April 2013
The motivated school
Visual Arts at UWCSEA
Looking for learning on East Campus
By Julian Whiteley
Head of College
It is reassuring when a coherent set
of practices, rooted in a particular
educational philosophy that
seems intuitively to make sense, is
subsequently validated by research.
Over the years, the UWC movement
has developed a set of practices based
on the educational philosophy of
Kurt Hahn; these practices have been
validated by the research conducted
in schools in 2003 and 2009, by Alan
McLean, an eminent psychologist.
His books The Motivated School1
and Motivating Every Learner 2 have
become key reference points for
education authorities in the UK who
are promoting positive behaviours
in schools. Looking at the research,
it is clear that many of the elements
that make up a motivated school
and classroom are embedded in
the educational philosophy and our
everyday practice at UWCSEA.
Hahn had a tremendous belief in the
good of the young, that education
was a preparation for life not just for
university, and that service should play
a central role in that education. His view
was that education should be about
personal growth and development in
all areas: intellectual, physical, spiritual
The motivated school
and emotional, and students should
be encouraged to take on genuine
responsibility at an early age. Education
therefore had a much broader remit
than just focusing on academic
achievement.
At UWCSEA, our aspiration is that when
our students graduate they will have
developed into independent human
beings, able to make decisions by
themselves within a strong set of
values which will guide that process.
We achieve this in a number of ways,
both within and outside the classroom,
and our work on curriculum articulation
is ensuring that those values, embodied
in the UWCSEA learner profile3 and
underpinned by the learning principles,4
are embedded in all five elements of our
learning programme.
Developing self-motivated students,
who engage in tasks for their intrinsic
value and not for extrinsic reward,
is an important, if complex, part of
developing the habits of learning that
will serve students well throughout
life. McLean’s research showed that
for students to become self-motivated
they needed to feel affirmed (valued
and respected as human beings) and
empowered (taking responsibility
for their actions and their learning).
According to McLean, affirmation
comes from engagement and
appropriate feedback, empowerment
from structure and stimulation.
Affirmation through
engagement and feedback
Engagement is based on the quality of
the relationships between the teacher
and the student and between students
and their peers. The Personal and
Social Education (PSE) programme at
UWCSEA is founded on building these
positive relationships, based on the
mantra of “trust, honesty and mutual
respect.” There is an adage in teaching;
“the students don’t care what you
know until they know that you care.”
Experience over time demonstrates that
this is the case. It is our job at UWCSEA
to ensure that students feel that we do
care, so that they are more engaged
with us and with their learning.
Equally, the PSE programme helps
students to identify ways to positively
engage with one another. One of these
ways is outside of the classroom,
through the Service and Activities
programmes. It is interesting to note
that research conducted in the US
demonstrates that properly structured
service-learning programmes in schools
greatly enhance the quality of student
interactions, as the focus
of their attention is shifted from self
to other.5
If student engagement is predicated
on positive relationships, it also
requires regular feedback. According to
McLean, the feedback should involve
genuine praise of effort while providing
strategies for improvement. With a
College-wide focus on assessment,
this kind of feedback is being built into
everyday practice in a more planned,
consistent way, which will help students
to be successful, not only against
curricular standards and benchmarks,
but also against their own personal
definition of success.
Empowerment through
structure and stimulation
While students are affirmed through
positive relationships and regular
feedback, teachers empower them
by providing a clear structure,
communicating explicitly how
they can achieve desired goals and
outcomes. In setting boundaries,
the focus is on learning rather than
control and discipline, with every
situation viewed as an opportunity for
growth. Students are also empowered
through stimulation, which is strongly
connected to the quality of teaching
and learning that takes place across
all five elements of the learning
programme. Teachers need to ensure
that no matter what the circumstances,
tasks are relevant and interesting. They
also need to provide an appropriate
level of challenge so that the students
feel stretched but not overwhelmed;
stress induced from inappropriate
pressure to perform hinders rather than
enhances learning.
McLean drew together the ideas
of affirmation (through positive
relationships and regular feedback) and
empowerment (through structure and
stimulation) and summarised them by
characterising four types of schools.
As the diagram above shows, schools
that are operating largely in the
upper right hand quadrant are helping
students to develop the intrinsic
motivation that will become a
habit for life. In reviewing the
characteristics of the schools, I was
greatly reassured by the congruence
with our guiding statements, in
particular our learning principles.
If our goal is to educate individuals
to embrace challenge and take
responsibility for shaping a better
world, then we need to provide them
with the appropriate environment that
will develop their intrinsic motivation.
This means accepting that mistakes
are part of the learning process, that
mastery of an area and a desire to keep
improving are more important than
performance, and that an educated
person is someone who learns from
every new experience. It means
gradually passing over the locus of
control to the students and asking them
to take responsibility for themselves,
their actions and their learning. It
means accepting that the focus should
be on the long term, not the short term
as so often seems to be the case in life
today: there are no short cuts.
If, through our learning programme
and a motivated environment, we
can develop skills and qualities in our
students that are described in the
UWCSEA profile, then we can certainly
claim to be providing them with a good
preparation, not just for university, but
for life.
1Sage, 2003.
2Sage, 2009.
3Dunia, pg. 4–5, June 2012.
4Dunia, pg. 6–7, June 2012.
5Hart et al 2007, Schmidt et al 2007.
AFFIRMATION
REJECTION
CONTROL
EMPOWERMENT
Undemanding school
• overprotective and
restrictive climate
• undemanding curriculum
• low expectations
• praise for easy work
• overdependency on
external rewards
Motivating school
• trust and autonomy
• creativity and humour
• sense of being valued
• climate of self-improvement
• clarity of purpose and goals
• consistency
• emphasis on personal success
• encouragement and
genuine praise
Destructive school
• low expectations
• forced learning
• oppressive structure
• personal blame
• plastic praise
• focus on what students
do wrong
Exposing school
• a ‘prove yourself’ climate
• uncertainty
• chaotic structure
• contaminated praise
• mean with praise
• performance orientated
• more interested in results
than student welfare
Many articles in this edition have
expanded content on eDunia
(www.uwcsea.edu.sg/edunia)
Look for the symbol as you
read the magazine and visit
eDunia for more photos, video
and expanded content.
Other stories featured only in eDunia:
Primary School
Language Idols on East
Competition celebrates
the skills of Grade 5
language students
Shoebox morning tea
A showcase of
photos from the morning
Middle School
Genetics in Grade 8
One of the lead
scientists who created
‘Dolly the sheep’
shared his experiences
with students
ACSIS swimming success
East Campus girls
take the trophy
High School
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
A student perspective
on the first East
Campus High School
production
Global Perspectives
Student films achieve
an invitation to the
THIMUN Qatar Film Festival
Community
Growing Gap Year
Learn more about the
destinations of the
Class of 2012
Family Festival Fun
Enjoy the fun of the
festival through our
slideshow feature
Front cover: Image of art service artwork
auctioned by Dover students in Grades 3,
4, 5 and 9.
Professional development
fosters cross-campus collaboration
By Sue Bradshaw
Deputy Head and Curriculum Director
Dover Campus
The East Campus hosted the first
UWCSEA cross-campus teacher
professional development day on
Friday, 8 February. Both campuses were
closed to students, and members of
the community may be wondering just
what the teachers were doing in there!
The answer is that we were working
together on a day of professional
learning, further developing our
knowledge and skills. The whole day
was based around cross-campus
collaboration, with specific sessions
linked to current ‘whole College’
initiatives such as iLearn, the College
language policy and the further
development of the College-wide
K–12 learning programme.
Professional development days provide
teachers with specialised training that
supports the implementation of the
College’s strategic plan. The College’s
strategic plan aims to enhance the
learning of our students and improve
their experiences at the school. It is
vital, of course, that the teachers who
put that strategic plan into action in
their daily contact with students receive
the training they need to make these
initiatives a success. We know from
many educational research studies that
the work that teachers do with students
has a bigger impact on learning than
anything else, and it is therefore our
responsibility to invest in the learning of
our teachers through days such as this.
On this particular professional
development day, the morning was
spent learning about web-based
resources and improving our digital
research skills in order to better support
the development of these skills in
our students. This was followed by
working lunches and afternoon sessions
covering areas such as the Service
programme, boarding, languages, and
the development of the K–12 curriculum
in Humanities, PE, Art, Drama, Music
and Personal and Social Education.
Primary School teachers also worked
together in grade-level teams, and the
Middle and High School departments
made the most of the opportunity to
work together for the last part of the
day. All of the sessions were run in
cross-campus groups, and it was a fully
‘in-house’ day, drawing on the expertise
of the teaching body with all sessions
run by teachers for their colleagues.
The day was extremely successful, and
teachers found working with colleagues
from across the campuses especially
useful. Teachers at UWCSEA are very
fortunate because each of us has a
group of colleagues, and sometimes
an exact counterpart, on the other
campus, facing very similar challenges,
and we can be great professional
resources for each other. As one teacher
put it in their evaluation of the day,
“Working with colleagues from the
other campus brings a freshness and
open minds to your own department
so the work-sharing sessions worked
very well.”
All in all, the day contributed greatly
to continuing to build personal
professional relationships across the
two campuses, while at the same time
giving us much needed time to focus on
areas where the College is working to
enhance the student experience. To give
the last word to a teacher, “It was very
recharging to see the College working
together as a whole in doing things
better for our students.”
“Just brilliant to give time to
working with departments
across two campuses—
professionally excellent.”
By Andrew McCarthy
Digital Literacy Coach
Dover Campus
When we begin a simple Internet
search to find flights for a holiday,
accommodation options or places
to visit, we use our intuition to sort
through the good and bad, to dig
deeper or to find opinions on social
networks. As educators at UWCSEA,
we hope to make the search skills
of information literacy explicit to
our students and embedded in our
curriculum. As described in the
UWCSEA learner profile,1 we want
students to use information critically to
solve problems and take action. Over
time, we want our students to utilise
authentic, peer-reviewed material to
support their lifelong learning, and to
leverage technology where it is most
effective in the research process.
To support this thinking, part of a recent
staff professional learning day looked at
the topic of research as a cross-subject
skill. This was the first cross-campus
session for many staff, and was a great
opportunity to share best practices.
Research skills for the 21st century
The sessions were planned by their
peers, including the teacher librarians
and the digital literacy coaches, and
led participating staff through a set of
activities in small groups.
The staff initially looked at search skills
and more advanced ways to use Google
to filter search results and to be more
precise by using search operators. The
session then went beyond Google,
to explore the concept of the ‘Deep
Web,’ and highlighted databases that
UWCSEA currently subscribes to and
that are available through our website
portal. We also touched on what is
freely available from the Singapore
National Libraries eResources section.
This session provided staff with an
overview of the information landscape
and a chance to reflect on what is
appropriate and useful in their grade
or subject.
The day introduced a spectrum
of applications that help students
aggregate their research, from Google
Docs in the Primary School to options
such as Diigo and Zotero, which are
more suitable to older students. These
advanced tools help students develop
bibliographies and in-text citations.
The ongoing task for teachers and the
curriculum articulation team is to look
at where, how and when we teach these
skills to students. We want to have a
clear progression of information literacy
from the Primary School into Middle
and then onto the High School. Our
graduates will hopefully leave UWCSEA
with a literacy skill that supports
them as lifelong learners who will
use information critically to solve real
world problems.
During the day we also relaunched
several research portals that
support our students. Our main
libraries site contains an overview
of all physical and digital resources
that students can access. There are
also links to our two Research Hubs
for Primary and Secondary students.
These are two important resources for
students that are being developed and
introduced as part of the digital literacy
programme at the College. These hubs
are a valuable tool for our students,
with many applications. For example,
earlier this year Grade 11 students
were introduced to the Secondary hub
as part of their preparation for the
Extended Essay. These sites summarise
the research process and house lessons
ideas, quizzes and quick tutorials. Feel
free to explore these resources with
your child:
http://research.uwcsea.edu.sg
1Dunia, pg. 4–5, June 2012.
“Really great to focus on a
specific skill like research
skills in such detail—
I learned loads.”
By Nick Alchin
High School Principal
East Campus
I heard that taxi drivers in centrally-
planned communist Russia were
incentivised by rewarding them per mile
driven. It stands to reason—after all, the
further a taxi has driven, the better it
must be serving the passengers, right?
Wrong. The taxi drivers jacked up their
cars, put a brick on the accelerator, and
went for a smoke. It is hard to think of
a worse outcome for the passengers,
the taxpayers, the environment and
even the taxi drivers who ended up
going through more cigarettes due
to more time and money. It’s hard to
see how this simple incentive ended
up benefiting anyone other than the
tobacco companies.
This is an admittedly extreme example
to show that people respond to changes
by changing their behaviour, not
always in ways that are predictable or
desirable. We all respond to incentives
in ways that makes sense to us—but
when people have different agendas, a
reasonable response may look totally
Looking for learning
on East Campus
different from one person to another.
That’s probably familiar to anyone who
has ever been appraised at work. If you
know that your boss is looking for a
certain result (miles for the taxi drivers)
then you may feel compelled to do
whatever it takes to get that result—
even if that’s in no one’s long-term
interests. That’s as true for institutions
as it is for individuals; in the UK, when
the government started publishing
exam results in a particular way, some
schools sent students home if they
thought they would score poorly. When
surgeons were assessed according to
the death rates of patients under their
care, they modified their behaviour
to meet their targets and started
accepting only patients with easy to
treat conditions. Other patients found it
very hard to get treatment at all.
This may sound ridiculous, but there
are two things here which actually
make a lot of sense. Firstly, it is a good
thing that we are trying to measure the
things that are important. Would we
really want to undergo an operation
if we thought no one was counting
how many people died during similar
procedures? Secondly, it is a good thing
that people respond to the incentives
they have (albeit in ways we are
often not smart enough to predict).
If this were not true, how could we
even try to change behaviour and
improve anything?
So let’s turn to education and the
incentives for teachers. Firstly, we
should tread with care—our teachers
love what they are doing, and came
into teaching to share their passion
for their subject with students; unlike
some taxi drivers, they won’t be off for
a quick smoke. But still, they are only
human and cannot help but respond to
the structures and systems the school
puts in place (nor should they). Lesson
observations are one such traditional
method system. A senior teacher visits
a classroom, watches the teacher,
does his or her best not to interrupt
the lesson by distracting or otherwise
interacting with students, perhaps looks
at a few pieces of student work, makes
some judgments and then meets with
the teacher afterwards to tell them how
it went.
That may sound sensible, but in fact it
is misguided and has some undesirable
consequences. Like measuring the taxi
driver’s performance by how many
miles he or she has driven, it is not
measuring the right thing. Because,
teaching is not the same as learning.
If it were, we would never need to
assess or sit exams—we would just
keep a record of what we had taught.
The desired outcome of a lesson
is better student knowledge or
understanding; that is, learning, some
change in the student’s mind. Watching
the teacher is at best a proxy for that,
and may in fact be unrelated. So an
observer may see what he or she thinks
is a wonderful explanation, some
engaging stories, and the best use of
technology he or she has ever seen; but
if the students didn’t learn anything,
then really, it was a bad lesson.
And the tragedy here is that by having
observation systems like this, teachers
are incentivised to focus on what they
are doing, and how they are performing;
when the focus should always be
on what the students are learning;
where they currently are in their
understanding, and how to best move
them on to the next stage. This needs
to be done on an individual basis,
and with more than a handful of
students in the class, it’s extremely
difficult to do, and needs laser-like
discipline to accomplish.
Across the East Campus in all grades,
we have been working to use a system
of lesson observations that does exactly
that; it’s a very simple idea called
Looking for Learning, and it replaces
the system I describe with one where
teachers visit each other’s lessons and
do not just watch the teacher. In fact,
they do their best to ignore the teacher,
and simply talk with a few students,
and ask them questions like what
are you learning? Do you understand
the lessons? What helps you learn?
What gets in the way of learning? The
observer notes down the responses, and
these form the basis of a conversation
between observer and teacher
afterwards. The teacher thinks about
what he or she thinks the students
would say, and then considers what
they actually said; the degree
of convergence or divergence then
informs thinking about how best to
help students learn in the future.
So the lovely thing about this system
is that it tries to measure exactly what
is important—learning, and it does
not provide summary judgment on a
teacher. It is a tool used by teachers to
improve. In this sense, it is completely in
line with good classroom practice and
what we, as teachers, should always be
doing for our students.
I think it is good for parents and
students to understand this process,
which is usually internal to schools, and
hidden from everyone but the teachers.
Thinking through everything for the first
time in High School, from individual
lessons to common place educational
practices, is extraordinarily time-
consuming and difficult. But we have
the chance to go back to first principles,
to re-examine the latest evidence and
to act accordingly. And we are making
the most of it; I know the students will
see the benefit.
On 21 February, Shelby Davis,
philanthropist and founder of the
Davis UWC Scholars Program visited
UWCSEA with his wife Gale.
Wyclife Onyango Omondi (Grade 12)
shares his experience of the visit:
The much-anticipated Shelby Davis visit
coincided with Mother Language Day.
Dressed in our cultural costumes,
a group of UWCSEA Dover students
and staff welcomed Shelby and Gale
Davis with a lunch at the Nelson
Mandela Library.
Maintaining strong connections with
Singapore is an ongoing focus for the
College. In the last edition of Dunia,
we wrote about the K2-One bridging
programme for Singaporean children,
which was being supported by teachers
and students in K1 on Dover. Partly as
a result of these connections, the
Director of Pre-School Education at the
Ministry of Education (MOE) became
interested in the UWCSEA approach
to learning in early childhood, and on
Thursday, 28 February Minister Heng
Swee Keat, and a group of his colleagues
visited the Dover Campus Infant School
to find out more.
The Minister first listened to a short
presentation outlining the UWCSEA
learning programme, including some
examples of how it is implemented in
the Infant School. The Minister and his
Minister for Education visits the Dover Infant School
colleagues were particularly interested
in Writing Workshop and the College’s
approach to literacy, as well as our
approach to service learning. They also
had a lot of questions on managing
parent expectations and ensuring that
the work that happens at school is
supported at home.
But the main point of the visit was a
walk-around to see the programme
in action. The Minister visited several
classrooms and engaged directly with
students, asking them questions about
their learning, sitting with them to
do some mathematics puzzles and
talking to them about their writing.
This is when the conversations really
got interesting! Of course, our students
did us proud, and provided the Minister
with plenty to think about, both in
terms of their learning, but also in terms
of their reflections on their learning.
According to Allison Saradetch from
the Ministry, the “senior management
were very interested in the different
curriculum offered at UWCSEA and
were impressed with the children’s
learning in the classroom.”
We hope this dialogue with the
MOE about learning in early childhood
will continue.
Shelby Davis inspires
I was greatly inspired by his story.
His first encounter with the UWC
movement was when he met two
boys—one Israeli, one Palestinian—
discussing their countries’ conflict at
UWC-USA. This was his inspiration to
embark on an exciting but challenging
journey—launching the Davis UWC
Scholars Program.
At the student presentation after the
lunch, Mr Davis stood up and held the
attention of all in the room with his
first words, “There are three types of
people in the world: those who make
things happen, those who watch things
happen and those who wonder what
happened. I invest in you because you
make things happen.” These words not
only made me evaluate my role in our
world, but also to hold on to my dreams
and persist in them.
Mr Davis is a great leader and mentor
to our community. Not only a generous
donor who has helped many of us to
achieve quality education regardless of
our backgrounds, he is also a role model
to students, reminding us of the power
of determination in helping us make
positive changes to our communities.
Over 12 years, 233 UWCSEA students
have received scholarships to US
universities through the programme.
Since its establishment in 2000, 4,843
scholars from 147 countries have
been provided with scholarships to 90
different US universities and colleges.
Visit www.davisuwcscholars.org to
learn more, and visit eDunia to
watch a video of Shelby Davis
explaining his commitment to
the programme.
Outdoor
Education
G2 trip to zoo
The Outdoor Education programme
is a powerful part of the UWCSEA
educational experience. Kurt Hahn, who
inspired the UWC movement, believed
that education should have the effect of
drawing from students a greater range
of skills and talents than they knew
they possessed. His motto was ‘Plus est
en vous’—there is more in you than you
think. This is one of the foundations of
adventure-based learning.
Outdoor education experiences
at UWCSEA begin in Grade 1 and,
through careful planning and building
of skills, understanding and confidence,
culminate in all Grade 11 students
undertaking their own personal,
independent expedition during
Project Week.
The Grade 2 overnight trip to the
zoo reflects a progression in the
outdoor education experience, moving
students from the familiar classroom
(but unfamiliar experience of staying
in it overnight!) to a new location.
The programme layers the level of
independence and challenge in an
authentic context, equipping students
with skills and qualities that support
their learning, such as learning to make
decisions without adults. These skills
and qualities that students acquire
through the Outdoor Education
programme are applied in all other
areas of the learning programme.
In an age-appropriate way, the trip
is designed to challenge students
to move beyond their comfort
zone and to enhance their team-
building and leadership skills,
resulting in greater confidence,
empathy and self-awareness.
The Grade 2 trip is carefully planned
to address clear learning objectives,
connecting back to elements of the
learning programme, particularly in
the Personal and Social Education
(PSE) programme, as well as in some
academic areas such as art and the
Unit of Inquiry. The students worked
on sketching techniques, as well as
undertaking a ‘behind the scenes’ tour
of the insect house, which helped
them to apply the process of ‘scientific
observation’ in a real world context.
In the weeks leading up to the camp,
students spent time examining ways
in which they cooperate together as a
community, and looking at themselves
and their behaviour in the context
of being part of an organisation (the
school). During assemblies and through
in-class activities, students were
encouraged to develop self-awareness
and skills in self-management. The
expedition also helped the students to
take risks in a safe environment, and,
through activities such as tent pitching,
provided opportunity to reinforce
teamwork and leadership skills.
These are all elements of a successful
PSE programme.
Further information about other
grade-level outdoor education
expeditions, as well as Project
Week, can be found in eDunia.
10
Academics
Developing
the idea of art
A portraits and painting unit in Grade 9
leads to more varied art forms in
Grade 10 and beyond, as students
are encouraged to move away from
more traditional mediums. This helps
develop the idea of divergent and
convergent problem solving, which is
introduced to students in Grade 10, as
students consider options for mediums
for realising their ideas. The IBDP Art
course in Grade 11 and 12 is a highly
personal one; students are able to
individualise the curriculum by pursuing
and exploring their ideas.
Head of Visual Art at UWCSEA
Dover John Widder believes that the
success of the Visual Art programme
is interrelated with the strength of the
rest of the educational programme
offered at UWCSEA. The way in which
the programme develops thinking and
open-mindedness enables students
to engage in the art programme in a
way that supports them in developing
skills in analysis, and development of
individualised expression. He cites the
examples of the strong English and
Drama programmes, among others,
as key to helping to inform students
about the world around them, and
engage them in thinking about process
and message. As a teacher of visual art,
it is easy to teach about colours; the
more challenging part of the process is
encouraging students to think about the
‘why,’ and this is one of the areas that
the other elements of the UWCSEA
learning programme contributes to
so effectively.
The success of the Visual Art
programme is evident in the high
success rate of acceptances into leading
art schools around the world; however
the course also leads to other fields—
in recent years, there has been
a trend for UWCSEA Dover art
students to pursue architecture.
The recent High School Visual Art
exhibition on Dover Campus was a
showcase of art in a variety of forms,
including portraiture, sculpture,
installation, drawing and more. Filled to
almost overflowing, the Main Hall was
transformed into a gallery by students
in Grades 9 to 12 exhibiting their work.
While in past years the exhibition
has asked students to respond to the
question, ‘What is your philosophy?’
this year further developed the idea
to provide more than simply an
opportunity for students to display
their finished work. As hinted at by
the exhibition title ‘The Journey is the
Destination,’ the exhibition encouraged
each student to explain their creative
process, by describing the ways in which
they take their ideas from inception to a
fully formed work.
All students in the College take art as a
double period each week until Grade 8.
In the High School, the curriculum then
offers options for students to pursue in
depth art courses in both the (I)GCSE
and the IBDP.
An emphasis in these courses is on
analysis, both written and visual, as
key phases in the creation and
execution of ideas. Students are
encouraged to break their ideas into
individual elements, and to look at the
sequence of creation, including final
evaluation. Peer review and critique
is also a critical part of the course;
students are encouraged to receive and
incorporate feedback from peers as part
of the development of their projects.
This is important, as it attempts to
approximate ‘real world’ situations, in
which artists need to consider ‘does
this idea work for these people, in this
situation, at this time?’ and ‘how can I
further refine it to make meaning?’
11
Reading Rocks!
By Deborah Diaz
Teacher Librarian
East Campus
The annual Book Week events on our
campuses celebrate reading through
fun and educational activities. On East
Campus this year, one of our Red Dot
shortlisted books, Pete the Cat: Rocking
in my School Shoes, inspired our theme
‘Reading Rocks!’
While Primary School students
continued to enjoy the daily themes
and dress up days such as ‘Poem in
Your Pocket Tuesday’ and ‘Book
Character Dress up Friday,’ this
year’s Book Week brought the entire
community together in new ways
as parents and older students were
involved in sharing the joy of reading
and celebrating mother languages.
To follow on from Mother Language
Day, parent volunteers read books in a
variety of languages to students during
lunchtime. In addition, a number of
staff members were guest readers in
Primary School classes, and Middle
and High School mentor groups paired
up with Primary School classes for
buddy reading. These interactions build
connections across school sections and
inspire younger students to continue to
develop their reading skills.
Other highlights included a special visit
from Australian author/photographer
Jan Latta, a bookmark competition
and ‘Book Nooks’ set up around
campus by Grade 3 students—with
pillows, bean bags and favourite books
for students to enjoy reading outdoors
during break times.
The ‘Reading Rocks!’ week ended
with a fitting live performance of Pete
the Cat: Rocking in my School Shoes,
complete with a teacher band. Their
rendition of I Wanna Read, a modified
version of the 1980s song I Wanna Rock
by Twisted Sister, got the audience
rocking with them to celebrate the
love of books and reading.
As in High School, the Visual Art
programme in Middle School seeks
to develop students’ abilities both
practically and aesthetically. Students
explore art history and theory while
also learning and practising skills and
techniques in the creation of art.
Projects on East Campus this year
included studying the art of the
Renaissance period and the history of
the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci in
Grade 6. Students’ practice was then to
re-create this famous work into a new
cultural or modern scene.
Grade 7 students have learnt about
the Pop Art movement of the 1960s,
studying the works of Jasper John and
Andy Warhol. They experimented with
new painting techniques by applying
coloured wax and layering with acrylic
paint using rollers and brushes. Students
also created photomontage works using
Photoshop and 3D sculptures using
paper maché.
Finally, through studying the work
of artist Vincent Van Gogh, Grade 8
students have learned about proportion
of the face and new painting application
techniques using impasto gel and
acrylic paint.
Throughout the Middle School, these
projects that combine art history,
theory and practice are producing
remarkable works.
For a slideshow of East Middle School
students’ artwork, please visit eDunia.
Middle School masterpieces
12
The 2011–2012 Annual Report was
recently published. Charles Ormiston,
UWCSEA Board Chair, commented in
his letter at the front of the report,
“Another year of commitment
from our whole community to the
mission, vision and values of the
College has resulted in outstanding
student achievement and purposeful
institutional progress.” Included in the
report are: brief descriptions of Board
activity during 2011–2012; sections
on student achievement in each
element of the learning programme
and our community; an update on
the strategic plan; the business report
incorporating HR, Admissions, and the
financial statements for the College;
and a summary of the activity in College
Advancement during 2011–2012. As
well as providing descriptive overviews
of activity, the report includes a whole
series of statistics that describe the
breadth and depth of the programme.
Below is a selection of those statistics.
The full report can be read online at
www.uwcsea.edu.sg/AnnualReport.
If you would like a printed copy of the
report, please contact Farhani Alias,
Communications and Marketing Assistant,
on farhani.alias@uwcsea.edu.sg.
585,622
Annual Report highlights
Service
Activities
Community
238
318
194
136
PS
MS
US
SS
Number of events each week across the College*
*Senior School was for Dover Campus only
Student hours spent overseas
74
1,995
$930,950
Global Concerns across the College
Clients interacting with UWCSEA
students through local service
Raised by students across the College
4,557
76
Students on both campuses
Nationalities
Outdoor education
UWC SoUth eaSt aSia
annUal RepoRt
2011-2012
13
28%
UWCSEA students receiving
a bilingual diploma
Students receiving 40+ points
Average diploma score
Average subject grade
22%
UWCSEA
5.85%
Worldwide
29.8
Worldwide
4.6
Worldwide
36.0
UWCSEA
5.6
UWCSEA
Pass rate
78.4%
Worldwide
99.7%
UWCSEA
IB Diploma May 2012
Human Resources
North America – 47%
UK – 22%
Australia – 8%
Europe – 3%
Asia – 6%
National Service – 4%
Gap Year – 10%
Destinations of Class of 2012
Financials
17
2,937
52
71
Average years of experience
of College teachers
Teaching applications received
Posts advertised
IBDP Examiners
Teachers salary and benefits – 64%
Educational support salary and benefits – 9%
Boarding salary and benefits – 1%
Administration salary and benefits – 6%
Educational resources – 4%
Marketing and Communications – 1%
Maintenance and Operations – 5%
Boarding exp – 4%
Depreciation – 6%
Central Admin – 1%
Dover expenditure
Teachers salary and benefits – 60%
Educational support salary and benefits – 10%
Boarding salary and benefits – 0.5%
Administration salary and benefits – 5%
Educational resources – 7%
Marketing and Communications – 1%
Maintenance and Operations – 11%
Boarding exp – 1%
Depreciation – 4%
Central Admin – 0.5%
East expenditure
14
Minecraft stats and terms
Popularity: 20 million copies across
all platforms
Game modes: Creative or Survival
Creative: unlimited access to all
materials
Survival: materials need to be
sourced and protected
Spawn: appearing in the world
Building: laying down one brick at a
time of particular material selected
by the player
Mining: breaking blocks of material
that become part of your chest
Crafting: combining elements to
create something new in the game
(i.e., a sign with text)
Creating a balance
Set limits: as with anything (TV,
bed time, etc.) it is appropriate to a
set limit on the amount of time your
child spends gaming.
Be aware of ‘flow’: no doubt
these games have a high level of
engagement—think of how you feel
when you’re approaching the last
chapter of a really compelling novel!
Give some warning and allow players
time to get to a stopping point.
Variety: promote a range of activities
for your child to engage with such
as sport, unstructured outdoor play,
music, photography and reading.
Game
changers
Learning in Minecraft
By Keri-Lee Beasley,
Seán McHugh and Jeff Plaman
Digital Literacy Coaches
“Minecraft is a combination of
frustration, excitement and pure
adrenaline. It widens your perspective,
and you can get inspired very easily
from other people’s creations. Players
also learn various tips from more
experienced players which can make
you an overall better player. But most
of all, you just have fun. This game has
also awakened my inner architect.”
– Victoria, Grade 8
No doubt many parents are wondering,
“Why are students using Minecraft
at school?” The simple answer is that
we always strive to provide a variety
of opportunities for our students to
develop the skills and qualities of
the UWCSEA profile. Through games
like Minecraft, students explore and
refine problem-solving and decision-
making skills through logical thinking,
sequencing and strategy-making. In this
article, we examine how Minecraft can
contribute to development of some of
the skills and qualities necessary for
the 21st century.
Critical thinker
and problem solver
Game-based learning researcher James
Paul Gee argues that playing a game is
like a continuous stream of assessment.
If you fail to work out what steps need
to be taken, and in which order, you will
not progress further in the game. The
sense of achievement a player feels as
they complete a level or figure out how
to complete a task is quite remarkable.
The combination of critical thinking
and problem-solving skills, together
with this sort of engagement, meant
that Minecraft was an appropriate
tool for the UWCSEA East Grade 6
Mathematics teachers to use in their
unit on ratio and proportion. Students
1Nancy Fairburn and Lizzie Bray. “Skills and qualities for the 21st Century.” pg. 4 Dunia magazine, June 2012.
2Amy Erin Borovoy. “Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games | Edutopia.” 2011. 7 March 2013 (www.edutopia.org/james-gee-classroom-simulations).
3Tom Chatfield. “Why playing in the virtual world has an awful lot to teach children.” 2010 (www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/jan/10/playing-in-the-
virtual-world) 12 March 2013.
4“Community of practice – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.” 2003. 8 March 2013 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_practice).
Activities
were asked to create a structural
idea, develop a scaled floor plan, then
construct a virtual model in Minecraft.
Upon completion, students shared
their learning by creating a virtual tour,
explaining the related mathematics
concepts and demonstrating their
understanding of how ratio and
proportion have been applied in the
process of construction.
15
OPUS
2013
Collaborative
Minecraft (and indeed all games)
provide leadership and peer-learning
opportunities. Games really level the
playing field. Tom Chatfield notes that,
“A virtual world is a tremendous leveller
in terms of wealth, age, appearance,
ethnicity and such like …” It means a
child can be an expert; a student can
be the most knowledgeable source of
information. What a powerful concept
for a young person—I have something
of value to offer my peers and teachers.
We are combining people of all ages to
work together using the same resources
to create something special.
The students who participate together
in the activities we offer are part of a
very supportive community, keen to
help newcomers (such as their teachers)
develop their understanding of the
game. This fits in beautifully with Jean
Lave and Etienne Wenger’s Communities
of Practice theory of learning, where,
“It is through the process of sharing
information and experiences with the
group that the members learn from
each other, and have an opportunity
to develop themselves personally
and professionally.”
Creative and innovative
James Paul Gee states in his video for
Edutopia, “Kids want to produce, they
don’t just want to consume.” This is
the entire premise of Minecraft—users
creating their own game environments.
The best way for parents to appreciate
the creative potential of Minecraft
is to actually play yourself. Ask your
child to teach you how, and then build
something together. Sit next to your
child and ask them to explain what
they’re doing, why it’s important to
them, how and why they create things,
and what they’re learning. Doing so
will likely reveal a level of sophisticated
thought that was not obvious before.
Minecraft allows our students to access
areas of the UWCSEA profile in an
engaging, playful way. The key is, as
with anything, to find the appropriate
balance of this and other activities.
It’s also important to recognise that
learning doesn’t require teaching. By
exploring Minecraft, our children are
learning how to collaborate and plan,
be creative and responsive to challenges,
all while building one block at a time.
Undoubtedly the highlight on the music calendar at the Dover Campus, the
annual OPUS concert at the Esplanade Concert Hall involves months of
practice and planning in order to provide an unparalleled opportunity for
students to perform in a world class venue.
What many may not realise is that it is, in fact, a culmination of years of
planning by the Music Department, and that many facets of musical activity at
the campus lead ultimately to the goal of being able to stage such a large-scale
concert each year.
In order to be able to bring together the symphonic band or orchestra, for
example, students must be provided with opportunities to learn a wide array
of instruments from a young age, so that they can develop the skills necessary
to perform at this level. The Instrumental Teaching Programme provides
opportunities for students to learn all types of instruments, such as flute,
clarinet, violin, viola, cornet and euphonium, from Primary School, and
to participate in regular performances and workshops to further develop
their skills.
This year’s OPUS saw many students on stage not for the first time but for the
third, fourth and even fifth time, as they have been active participants in the
College’s music programme since Primary School.
Learn more about OPUS and its place in the music programme by
watching a specially produced video on eDunia.
16
The South East Asian Student Activity
Conference (SEASAC) is a multi-faceted
programme allowing students from
participating schools across the region
to compete against their peers at a high
level. Teams of High School students
travel to host schools throughout the
region to compete in a programme of
sports and other activities.
The annual SEASAC calendar runs
through Terms 1 and 2, with the 13
member schools taking turn to host
events each year. Dover Campus
this year hosted the boys Football in
November and Gymnastics in the new
facilities in March. East Campus hosted
its first SEASAC competition at the
end of March, with the girls Softball
contested on campus.
A founding member of SEASAC,
UWCSEA Dover fields teams in many of
the sporting championships. UWCSEA
East has enjoyed early success in its
first year of competition, with the girls
Swimming team recently placing first,
and placings in individual events at the
Gymnastics tournament.
While SEASAC sports competitions
have been a regular feature on the
representative sports calendar at Dover
Campus for many years, this year the
East Campus was also able to send teams
to two other SEASAC events—the Model
United Nations and the Arts Convention.
More to
It’s amazing what passion and
fearlessness can help 13-year-olds
to achieve. When Grade 8 students
Marius Smits, Victoria Ivory Birrell
and Michelle Tay returned from the
StuCon technology conference in
Hong Kong last year, they decided
they wanted to organise a conference
of their own at UWCSEA East.
With support from UWCSEA’s Centre
for International Education staff, they
recruited a planning team of fellow
students and set to work developing
their concept and agenda for the
conference. The result was TechLIFE,
a 24-hour student-led technology
conference for students, by students.
The student organisers utilised
connections through UWCSEA parents
at Google, Apple, Microsoft and
other companies to find speakers and
technology ‘gurus’ to lead workshop
sessions in addition to planning their
own student-led workshops. When
it came to selecting the featured
speaker, they went for the biggest
name they could think of: Apple
co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Wozniak’s team responded quickly
and enthusiastically to their request.
While his schedule and their budget
didn’t allow for him to attend in
person, Wozniak, a keen supporter of
education and youth in technology,
graciously agreed to speak with
participants via Skype.
During the TechLIFE conference, which
ran from 6pm Friday, 8 March to 6pm
the next day, the Skype call took
place at 2am local time with Wozniak
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
addresses TechLIFE conference
who is based in California. When the
familiar tones of the Skype call rang
in, the assembled students erupted
with cheers and applause knowing
that they were about to have a live
video conversation with one of their
technology idols.
The planning team had solicited
questions from registered participants
in advance, selected the best ones and
submitted them to Wozniak. During
the 30-minute video call, Marius
and Victoria took turns posing the
questions to him. Wozniak shared
some of his early experiences in
starting Apple Computers as well as
some inspiration. He encouraged the
students to follow their passion and
to “write their own book” when it
comes to learning. Pointing out the
young age at which the founders of
companies such as Microsoft, Apple,
Google and Facebook got started, he
was optimistic that among the nearly
100 student participants, there could
be the founder of one of the next
great technology companies.
Following the call, the energy in
the room was palpable despite the
2.30am hour. Marius and Victoria
were visibly thrilled by the outcome of
their labour. “I’m so proud of what we
accomplished,” Victoria said.
The conference was well received
by the participants and adult
coaches who attended from seven
different international schools in
Singapore. Marius, Victoria and
Michelle have already begun planning
for TechLIFE 2014.
17
SEASAC MUN
Model United Nations at UWCSEA
East only began operating in August.
The High School has worked hard to
train delegates to represent a particular
country’s perspective on a range of
topical United Nations issues. The
highlight was taking 27 delegates to the
SEASAC MUN conference, which was
held at NIST in Bangkok.
During the conference, many
contemporary issues were debated
ranging from the rights of girls to an
education, managing the growing
threat of cyber warfare and establishing
systems to effectively manage
pandemics. Some students also took
part in a simulation of the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), contesting the
cases of sovereignty of the Falkland
Islands between the UK and Argentina,
and Australia’s case against Japan for
the alleged breach of international
obligations over whaling.
UWCSEA East students were soon seen
as a force to be reckoned with amongst
the 300 delegates from 11 international
schools. Our ICJ students won their
case, and Tristan O’Brien was awarded
the ‘Best Delegate’ of their committee.
The conference was enjoyed by all who
took part, and we are immensely proud
of the success of such a young club and
its delegates.
SEASAC Arts Convention
In February, 17 UWCSEA East
students attended the 2013 SEASAC
Arts Convention at the Canadian
International School of Hong Kong.
Students participated in workshop
sessions facilitated by teaching
professionals in the arts including
music, drama, dance and visual art.
This year, the event was themed
‘Once upon a time,’ and the courses
inspired committed participation
from our students.
The weekend culminated in a
performance event on the Sunday
where students took the opportunity
to showcase their newly learned skills.
Congratulations to all SEASAC
participants!
SEASAC than sports
18
Personal and
social education
Raising happy children
By Naomi Kelly
Head of Counselling
East Campus
Following two successful parent
workshops on ‘Raising Happy Boys’
and ‘Raising Happy Girls’ held on East
Campus recently, we asked Naomi Kelly,
Head of Counselling, to share some of
the relevant insights and resources here.
Happiness is highly sought after.
Positive Psychologist Dr Barbara
Friedrickson defines happiness as,
“the fuel to thrive and to flourish, and
to leave this world in better shape
than you found it.” For many parents,
Friedrickson’s message fits well with the
dreams and aspirations that they have
for their sons and daughters.
How then do we raise happy children?
How do we nurture our boys and girls—
and do we approach things differently
because of their gender?
Gender differences
in brain development
When considering gender differences,
we need to first look at our own
expectations and biases. Are males
and females different and if so, why?
Is it due to varying rates of brain
development or is it a result of differing
societal expectations and responses?
Medina (2008) states that male
and female brains are different, and
that those differences are a result of
complex interactions between nature
and nurture. Considering our own
expectations, as well as knowing about
the differences in brain development,
can help to explain some of the
practical differences between genders.
Your child is watching you
There is a network of nerve cells
running alongside our motor nerves
called mirror neurons. Their role in
development is to imitate (or mirror)
everything that we see. In simple terms,
our children will become like the adults
that they have grown up around.
No matter what their age, if we know
that our children and young people
are watching us, then we need to take
a critical look at ourselves. Are we
modelling what we would like them
to be?
Resource books
Some useful resources for parents
include:
Medina (2008) Brain Rules
Biddulph (2008: 2013) Raising
Happy Boys, Raising Happy Girls
Kindlon and Thomson (2000)
Raising Cain
Wiseman (2002) Queen Bees
and Wannabees
Do you laugh a lot? Do you swear a lot?
Do you exercise? Do you really listen? Do
you show empathy? Do you know how
to make and keep good friends? Do you
know how to relax? Do you know how to
keep your promises? Do you know how
to keep going when the road is hard and
long? How do you express your feelings?
Are you happy?
Whether it is in relation to self-esteem,
confidence or making friends, the
better we know ourselves, our own
anxieties, feelings and desires, the less
likely we are to force our children into
a rigid mould or transfer our biases and
anxieties onto them.
19
Service
A personal reflection on the Green Gecko Project
By Tracy Jochmann
Head of Grade 1
East Campus
As Grade 1 students began their
shoebox project for Chinese New Year
this year, both parents and teachers
helped to provide a rewarding service
experience for them. This was the first
year that a group of parents helped to
make decisions and source the items
for the shoeboxes for Happy Lodge. It
felt like a true collaboration between
students, parents and teachers bringing
it all together—and the project was all
the more successful because of it!
“It’s about giving from your heart.”
Thanks to the generosity and ingenuity
of a number of parents, the donations
came in, and the remaining items
needed were negotiated at a great deal
from Giant. Students not only learned
about giving, they also practised their
mathematics by ‘purchasing’ the items
for their shoeboxes at different ‘shops’
in the G1 pod area. Children were given
tokens to the value of $2 each and a list
of items that needed to go into each box.
They had to purchase the items, handing
over the appropriate number of tokens
to the parent volunteers helping out as
shop assistants. Once they had filled
their boxes, the children returned to their
classrooms and wrapped them in paper
they had made earlier in the week.
The children also invited a group
of residents from Happy Lodge for
morning tea. They sang a few songs,
some individual children performed on
the piano and violin, and they served
tea, coffee and snacks. The smiles
and thanks from the residents were
overwhelming and truly made it an
amazing experience for all.
Thank you to all the parents and staff
who made the Chinese New Year
service projects with our friends at
Happy Lodge so rewarding for our
students and the residents. As Grade
1 student Amairah said following the
morning tea, “It’s about giving from
your heart.”
By George Brereton
Grade 4, Dover Campus
When I got to Green Gecko, I met
Doug who is a volunteer. He talked to
us about who Green Gecko are and
what they do. He told us that the kids
at Green Gecko had originally been
begging on the streets of Siem Reap.
While we were there, we saw the library
which has English and Khmer books.
We also saw the children’s wooden
playground which has some slides,
monkey bars and a climbing frame, as
well as their sports field, which was
made from a rice paddy behind their
house.
We also met some of the older children
having English lessons. We spoke to a
girl who told us that she was very happy
with her companions at Green Gecko,
who felt like family to her.
After my visit to Green Gecko, I felt
that I wanted to help the Green Gecko
Project. I thought I could help by writing
this article, so more people would know
about them and support them.
www.greengeckoproject.org
By Advait and Elisa, Grade 5 and
Ayona, Aarohi and Julienne, Grade 4
East Campus
A group of Grade 4 and 5 students
spent five months working together to
create the Infant Sound Garden. Made
entirely out of recycled materials, this
sound garden was a complete recycling
success! The credit should not be given
to the students alone, but also to the
parents and teachers who graciously
donated all the materials used in
building the sound garden. Without
them, this service could not have been
possible. Thanks to the great ideas of
Ms Imogen, Mr Betts and Uncle Ronald,
the garden was officially opened on 14
January—sort of a New Year’s present
to the Infant School students.
This process involved lots of donations,
hard work in planning the design
and loads of creativity on everyone’s
part. We did not finish the garden
in one session. It required a lot of
concentration, care and thought to
make an especially effective impact on
how the children would learn to use it.
We tried to think carefully about how
the children would react not only to
how we built it, but also to each other.
It also took a long time to finalise the
project plan. Gathering materials,
making the themed signs and building
the sound garden itself required all of
our patience and effort.
We tried to make it as fun for the
children as we could, and looking at it
now it looks like a complete success!
For photos and additional
student reflections on the
sound garden project, please
visit eDunia.
College service group creates Infant Sound Garden
20
All the fun of the Community Fair
By GC Executive
Dover Campus
The Community Fair is the crème
de la crème of the UWCSEA Global
Concerns fundraising events as a
collective, bringing all parts of the
UWCSEA community together. It
is an opportunity for local vendors
and entrepreneurs to show off their
products, for Global Concerns groups
to sell their merchandise and promote
their messages to parents, and for
students to take part in the school and
community spirit.
The Community Fair planning does not
fall to the Global Concerns Executive
group, and in the weeks before the
event, we finally understood why!
The magnitude of work and planning
that goes into the Community Fair
requires more than students have time
to achieve; the ‘heavy-lifters’ are not
only Susan Edwards (Head of Global
Concerns, UWCSEA Dover) but also the
Dover Parents’ Association (PA). Their
assistance proved to be invaluable.
A huge thank you to the PA for their
efforts to make the Fair such a success.
It truly is a ‘community’ fair in that
there is no other event where the
student body, the Global Concerns
projects, the PA, local entrepreneurs
and parents come together in one spot.
This is why it is an anticipated event
on the annual calendar—it reminds us
that Global Concerns and its spirit of
sustainable living, integrity and service
to others resonates not only within
the campus but also around it. We saw
teachers frantically looking for change
at the Tabitha wallet sale, students
digging into their pile of campaign
t-shirts, long lines for the newest PA
investment (the ice kachang machine),
parents sweeping second hand books
into their complimentary recyclable
bags and children eagerly lining up
for various amusement stalls. This
year, the environment GCs introduced
biodegradable cornware to the fair
which was well supported by the
entire community.
The amount of involvement by students
of all grades on the day was absolutely
exemplary. The opportunity for
hands-on experience running the stall
on the day was provided to students
in Grades 9 to 12. The commitment,
sweaty foreheads and spectrum of
involvement that we saw was enough
for us to believe that the Community
Fair is the essence of the UWC spirit,
not only bringing the students together
but also their families and our extended
community. It is the epitome of what
we stand for: working as one to
make a difference, but enjoying
it all the while.