Official Launch of NIE’s Science of Learning in Education Centre and Master of Science (Science of Learning)

The Science of Learning in Education Centre (SoLEC) was officially launched on 24 March 2021 by the Guest-of-Honour, Mr Lai Chung Han, Permanent Secretary (Education), Ministry of Education and Chairman, NIE Council, alongside NIE Director, Prof Christine Goh.

The centre was launched by the unveiling of an opening plaque by Prof Christine Goh (left) and Mr Lai Chung Han (right)

The SoLEC is the latest research centre to be established at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University (NIE NTU). This is an initiative by NIE NTU to establish an institution-wide infrastructure for researchers and teachers to come together and make an impact on the lives of learners in Singapore.

Due to current safe distancing measures, the launch was carried out as a hybrid event, with a limited capacity of in-person guests, with the rest of the audience watching a livestream of the event. Following the launch, a video about SoLEC and how it all began was screened:

 

Concurrently with the launch of SoLEC, the Master of Science (Science of Learning) and NTU MiniMasters™ in Mind, Brain and Education was also announced by Assoc Prof Gwendoline Quek Choon Lang, Head of the Learning Sciences and Assessment Academic Group (LSA AG) at NIE. This programme is led by Asst Prof Farhan Ali, LSA AG, and it seeks to build on the foundation laid by the centre, and catalyse NIE’s leadership in SoLE frontiers. Read more about the programme here.

Assoc Prof Quek announcing the launch of the Master of Science (Science of Learning) programme

The event also featured a panel discussion on SoLEC and moving forward with SoLE research, in and out of the classroom. Prof David Hung, OER Dean (Education Research) and SoLEC Centre Director first set the stage with a pre-panel presentation on "A bi-directional partnership between the Science of Learning and Education: An interdisciplinary paradigm towards research and practice".

The panelists convened were Prof Michael Meaney, Programme Director (Translational Neurosciences) at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Assoc Prof Kenneth Poon, Co-Centre Director of the Centre for Research in Child Development (CRCD) and OER Assoc Dean (Education Research), and Mdm Jolyn Chua, Woodlands Primary School Head of Department (English Language). The discussion was moderated by Dr Anne Rifkin-Graboi, CRCD Head of Infancy and Early Childhood Research.

Panelists from left to right: Prof Meaney, Assoc Prof Poon, Mdm Chua, and Dr Rifkin-Graboi

Watch the recording of the launch event here:


In-person guests also had the opportunity to tour SoLEC, (while our online audience was invited on an online 360-degree tour) and visit five research booths featuring selected SoLE research, presented by the research project’s Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-PIs.

At the first research booth in the SoLEC classroom, Asst Prof Ali led an interactive demonstration of SoLE equipment such as electroencephalograms (EEGs), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), and eye trackers.

OER Research Assistant, Mr Ng Chen Kian demonstrating how fNIRS is used

Research booth two saw Dr Fannie Khng, OER Asst Dean (Research Management) present on a study she conducted using EEGs to determine the effect of deep breathing on maths anxiety:

 

Dr Sun He, OER Research Scientist, presented on her work using eye trackers to examine animated e-book reading at the next station:

Asst Prof Teo Wei-Peng, from the Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group (PESS AG) in NIE, detailed the relationship between physical activity and cognition using fNIRS at the fourth research booth:

Lastly, Asst Prof Masato Kawabata, PESS AG, talked about the effects of nutrition and exercise on cognitive performance:

We look forward to all the research findings and opportunities to improve learning in and out of the classroom that are sure to come.

Update on 28 October 2021: The NTU MiniMasters has been replaced by the NTU FlexiMasters from 28 Oct 2021.