ALP
Discover how Punggol Cove Primary's ALP builds confident communicators through real-world problem-solving, design thinking, and community service across all primary levels.
Applied Learning Programme (ALP) – English language & ICT collaboration
C3 - Confident Communicators and Collaborators
At Punggol Cove Primary School, we envision every student to be a Curious Lifelong Learner, a Confident Leader and a Responsible Innovator, ready to serve and lead. The Applied Learning Programme (ALP)- C^3- Confident Communicators and Collaborators- empowers students to apply their learning from English and New Media & ICT classrooms in meaningful service to the school and wider community.
Through real-world problem-solving, the programme nurtures curious lifelong learners, confident leaders, and responsible individuals. It develops critical thinking, collaboration and effective communication through writing and oracy, while strengthening students’ understanding of global and societal issues.
Advocacy-based learning activities are thoughtfully designed across three learner blocks—lower primary, middle primary, and upper primary—and are categorised into direct service, indirect service, and advocacy. At the lower-primary level, programmes are designed with elements of problem-based learning to cultivate empathy and lay the foundation for collaborative problem-solving.
As students progress to the middle and upper-primary levels, Design Thinking (DT) is introduced to guide them in developing innovative and purposeful solutions, empowering them to express ideas clearly and inspire positive change in authentic, meaningful contexts.
Some examples of activities conducted in this programme are listed in the table below:
Applied Learning Programme activities by primary level
Lower Primary | Middle Primary | Upper Primary |
FOCUS: Self, School | FOCUS: Peers, School | FOCUS: Community |
Primary 1: Learning, documenting animal conservation efforts & sharing their findings with peers. Medium: MS Power point | Primary 3: Using podcasting as a tool to educate their peers on cyber safety issues. Medium: Podcasting | Primary 5: Applying design thinking to develop interactive games for the elderly, while documenting the learning journey through multi-modal platforms and producing a mini documentary to explore themes of empathy and social responsibility through research and purposeful writing. Medium: MS Canva |
Primary 2: Identifying the needs of incoming primary 1 students and working on solutions to ease this transition. Medium: MS Power point; MS Word | Primary 4: Creating digital stories for MOE Kindergarten students to teach them values.
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Primary 1
Building on their knowledge about animals from books read in the English classroom, the Primary 1 Applied Learning Programme (ALP) aims to provide students with opportunities to learn about endangered animals and advocate animal conservation.
Through authentic and experiential learning, supported by elements of problem-based learning (PBL), each P1 class researches on a selected endangered animal. Students then embark on a learning experience to the Singapore Zoo to learn more about the selected animal.
The information gathered by the different classes is then shared and presented in the form of class writing and e-posters; thus building on each other’s repertoire of knowledge.
Primary 2
With a focus on building empathy and learning through reflection, the Primary 2 ALP draws on elements of problem-based learning (PBL) to guide students in reflecting on their own experiences of transitioning into primary school. Drawing on the school value of empathy, they identify the challenges faced by incoming Primary 1 students and collaborate to develop meaningful solutions and advice to support their juniors in easing into school life.
Primary 3
To raise awareness of cyber safety and promote cyber wellness practices within the school community, Primary 3 students take on the role of ambassadors of Cyber Wellness through podcasting. Guided by the design thinking process, students empathise with the needs of their audience, craft meaningful messages, and prototype engaging podcast episodes.
They apply their language skills—writing, speaking, and presenting—alongside newly acquired podcasting techniques to advocate for responsible digital citizenship. Each class explores a different strand of cyber wellness, ranging from cyber identity and relationships to digital footprint and cyber citizenship.
Primary 4
The programme adopts design thinking as a pedagogy to nurture innovation while reinforcing the school values of empathy and mindfulness. Primary 4 students work collaboratively to spark reading interest in their younger peers and impart values through storytelling.
Through the design thinking process, they conduct surveys to better understand their recipients’ reading preferences and create digital storybooks using Google Slides to inspire a love for reading. They then visit MK@PC to share their completed digital story with the preschoolers.
Primary 5
The Primary 5 ALP is anchored in the Design Thinking process and carried out in collaboration with the Caring Companions programme as part of the students’ Values in Action (VIA) efforts. Students begin by researching the lives and needs of the elderly in Singapore to develop empathy and a deeper understanding of the challenges they face.
Guided by their research findings, students design and prototype interactive games aimed at fostering meaningful engagement with the elderly during their visits to elderly homes. Throughout the project, students document their learning journey through multi-modal platforms, capturing their research, ideation, testing, and reflections.
To conclude the programme, students produce a mini documentary that showcases their design process, learning experiences, and insights, highlighting themes of empathy, social responsibility, and purposeful communication.
