TRAINERS LEARN NEW WAYS TO ENGAGE SOLDIERS

"I needed new tools in my toolbox."

Senior Warrant Officer (SWO) Peter Estrop used this analogy in describing his motivation behind pursuing a Specialist Advanced Diploma in Learning and Instruction in 2008.

As the Formation Sergeant Major at Headquarters Commando, he felt he needed to learn different ways of teaching the new generation of commando trainees.

He explained: "We're currently training the Gen-Y, and they may be looking at us like we're cavemen, so we need to use newer 'tools' in order to engage them."

At the National Institute of Education (NIE) on 13 Jul, SWO Estrop was among 124 graduands of the Continual Professional Education (CPE) Programme and NIE Learning Sciences Programme who received certificates from Director NIE Professor Lee Sing Kong.

The graduands comprised officers, military experts, warrant officers and specialists from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) as well as Defence Executive Officers.

Launched in June 2006, the CPE Programme equips trainers in the SAF with the latest learning technologies and pedagogies to sharpen their teaching skills.

Commander of the Army Training and Doctrine Command Brigadier-General Lim Hock Yu, who was the guest of honour at the ceremony, reminded graduands: "To stay relevant and engaging, instructors must not only be able to deliver lessons effectively; they must also adopt a more dynamic and flexible approach towards instruction so as to maximise the potential of a highly-educated and net-savvy generation."

Colonel (COL) Ang Yau Choon, who commands the Commando Training Institute, commented that the knowledge gleaned from his Advanced Course in Learning Science adds value to his work in the SAF. "The NSFs (Full-time National Servicemen) that we train have gone through many years of schooling under MOE (the Ministry of Education) schools, so the NIE lecturers have a better grasp of their learning profiles, and they can teach us how to better engage them."

SWO Estrop added: "Besides learning about educational psychology, we also learnt how to use new media to connect with the Gen-Y. So in teaching trainees, I can even create a blog and invite trainees into my blog where I can monitor their discussions."

For many of the graduands, learning new ways to engage the younge rgeneration meant getting up to speed with technology. But this was a challenge that Sergeant-Major of the Army SWO Tang Peck Oon readily embraced when he pursued a Specialist Advanced Diploma in Learning and Instruction.

He said: "I'm a firm believer in lifelong learning, and I believe that when our young soldiers see that the older soldiers are willing to learn new things to engage them, it will inspire them too."