Sustaining and scaling research-based ICT in education innovations in Singapore

Abstract

The conceptualization and implementation of the third Masterplan of ICT in Education (MP3) in Singapore provides a microcosm of the challenges and strategies for mainstreaming and scaling good practices in technology-enabled learning. A key component of MP3 is research-based educational innovations. In this paper, two succinct examples of such innovations adopting the design-based research approach that have shown promises of impact on classroom practices, on student learning, and of being able to be sustained and scaled to broader contexts of use are elaborated and discussed. Basing on the reflective accounts, the affordances of design-based research for sustaining and scaling innovations are summarized. The conditions for adoptability and adaptability of education innovations by schools and teachers are also identified.