Page 20 - Education Change and Economic Development: The Case of Singapore Dr. Goh Chor Boon National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University

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creative youth. The school is where a culture of innovation could be nurtured.
Schools are tapping on STEM-related projects and creating “Makerspace” to
spur students’ interest in designing and making things. Unlike the equipment of
the typical Fab Lab, such as computers, 3-D printers, Arduino boards and laser

cutters, STEM workshops in schools encouraged students to make objects and
structures using ordinary materials, such as paper plates, cardboards, masking
tapes, straws, rubber bands, etc. based on their theoretical understanding of

scientific principles and their creative ideas. This eco-friendly approach teaches
students that extraordinary things could be build using ordinary materials.
The rise of the Maker Education and the creation of Makerspace is also
gaining strong support in Singapore schools. This is also in line with the

government constant reminder to the people to think innovation and with the
hope that some young can turn into budding manufacturing entrepreneurs.

While Singapore is a very tech-savvy, forward-looking country, the education
pedagogy is still quite rooted in heavily-supervised and -directed learning
activities. There is very little room for free expression and limited space for
maker-led activities, especially of the open-ended, interdisciplinary sort that

are becoming more trendy in innovative educational systems. Through the
makerspace, schools hope to create a conducive environment for the young to

think, create and innovate or, as described by Dale Dougherty, the “process of
makers might be informal, messy and organic”. 25
Finally, one critical component of Singapore’s education system is the

24 See Tony Wagner Creating Innovators: The Making of Young People who will
change the World (New York: Scribner), 2012.
25 Dale Dougherty, Free to Make: How the Maker Movement is changing our Schools,
our Jobs and our Minds (California: North Atlantic Books, 2016), p. 155.