Pre-University Educators Experience Interdisciplinarity at NUS
5 January 2023
A delegation of teachers from Catholic Junior College (CJC) visited the National University of Singapore (NUS) campus on Tuesday (5 January 2023) as part of their annual Teacher’s Learning Retreat. With teaching expertise spanning various subjects and departments, they were keen to better understand interdisciplinarity at the NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), as well as how the learning experience differs between Junior College and University.
Participating in different panel sessions, the teachers heard directly from faculty and students, who shared their unique experiences and insights. Panelists included Dr Noorman Abdullah, Associate Professor Loy Hui Chieh, Dr Donna Brunero, Dr Denis Tkachenko, Dr Alex Mitchell, as well as two current undergraduates, Andrea Lim and Shruthi Kumar.
Teachers from Catholic Junior College engaged FASS faculty and students in vibrant discussions on interdisciplinary education at the tertiary level.
Teachers from Catholic Junior College engaged FASS faculty and students in vibrant discussions on interdisciplinary education at the tertiary level.
Exploration of New NUS Facilities
The delegation was also provided a tour of the newly renovated Central Library (NUS Libraries), where they were introduced to some up and coming technology, like the 360 Imaginarium, that NUS faculty have already incorporated into their teaching. The teachers were also allowed access to the rare bookbridge, where NUS houses its vintage and rare collections.
Preparing Students to have the Best Educational Mindset
"Thank you for bringing together such a vibrant panel of Professors from diverse range of specialities. From this panel we can see how NUS is bringing together interdisciplinarity into the classroom. The discussion was rich, lively and extremely informative to understand how we can prepare our students to be future ready; “Ready for University, Learn for Life" said Vice Principal Philip Avlar.
"We welcome the opportunity to share our best practices, and insights from interdisciplinary curriculum development and delivery in FASS with Catholic Junior College teachers. The panel session and discussions were both candid and encouraging. It is always helpful to engage and connect with teachers of our future students, to share experiences and align our educational philosophy," said Dr Noorman Abdullah, Asst Dean (External Relations and Student Life).
"As both an NUS alumnus and Catholic Junior College educator - I myself am an interdisciplinary product from many years ago. I pursued Science and double majors in Economics and English Lit, purely driven by passion. It’s wonderful our students can pursue this seamlessly today. The panel sessions today were both enlightening and inspiring and provides us with lots of insights we can apply to our classroom and students," said Mervyn Sek, Head of Department (Project Work and Integrated Curriculum).