Profile of Staff Member In-charge
Leon was with Ministry of Education (MOE), Singapore, between 2001 and 2014. While he was with the MOE, he served as a secondary school teacher and had taken on leadership appointments such as Subject Head (Design and Technology) and Head of Department (covering) who oversees the development of the Art and Design & Technology curriculum and the professional development of the Art and D&T teachers in the department.
Leon arrived in Japan in 2007 under the AYF and Monbukagakusho scholarship. Before returning back to Singapore in 2013, Leon had completed the Master of Design (Environment and Heritage Design) and Doctor of Design (Environment and Heritage Design) in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Leon continued to serve in MOE as a secondary school teacher till the end of 2014. In 2015, he has founded DESIGN-RE-SEARCH LAB with the hope to continue to contribute to education through his research.
In April 2016, Leon has joined Kyushu University, Faculty of Design, as an assistant professor where he continues his education and research activities.
Leon often conducts school visits as part of his research activities to understand educational issues. At the same time, he works with school teachers to explore possibilities to improve teaching and learning. In addition, Leon has also visited established design schools overseas to keep up-to-date on the recent developments in design education at the university level.
Research interest (but not limited to)
- Developing competencies for complex problem solving
- Curriculum planning and development for design education
- Development of critical thinking, creativity and design thinking through design learning
- Study of learning environment
- Curriculum planning and development for integrative learning
- SDGs related design education
- Teaching and learning strategies
- Diversity in education
- Curriculum planning and development
- Design history in Singapore
Key Research Funds Received:
- 2021-2024, Principal Investigator: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C): Evaluating the Quality of Critical Thinking of Junior High School Students in Design Activities.
- 2018-2021, Principal Investigator: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientist: Effective framework to develop critical and creative thinking in children to drive future innovation in Japan.
Other Funding Received:
- 2022, Kyushu University, Support for international research exchange: International Conference Travel Expenses Support, Principal Investigator. Research title: Interventions required to support Japanese high school teachers to facilitate design-based projects.
- 2020, Kyushu University Asia Week 2020, Principal Investigator. Research Title: Increasing SDGs awareness and motivations in Japanese high school students through Science-Technology-Engineering-Art-Math (STEAM) Based Design Education.
- 2017, Kyushu University, Support for international research exchange: International Conference Travel Expenses Support, Principal Investigator. Research title: Re-clarifying design problems through questions for secondary school children: An Example Based on Design Problem Identification in Singapore Pre-Tertiary Design Education
Information on publications and presentations: Click here
Other education and research involvements:
Involvement in Undergraduate Course (from April 2020 onward): Design Futures
Involvement in Graduate Programme (Since 2017~2022): Environment and Heritage Design Course
Involvement in Graduate Programme (Since 2022~): Design Futures (Graduate Course)
SDGs Design School: SDGs Design School
SDGs Design School: Open Source Resources
Key collaborations:
- collaborating with Japanese high school in Fukuoka city to develop and implement design-based learning that promote problem solving and SDGs
- National Taiwan Normal University on various aspect of design and technology education
- Collaborating with Japanese technology teachers on exploring design-based projects in technology lessons
- and others…
