Investigative Case Based Learning in Singapore: Encouraging 21st Century Competencies

Margaret Waterman, Southeast Missouri State UniversityEthel Stanley, BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium

Darren Wong, National Institute of Education, Singapore

More than 150 Singapore teachers from upper primary, lower secondary, and junior college have participated in two-day NIE workshops on investigative case based learning (ICBL). This poster presents the investigative case Donor’s Dilemma and how Junior College participants thought it aligned with their 21st century competencies.

1. “Our society is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and more Singaporeans live and work abroad. Our young will therefore need a broader worldview, and the ability to work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds, with different ideas and perspectives. At the same time, they should be informed about national issues, take pride in being Singaporean and contribute actively to the community.”

2. “To be future-ready, our young need to be able to think critically, assess options and make sound decisions. They should have a desire to learn, explore and be prepared to think out of the box. They should not be afraid to make mistakes and face challenges that may at first appear daunting.”

3. “With the Internet Revolution, information is often literally just a click away. It is important that our young know what questions to ask, how to sieve information and extract that which is relevant and useful. At the same time, they need to be discerning so that they can shield themselves from harm, while adopting ethical practices in cyberspace. Importantly, they should be able to communicate their ideas clearly and effectively.”

In 2010, the Ministry of Education in Singapore introduced the 21 st Century Competencies that include developing:

1. global awareness and cross-cultural skills,2. creative and inventive thinking,3. communication and information technology skills

Donor’s Dilemma

Investigations for Case: Donor’s Dilemma

Online Case Analysis Form

Sequence Data:

WNV SequencesWNV Israel Data

Analyzing the Sequence Data:

1. Save the file with sequence data to your desktop.

2. ClustalOmega:Select DNAThen upload file of WNV sequences for multiple alignment and submitSave alignment file to your desktop

3. ClustalW2-PhylogenyUpload alignment fileSubmit to generate the cladogramConfirm the use of a Java plug-in to see the tree

Groups: Share your Donor’s Dilemma Results