Our Philosophy & Learning Approach

Philosophy

Creating a learning environment where students experience successes through meaningful learning and character development.

Learning Approach

Play-based learning approach is characterised by the design of the school and classroom environments and the available teaching and learning resources to capture, sustain and extend the students’ enjoyable experience that helps them construct and reconstruct new meanings. This is facilitated through the teacher who interweaves the student’s optimal experience with teaching and learning objectives.

Play-Based Learning Approach

At West Spring Primary, PLAY also refers to Purposeful Learning Activities for the Young.

While educational scholars have proposed various proponents and guiding principles of play-based learning approach, at West Spring we focus on 3 principles. These principles are broadly categorised as: Teacher-led play, Student-centred play and Teacher-facilitated play.

Teacher-led play takes place in a structured lesson when teacher introduces a concept, topic for exploration, experimentation or investigation and provides opportunities for students to be creative problem solvers. In this type of lessons, the agenda and learning activities are usually determined and set by the teachers.

Student-centred play takes place when student explores, experiments, investigates and be creative and self-directed team players.

For instance, in West Spring, we collaborate with Lego Education to bring Constructionism into the classrooms.

Teacher-facilitated play takes place when teachers are involved in students’ interactions and learning. Students can enjoy lessons outside the classrooms through music & drama as well as physical education lessons and ICT-enabled lessons. In these lessons, the play resources are usually controlled by the teacher and teacher intervention is guided by pre-determined learning outcomes. As the teacher manages the resources, time and space, checking of equipment and internet safety is also key during these lessons.

In addition to the pedagogic principles stated, West Spring Primary adopts five domains of PLAY during lessons.

PLAY Domains

Our PLAY- based learning approach is delivered through these pedagogic principles and can take the form of any of the 5 PLAY domains. Thus, a PLAY lesson can be implemented through a combination of principles and take the form of a variety of domains.