2006 was a milestone for the Humanities Department, with many new initiatives and participation in various school and national events such as the National Weather Study Project, the Living Space Project and the MOE Excel Fest.Semester 1 was particularly eventful. The department hosted a group of educators from Hong Kong. They came to observe our learning circles and were impressed with Mr Gana’s sharing on how cultural awareness was brought about for pupils through a learning circle project.
Hong Kong educators at the Learning Circle sharing.
The department also hosted the first N6 cluster sharing entitled “ Talk less, teach more” where the use of Socratic dialogue to bring about thinking learners was shared by Mrs Frances Ess, our Subject Head for Geography. The session was very well received by the cluster teachers. Pupils who were at the session impressed the cluster teachers more with their quick thinking and confident speeches.
N6 Cluster Socratic Dialogue workshop
N6 teachers were also active participants as they were required to ask questions and challenge the presenter.
The Living Space Project
The last major activity of semester 1 was the Living Space Project, a collaborative project between ETD and Mayflower Secondary School. On 7 April, the school hosted the final presentation of the Living Space Project and a total of 12 schools participated. The question and answer session at the end proved to be particularly useful where students were effectively able to voice out any queries and seek clarification from other schools.
Confident pupils sharing their projects.
Ms Faridah with her team.
Mrs Selva with the ETD representative.
Question and Answer session
The National Weather Study Project gave the school a set of weather instruments. These were placed on the rooftop of the school building in order to measure the weather conditions around the school. The data captured was then transferred electronically into a computer based in the Humanities Room, where students and teachers would have access to it. Using the data, teachers and students were able to draw conclusions about the weather conditions around the school.
Semester 2 saw the department taking part in the MOE Excel Fest. Socratic Dialogue was shared with the teachers and there was a static display of the Living Space Project. One Action Research on the use of Socratic questioning and templates to bring about quality thinking was also completed and the paper was published in the North Zone AR Symposium in November. The department also embarked on work attachment programmes for pupils. Pupils were attached to the National Heritage Board and the Asian Civilisations Museum.
To add value to pupils’ academic performance, the following were also introduced:
· Social Studies mass lectures for graduating classes
· Social Studies workshop
The last major activity of semester 1 was the Living Space Project, a collaborative project between ETD and Mayflower Secondary School. On 7 April, the school hosted the final presentation of the Living Space Project and a total of 12 schools participated. The question and answer session at the end proved to be particularly useful where students were effectively able to voice out any queries and seek clarification from other schools.
Confident pupils sharing their projects.
Ms Faridah with her team.
Mrs Selva with the ETD representative.
Question and Answer session
The National Weather Study Project gave the school a set of weather instruments. These were placed on the rooftop of the school building in order to measure the weather conditions around the school. The data captured was then transferred electronically into a computer based in the Humanities Room, where students and teachers would have access to it. Using the data, teachers and students were able to draw conclusions about the weather conditions around the school.
Semester 2 saw the department taking part in the MOE Excel Fest. Socratic Dialogue was shared with the teachers and there was a static display of the Living Space Project. One Action Research on the use of Socratic questioning and templates to bring about quality thinking was also completed and the paper was published in the North Zone AR Symposium in November. The department also embarked on work attachment programmes for pupils. Pupils were attached to the National Heritage Board and the Asian Civilisations Museum.
To add value to pupils’ academic performance, the following were also introduced:
· Social Studies mass lectures for graduating classes
· Social Studies workshop
- Blogging on NE and Social Studies topics
- Benchmarking for Source-based questions and mark schemes
Other activities organized by the department were:
Racial Harmony Day Commemoration
Students having fun.
Students learning how to work together.
Living in HarmonyThe Speakers’ Corner
Students expressing their views at Speaker's Corner.
Students listening to students' views on issues.
