ICT & Ed Tech

Coding and Making – Developing Digital Literacy in Our Pupils
In 2020, MOE unveiled the National Digital Literacy Programme so that at different stages of their education journey, pupils will be able to acquire digital skills across four components in the “Find, Think, Apply, Create” framework.
In line with the national development pathway, the school has a systemic approach to develop computational thinking in our pupils through coding and making.

Computational Skills
The intent of coding is to develop computational thinking in our pupils starting from Primary 1. The programme spiral upwards and develop pupils progressively in this higher order thinking competencies.

Computational thinking includes elements such as:
1. Decomposition – breaking a large problem down into smaller ones
2. Pattern recognition – recognising how these smaller problems relate to ones that have been solved in the past
3. Algorithm design – Identifying and refining the steps necessary to reach a solution
4. Debugging – Refining those steps

Developing computational thinking will also develop the following skill sets in our pupils:
1. Experimenting and iterating – developing something, trying it out, and then developing some more
2. Testing and debugging – finding and solving problems as they work
3. Abstracting and modularizing – exploring connections between the whole and the parts

Our pupils are provided with opportunities to learn coding using screen-free programing such as MatataLab in Lower Primary and more serious block-based programming such as Scratch, Microsoft PXT or Code.org from Middle Primary to Upper Primary. Our school leverage iMDA’sCode for Fun Programme to nurture a new generation of digital natives.

During each level programme, pupils are provided with opportunities to work in teams on scenarios that represent real-world problem. The pupils then pitch their ideas and hypothetical solutions to their peers. They are provided with platforms to communicate and display their artefacts and concepts.

Through these efforts, we achieve the following in our pupils:
1. Cultivate real-world problem solving
2. Encourage digital creativity and innovation
3. Foster collaboration and co-creation with like-minded digital makers