Where National Education Can be Fun and Games

Think you know much about the Singapore River or the MRT system? Try your hand at some of the games our students at North Spring Primary School have come up with, and you may be surprised at how many more interesting or important things there are to learn about Singapore!

Games such as My River Cube, Comicky Comics and Moving Right on Track (MRT) have been designed by our students to bring National Education to life in more vivid and meaningful contexts. Students can also explore their creativity and take charge of their own learning. Besides being enormously popular in school, these games have also won awards for innovation and game design. They have been showcased to other schools and the public at events like the MOE ExCEL Fest and the National Environment Agency (NEA) Schools Carnival during Clean-and-Green Week.

Learning through fun

Our first endeavour was My River Cube, designed in 2004 by a team of 14 students. This game was designed to help students learn about the Singapore River through the use of Question and Picture Cards. Funded by the NYAA-Nexus Project Grant and the school in 2004, the game involved students playing in pairs and quizzing each other about Singapore River and its landmarks.

My River Cube enjoyed such success amongst our students that it spurred us to produce Comicky Comics in 2005. Again, this was designed by students and jointly funded by the school and the NYAA-Nexus Project Grant. This card game leveraged on students’ fascination with popular comics to teach them National Education values. Students aim to lose (not win!) as many cards as possible by forming National Education messages with word cards, matching comics cards to their correct messages, performing wacky tasks as directed by the cards, and transferring penalty cards to other players to prevent them from winning.

The school was thrilled when Comicky Comics was awarded the Innergy Award (Commendation) in 2006 and showcased at the MOE ExCEL Fest 2006. This motivated us to take the game-design approach even further with our third project, Moving Right on Track. Produced in 2006, the board game helps children to learn about National Education, social values and speaking Standard English as they navigate their tokens through the Singapore Mass Rapid Transit network reproduced on the game board.

Our P5 students who designed the game felt that it would give other students a new perspective into the importance of conserving and protecting the environment. One student, Cheng Zi Hong said, “Moving Right on Track helps players learn that we should not pollute the air. What I like about the game is that I can help children and adults learn more about environmental issues.” Another student, Vincent Lim added, “For example, it encourages people to take the Mass Rapid Transit trains, thereby helping to cut down on pollution and reduce road problems.”

Moving Right on Track was a collaborative effort by not only our students and teachers, but also external bodies such as the Land Transport Authority and Singapore River Cruises and Leisure. When the game became a hit, we produced a bigger version that allowed players an immersive learning experience. Members of the public also got to play the game when it was set up at this year’s NEA Schools Carnival at Clean-and-Green Week 2006 and MOE Launch of Environment Programme 2007.

The Moving Right on Track team did our school proud by winning the Best Project (Primary Schools) in the NEA Enviro-Innovate Competition and MOE School Innovation Fund in 2006. They also won first prize in the board games category of the VR-10 Inter-School Mini Game Design Competition 2007 organised by the Land Transport Authority.

Beyond the satisfaction of winning these awards, we have realised the significance of injecting “play” and I&E into National Education and its integral role in shaping students’ character. Miss Annie Kong, Subject Head of Innovation &Enterprise (I&E), elaborates that “the students displayed an admirable level of boldness and perseverance when sharing the games with the public.”

Besides these games, we have also come up with our own National Education activity cards. We have six different cards (Total Defence, International Friendship Day, Racial Harmony, Chinese, Malay, and Indian Activity Cards) and students are assigned to do different cards according to their levels. Employing a student-centred approach, the students are allowed to choose the tasks that appeal to them most from a list on each card. They later earn credits for completing the task.

In the Pipeline?

Looking ahead, our school plans to conduct action research to examine how we can positively influence students’ attitudes and values through the use of our National Education games. As we develop this “game culture” further, our overarching objective is simple: to help students learn National Education better – the way they like it.

Contributed by:
Mr Tan Cheng Yong
HOD/Pupil Management
North Spring Primary School

Previous MOE newsletter Contact Online articles on North Spring Primary School’s National Education games:

• Student Champions of National Education (January 2005)
• Moving Right on Track! (February 2007)