Going Digital ELT

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The Psychological and Educational Implications of the UPSR Abolition: Revisiting the Debate in Malaysian Education

by Ian James

Abstract

The abolition of Ujian Penilaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR) in 2021 has sparked extensive debate regarding its impact on Malaysia’s educational system. This article examines the tensions between UPSR and Malaysia’s National Education Philosophy (Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan or FPK), which advocates holistic student development. By analysing educational and psychological theories, as well as news reports, this article explores the consequences of UPSR's return and highlights the limitations of standardised testing. The article advocates for refining School-Based Assessment (PBS) in a way that aligns with Malaysia’s goals of holistic student growth in intellect, emotion, spirituality, and physical well-being (JERIS).

LINK TO FULL ARTICLE:

The Psychological and Educational Implications of the UPSR Abolition: Revisiting the Debate in Malaysian Education by Ian James

Our paper on Education for Collective Intelligence is published today on Irish Educational Studies.
We aim to design new CI educational technologies. Great collaboration with the team at DEFI Cambridge.

Link to paper (open access): https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03323315.2023.2250309

c.c. Going Digital ELT

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐌𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐟𝐰𝐚𝐲: 𝟓 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐄𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐦
by Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad & Mohammad Shalihin Azim bin Ismail

"We decided to take on this writing on a very simple premise – that very rarely we have seen teacher educators (henceforth, supervisors) and student teachers (henceforth, supervisees) share what they hope for from each other going into practicum beyond what is stipulated on the observation forms. After all, teaching is more than having a checklist and ticking the items off that list. While these items have their own merits, there are other expectations which are sometimes left unaddressed by both supervisors and supervisees that can lead to frustration and dissatisfaction."

In this latest article on the Going Digital ELT blog, Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad and Mohammad Shalihin Azim bin Ismail share five things supervisors and supervisees expect from each other during teaching practicum.

Read it here:

Meet Me Halfway: 5 Things Supervisors and Supervisees Expect From Each Other During Teaching Practicum by Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad & Mohammad Shalihin Azim bin Ismail ​

Our website is up and running again! Thanks for your patience :)

Hello everyone! We are currently experiencing some technical issues with our website. Apologies to those who've been trying to access. Will be posting an update as soon as the issue is resolved. Thank you!

𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
by Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad

On the 8th of July, 2021, our GD-ELT editorial member Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad has published an article entitled 𝐎𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝-𝟏𝟗, 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬. In the article, he recounted his experience of conducting online teaching during the pandemic, and offered some in-depth reflections on the issues surrounding teachers, students, schools, and the state of education in Malaysia during those very trying times.

More than six months after the publication of that very well-received article, the GD-ELT editorial team decided to revisit Aziz's experience of putting his thoughts out there. In this article, Aziz shares how the journey of publishing his story publicly has contributed towards the development of his personal practical knowledge as an educator.

Read it here:

Developing Teacher’s Personal Practical Knowledge through Reflective Blogging by Abdul Aziz bin Arsyad

𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - 𝐃𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐔𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬?
by Ian James

"When news about the carnival received an overwhelming response from their students, they somehow managed to muster up the enthusiasm to do what they had to do. So, it became obvious to me that it was not due to a certain KPI, and nor was it to do with them being forced by certain individuals. The students decided to compete of their own accord. In their mind, it was an opportunity not to be missed. The idea of online competitions appealed to them because they didn’t have to leave their family behind. Besides, they didn’t have to worry about packing for a trip; there wouldn't be any. All they needed was good Internet connection, which their teachers were happy to help because finding a place with good Internet connection was a cinch in comparison to begging for financial support from the powers that be had it been a "real-life/face-to-face" competition."

When the pandemic forced the closures of schools all over Malaysia, many extra-curricular activities had to be moved online, too. In this latest article on the GD-ELT Blog, Ian James shares his thoughts on how online English language competitions during the pandemic might have changed the game for many students and teachers, especially in the rural areas.

Read it here: https://bit.ly/3iMpgJf

Online Competitions - Do They Widen or Close the Gap between Urban and Rural Students? by Ian James

Join Dr Lee Kean Wah and Cynthia C. James in this webinar organised by English Unit, Institute of Teacher Education Sarawak Campus (IPGK Sarawak).

Date: 8th October 2021 (Friday)
Time: 9.00 a.m.
Link: https://meet.google.com/kun-nqpv-usi

𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐰-𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐄𝐒𝐋 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬: 𝐀 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠
by Cynthia C. James

"...I had been inspired by the stories of these teachers who in many ways are just like myself - having to teach in classrooms with scarce resources, limited technological competence, and with little external support. Through the teachers' narratives, I learned a lot about ingenuity, about perseverance, and about discovering my identity as a teacher. I was enlightened by stories of successes, lightbulb moments, and epiphanies; as much as by stories of failures, false turns, and dead ends. The teachers have started their own narrative beginnings, and I consider it my duty to keep them going."

In this post, Cynthia C. James shares how her experiences with low-resource classrooms shaped her thinking about technology integration practices in the classroom, and her belief about what matters.

Read it here: https://bit.ly/3kcUIS5

Using Digital Technology in Low-Resource ESL Classrooms: A Narrative Beginning Cynthia C. James is the co-founder and member of the Going Digital ELT editorial team. She has been in the field of education in Malaysia since 2005 and has served as a primary school teacher,...

Our recent chapter on Language Learning with Technology is now available for online reading through this link:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-2697-5_5

James C.C., Lee K.W. (2021) Narrative Inquiry into Teacher Identity, Context, and Technology Integration in Low-Resource ESL Classrooms. In: Miller L., Wu J.G. (eds) Language Learning with Technology. Springer, Singapore.

Narrative Inquiry into Teacher Identity, Context, and Technology Integration in Low-Resource ESL Classrooms In 2016, we initiated the formation of a learning community called the Going Digitalin Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia where a group of English as a Second Language (ESL) practitioners with a common...

Our research team (Cynthia C. James & Dr Lee Kean Wah) has recently contributed a chapter titled "Narrative Inquiry into Teacher Identity, Context, and Technology Integration in Low-resource ESL Classrooms" (pp. 65-76) in this latest publication "Language Learning with Technology: Perspectives from Asia," edited by Lindsay Miller & Gavin Wu, published by Springer.

Language Learning with Technology - Perspectives from Asia | Lindsay Miller | Springer This book discusses language learning with technology, offering readers theoretical insights and practical case studies with a focus on Asia....