Mr B Justin Reich (26 January to 3 February 2012)

Mr B. Justin Reich (26 January to 3 February 2012)

AST’s 3rd OEIR

His profile and background are as follows:

Former World History teacher

Fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard

Co-founder and co-director of EdTechTeacher, where he works with teachers and schools from round the world to support student-centered, inquiry-based learning

Co-author of ‘Best Ideas for Teaching with Technology: A Practical Guide for Teachers, by Teachers’

Conducting research that examines the use of social media tools in teaching and learning

During his attachment, he conducted Master Classes for History teachers. At his Master Classes, teachers experienced hands-on activities on a selection of web tools which could make learning of History more engaging for their students.

Our ICT mentors and officers from Educational Technology Division (ETD) benefitted from his workshops on the use of social networking tools to facilitate collaborative learning and attainment of 21st century skills. He also customised a workshop on the collaborative learning classroom using web 2.0 for the Languages and Humanities teachers.

The programme incorporated two schools visits for the OEIR: to Eunos Primary School and Victoria School. Mr Reich audited a classroom lesson together with ICT mentors and teachers from the IT department. The post-lesson discussion was a rich sharing of the highlights and potential opportunities for future lessons. Mr Reich also shared ideas on managing issues arising from the use of ICT in schools.

Two professional dialogues were conducted with Mr Reich: one with officers from Curriculum Planning and Development Division (CPDD) and National Institute of Education (NIE); and another with ETD. The dialogue with CPDD and NIE facilitated the discourse on how to embed technology effectively in curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to help students acquire the 21st century competencies. The session with ETD had Mr Reich providing ideas and suggestions as input for ETD’s future plans for ICT Mentor Training packages.

Mr Reich also delivered two keynote addresses. The first address was to around 100 School Staff Developers (SSDs) at the SSD Networking Session organised by AST. He shared ideas on the use of ICT to facilitate the professional development of teachers through networked learning. In his second address, he shared with school leaders on the importance of being a role model in ICT practices, both as a pioneer and as a change agent, so as to lead teachers in a school’s ICT journey.

Mr Reich created a positive impact on all whom he interacted with during his short attachment in Singapore, inspiring many teachers to leverage ICT in the classroom to better engage the students in learning.