June 16, 2024

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The Constructivist Learning Design (CLD) was conceived to support Singapore teachers in their aspirations to enhance the teaching and learning of secondary mathematics.

Developed in alignment to the recommendations made in the updated Singapore mathematics curriculum, the CLD aims to help students deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts and develop necessary 21st Century competencies during the learning process. Encapsulating a teaching via problem solving approach with constructivist underpinnings, the learning design demonstrates how mathematical learning could be initiated through collaborative problem solving, and provide students avenues to communicate their reasoning of mathematical concepts, apply what they already know to new contexts, cultivate their  critical and inventive thinking, and develop their confidence and interest in mathematics.

Initiated by a team of researchers from the National Institute of Education (NIE) and funded from a developmental project via a grant from the Singapore Ministry of Education under the Education Research Funding Programme (see more details here),  CLD was developed, validated, and implemented in Singapore mathematics classrooms.  During the funding period (Years 2018~2021), seven CLD units were developed and enacted in 10 Singapore schools, involving 1565 student and 46 teacher participants. Recognising the critical role of teachers in ensuring the sustainability of the CLD,  participating teachers’ expertise in implementing and employing such learning design was also developed. To ensure a teachers’ efforts in the classroom are supported during and beyond the research project, a Networked Learning Community was also set up.

To find out more about the CLD, and learn how it can be infused into your lessons,  we invite you to explore our website. Here, you will get information on:

  • What the CLD is about, its background and theoretical underpinnings
  • The extant research regarding the learning design
  • The resources on how you can infuse CLD in your lessons

In addition to the above, this website also contains resources for other related learning approaches researched at the NIE that may interest you. Feel free to contact us if you require information or assistance!

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