12th September 2022
Singapore’s Ministry of Education introduced fortnightly HBL days, which are part of a blended learning approach of home-based and in-school activities, to secondary and junior college students a year ago.
During HBL days, students get to practise self-directed study by listening to pre-recorded lessons and catching up with their work.
While MOE provides guidelines on the frequency and structure of HBL days, it is up to the schools to customise their approach, for instance, by determining the subjects and topics to be covered. For many schools, HBL also includes a component called student-initiated learning, giving students time to pursue an interest or hobby.
MOE said it will study how students are faring before deciding whether to expand it to primary schools. For younger pupils, the concerns include whether they are ready to cope with self-learning, how much supervision they would need and whether parents would have to make special childcare arrangements on HBL days.