News
Our panel of experts discuss the different ways the COVID-19 adversely impacts low-income families and what should be done to alleviate their financial burdens.
In the Channel News Asia commentary “PSLE scores could impact life outcomes. So don’t let them” Dr Kelvin Seah Kah Cheng (NUS Department of Economics) writes about the subject-based banding (SBB) system that primary schools here are adopting. He explains that SBB aims to lower the pressure of the demanding Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) on students by altering the common curriculum to one that allows students to pursue their strengths and interests.
Dr Nina Powell of the NUS Department of Psychology reflects on NUS’ efforts to foster interdisciplinary higher education, and how it presents an opportunity for educators to cultivate the right interdisciplinary educational practices on the ground, and thereby nurture critically reflective and engaged students.
The Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences has received a gift of $336,000 from Sino Suisse Capital Pte Ltd to establish the Sino Suisse Internship Grant.
In the 10 December 2020 East Asia Forum article, “The challenges in resetting US–Southeast Asia relations”, Associate Professor Ja Ian Chong (NUS Department of Political Science) cautions the Biden administration of the forthcoming resistance it may face from Southeast Asia (SEA). A/P Chong foresees several challenges in reinstating the trans-Pacific relationship since the US and SEA drifted apart during previous administrations and will need to rebuild ties.
Sometimes, a bright idea is all it takes to spark a global transformation. Here are six outstanding proposals from recent graduates to the NUS Resilience and Growth Innovation Challenge.
For students to learn well, educators must first help to mitigate the fear and anxiety that impede their learning, said Mr Jonathan Sim, National University of Singapore (NUS) Department of Philosophy instructor, when outlining his teaching philosophy.
He was one of 36 Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (FTEA) recipients, awarded to outstanding Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) faculty in recognition of their high level of commitment in Academic Year 2019/2020.
When Assistant Professor Alex Mitchell first began teaching at the then-newly minted NUS Department of Communications and New Media (CNM) in 2005, he had to overcome traditional barriers to introduce a practice-based teaching approach within a “largely theory-based faculty.”
“In the early days of CNM there was hesitation towards, for example, two-hour design-based tutorials and 100% Continuous Assessment (CA) modules. But over time this has changed, and alternative approaches are now very much welcome,” explained Dr Mitchell, now an Assistant Professor specialising in Interactive Media Design education.
For him, it is essential to incorporate experiential learning by allowing students to apply theory through hands-on practice, as students only truly understand concepts such as interactivity when they see how and why something works or does not work.
Associate Professor Ja Ian Chong (NUS Political Science) explains, in The Diplomat, why support for Trump among Taiwanese and Hong Kongers is both unsurprising and misguided. He notes that citizens of Hong Kong and Taiwan view Republicans as strong on China and democrats as the opposite. Along with many other examples, the Trump administration-led trade war, its efforts against Chinese technology companies ByteDance, ZTE, and Huawei, and sales of arms to Taiwan bolster this line of thinking.
Fears are mounting over the prospect of a “lost generation” in Asia as economies are still reeling from the fallout of the pandemic. This lost generation may be scarred economically, socially and psychologically by the far-reaching effects of the coronavirus crisis. “The longer the current crisis lasts, the harder it is for the youth to recover from its negative impact. With no effective interventions, they could very well become a lost generation” warns CFPR’s Founding Director Professor Jean Yeung (NUS Sociology) in The Straits Times.