VIA means Values in Action. In Singapore schools, VIA gives students opportunities to contribute to the community while developing values and learning through reflection. A useful VIA project starts by understanding a real need, involves students in decisions and includes time to consider what their contribution achieved.
Design thinking offers a practical way to plan that process. The ideas below are suggested starting points, not reports of completed projects.
WHO RUNS THIS PROGRAMME
C-Academy runs EDIT Design Thinking® workshops and programmes for Singapore secondary schools, aligned to MOE’s 21st Century Competencies, ALP and VIA.
Start with the purpose of Values in Action
MOE’s Values in Action guidance emphasises students’ ownership, initiative and reflection as they contribute to the community. When choosing a project, begin with who it is for and what they need. Then decide what students can contribute responsibly within the school’s resources and timetable.
A volunteering activity can be part of the experience. Include preparation and reflection so students can explain their decisions and learning.
Use design thinking to move from need to action
C-Academy’s EDIT Design Thinking® process comprises Empathise, Define, Ideate and Test. For a VIA project, use it to structure the work:
- Empathise: Listen to the people affected and check what support would be useful.
- Define: Agree a specific need and a realistic scope with the teacher or community partner.
- Ideate: Develop possible contributions and compare their usefulness, feasibility and demands on others.
- Test: Try a small version with permission, collect feedback and improve the idea before wider use.
A prototype can be a draft guide, a short activity or a small service trial. Testing a prototype is preparation for contribution; do not assume it has created community impact before checking what happened.
Four VIA project ideas for secondary school students
Improve recycling guidance in school. Speak with students and the staff responsible for waste collection before designing anything. Test whether a proposed label helps people sort a small set of sample items correctly. Confirm the school’s actual collection arrangements before making recommendations about what belongs in each bin.
Create a welcome guide for new students. Ask recent arrivals what they found difficult to understand. Develop a short guide to an agreed part of school life and test whether intended readers can find the information they need. Revise unclear wording and plan who will keep the guide current.
Support a community partner’s existing activity. Start with a brief from the partner rather than deciding what its participants need. Students could help develop activity materials or clearer instructions, subject to the partner’s approval. Ask the partner to review the materials before use and comment on their usefulness afterwards.
Make an approved school event easier to navigate. Ask organisers and participants where instructions or directions are unclear. Prototype a simple map or information sheet, test it with intended users and refine it. Make accessibility decisions with the people affected and the responsible staff.
Agree responsibilities with the community partner
Before students begin, agree the task, contact person, supervision, permissions, available resources and feedback arrangements. Check whether the proposed contribution creates extra work for the partner, and adjust the scope if necessary.
Use school-approved arrangements for interviews, visits, photographs and personal information. Give participants a clear choice about taking part. Students can record relevant learning without publishing names or private details.
Plan participation and VIA hours with your school
Ask your school how it records VIA participation and which requirements apply to your cohort. Confirm how preparation, activities and reflection should be documented before students start.
Hours describe time spent. They do not, by themselves, show whether an activity was useful or what a student learnt. Keep a participation record alongside a short account of the contribution, feedback received and next steps.
Build a realistic project plan
Use this planning sequence and adapt the time allocated to each step:
- Confirm the community need, intended contribution and school or partner approval.
- Decide what students will investigate and which decisions they will make.
- Develop ideas and test a small version with the intended users.
- Improve and carry out the agreed contribution.
- Gather feedback, reflect and arrange any handover or follow-up.
Assign responsibilities and evidence to each step. If students only develop a prototype, record it as preparation rather than completed community action.
Reflect on learning and contribution
Ask students: What did we initially assume? What changed after listening? Which decision did I contribute to? What feedback shows whether our work was useful? What should happen next?
Distinguish student learning from community benefit. A thoughtful reflection is evidence of learning; feedback from the partner or users helps assess the contribution. Our design thinking learning outcomes guide provides examples of observable objectives and assessment criteria.
Explore C-Academy’s design thinking programmes for schools, or discuss a VIA learning brief with C-Academy to plan activities around your students’ needs and school context.
