Professional Learning Communities@School, Cluster and Zone

ELIS’s PLPs@School are designed for the Key Personnel (KP), Teacher Leaders (TLs) and teachers in the EL Department of their school to deepen their knowledge, skills and classroom practice in a selected area of language learning. Supported by a Master Teacher, they also learn how their application of e-Pedagogy and Blended Learning in the area of language learning can be guided by sound understanding of the principles and processes of EL teaching and learning.

The Master Teacher facilitating a PLP@School guides the EL KP, TLs and teachers in their Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) through cycles of learning, application, review and reflection over a year. In that time, the Master Teacher also co-plans, co-teaches and co-reviews selected lessons with PLT members, and provides guidance for the growth of teacher leadership among them. 

The annual ZLS offers EL KP and TLs from primary schools an opportunity to strengthen and deepen their understanding of teaching, learning and assessment of English Language. They can look forward to learning together in a focus area, with support from Master Teachers in ELIS. In 2023 and 2024, the learning focus has been on Metacognition in EL classrooms, one of the three Pedagogical Emphases of EL Syllabus 2020.

The ZNS is an annual opportunity for EL Lead Teachers (LTs) from primary and secondary schools to network with one another and with Master Teachers from ELIS. Together, they co-construct and clarify their understanding about selected areas of inquiry in EL teaching, learning and assessment. In the last few years, the learning focus of the ZNS include e-Pedagogy and Blended Learning, and the Pedagogical Emphases of EL Syllabus 2020.

The ZNS has become the springboard for the formation of Professional Learning Communities at the zonal levels, in which the LTs can further their inquiries into their selected areas of learning with the support of Master Teachers from ELIS.

With their participation in the ZNS, EL LTs are invited to form PLCs in their zones, in which they can collaborate with their peers to further their inquiries into a selected area of learning. Master Teachers from ELIS support the EL LTs in these PLCs@Zone to grow in their pedagogical leadership so that they can lead/co-lead Networked Learning Communities (NLCs) more effectively.  

In 2024 and 2025, the PLCs@Zone are deepening their learning about the Pedagogical Emphases of EL Syllabus 2020 – Inquiry Through Dialogue, Metacognition and Multiliteracies. At the annual ZNS, they will discuss and celebrate what they have learnt.

Master Teachers from ELIS provide support as Knowledgeable Others to EL KP, TLs and teachers in NLCs@Cluster in their ground-up initiatives to grow their knowledge bases in areas of learning of their choice.

ELIS supports teachers in school in their inquiry into the teaching, learning and assessment of English Language and Literature in English. Key Personnel and Teacher Leaders of a school can look forward to support from Specialists/EL in leading their teachers in engaging with the following processes in classroom inquiry.

To find out more about Classroom Inquiry@School, contact Dr Rachel Goh, Senior Specialist/EL, at rachel_goh@moe.gov.sg.

Classroom Inquiry@Canberra Secondary School

Dr Rachel Goh, Senior Specialist/EL, gave a keynote presentation on ‘Rethinking Feedback’ on 15 January 2024 to teachers in Canberra Secondary School at their school-wide Professional Learning Session. In partnership with Ms Angeline Ho, Assistant Director/Lead Specialist/ELLB, Rachel supports the EL department, guiding teachers who are inquiring into improving their assessment feedback practices.