Menu Close
Head of Learning Sciences Lab, National Institute of Education of Singapore

Dr Manu Kapur is a tenured Associate Professor of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning, and the Head of the Learning Sciences Lab (LSL) at the National Institute of Education (NIE) of Singapore. An engineer by bachelors training, Manu was a pre-university mathematics teacher for five years before receiving his doctorate in instructional technology and media from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, where he also completed a Master of Science in Applied Statistics. He also has a Master of Education from the NIE. Manu conceptualized the notion of productive failure and has used it to explore the hidden efficacies in the seemingly failed efforts of small groups solving complex problems collaboratively in an online environment. Over the past six years, Manu has done extensive work in real-field ecologies of mathematics classrooms to extend his work on productive failure across a range of schools in Singapore. Manu’s research has attracted high profile media interest (e.g., TIME, The Australian, The Straits Times, etc.) and funding both locally and internationally. He has been invited to present major keynote addresses around the world, and his work has been published in the top journals in the field.

Experience

  • 2012–present
    Head of Learning Sciences Lab, National Institute of Education, Singapore
  • 2011–present
    Associate Professor (tenured) of Curriculum, Teaching & learning, National Institute of Education, Singapore