Learning Tool On the Move), to engage students’ appreciation and understanding of Social Defence, an area of concern for CTSS.
The team conceptualised a curriculum innovation project using mobile technologies. The outcome was a Field-Based Smartphone-Facilitated Trail around Clementi neighbourhood for students to develop their appreciation of Singapore’s defence capabilities that would appeal to the digital natives of today.
The team aligned the innovation to the Upper Social Studies Curriculum and tapped the immediate neighbourhood for broadening and deepening students’ knowledge. In addition, situating the learning in the neighbourhood helped students connect the relevance of the lessons learnt in their classroom to real issues. The inquiry approach was also used to foster critical thinking skills and knowledge construction, which helped students make sense of data through questioning to order to deepen and construct knowledge for themselves.
The assessment of the effectiveness of the Clementi Trail was done through student perception surveys, qualitative feedback from students and staff, and a study of the student responses. Not only did the post-mobile trail perception survey show an increase in student acquisition of the desired values, the students also found this mode of learning engaging. Since 2012, CTSS NE Student Ambassadors have customised the trail for the primary schools in the cluster and have carried this out as part of the signature Singapore Footprints (trail around ethnic enclaves) for all CTSS Secondary 3 cohorts. The trail was also highlighted in the Humanities Educators Conference, 2012 and was shared with the then Minster of Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat.
The trail is indeed a testimony to the impact of the students’ learning beyond their classroom. It has received numerous accolades, including the MOE Innergy (Silver) Award 2014. In 2015, it was also further refined to include the natural heritage and history of Clementi, and was conducted for the public as part of the school’s contribution to Singapore’s SG50 Celebrations.
