Integrated Project Work (IPW)

Interdisciplinary Project Work

“Interdisciplinary Project Work is a learning experience that provides secondary school students with the opportunity to synthesise knowledge from various areas of learning and apply it to real-life situations. Students collaborate with their peers and communicate their ideas effectively to achieve a common objective.”

In 2017, the school piloted and developed the Applied Science Programme (ASP), as part of the school’s effort to bring authentic learning into the curriculum. Under the year-long programme, our Secondary Two students were exposed to the research process, anchored on urban farming experiments. They also learned basic electronics and programming through an in-house Arduino curriculum. Following the completion of the research and programming modules, they then had a chance to apply their learning in designing a prototype greenhouse system to improve plant yield. The programme ultimately culminated in our own ASP Science Fair where students showcased their year-long work.

Through each of the research, programming and design modules, the students were given the chance to extend and sharpen their classroom knowledge and skills. Within the context of urban farming, the students looked at Biology concepts of photosynthesis and plant growth, and Chemistry concepts of acid/alkali and air pollution. As they acquired programming know-how, they also had the chance to extend what they learnt about electrical systems and sound, through the many electronic components that they worked with.

In 2020, the ASP curriculum was reviewed and updated to get students to consider Singapore’s water challenges. The students looked at possible water challenges that may be faced by the country and came up with creative solutions to hypothetical problems. They came up with various digital artefacts and prototypes that they envisioned could help alleviate water issues. In light of the pandemic, a virtual science fair in which videos of their project were showcased to all classes was held instead.

In 2024, the Applied Science Programme was reframed as the Interdisciplinary Project Work in which four departments were involved, namely Science, Humanities, Mathematics and English. The teachers customised the curriculum such that the students had to work in their groups to do research and complete a project, applying what they have learnt in these subjects. Students would be required to look at a possible challenge Singapore may have in the long run in terms of getting water and propose solutions to solve this. In the process, they will be brought out to learning journeys to look at water bodies and conduct experiments on various water sources to look at the different factors that affect water quality. At the end of it, students will then present their proposed solution to their classmates and teachers.