Students at Centrestage: A Seminar on Learning History in Singapore
The teaching of history has undergone tremendous change in recent years: syllabuses have been rewritten, sources have become a major form of assessment, and the content has been framed to cultivate thinking skills and citizenship education. The changes are, we know, part of the ongoing revamp of the education system in pursuit of Singapore’s desired status as a world city.
This seminar will return students to centrestage. It will acknowledge the interest, creativity and potential many students show towards the past, while highlighting the obstacles and frustrations that plague the experiences of others. It will, most importantly, listen to students’ views and feelings, not because they are necessarily true, but because they exist and ought to be empathetically heard and understood.
We invite teachers to approach their students or students to contact us directly to present their views and experiences (10-15 mins per presentation). We are looking for students doing history and social studies at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The form of presentation is flexible. Students can present singly or in small groups (up to 3 persons), or engage in an informal dialogue with a teacher. Besides the presentations, students can also send notes of their views and experiences by email to the conveners. Teachers will not present at the seminar, although they can facilitate a dialogue session and are encouraged to attend.
Students may speak on the following subjects:
1. The Historian’s Way: in learning history, do you work and think like a historian?
2. The Experience: what learning activities work for you, and which activities don’t?
3. Values and Lessons: what values and lessons does history provide us?
4. Problems and Frustrations: are you frustrated by problems such as language, concepts, sources, comparison etc? How can learning history be more fun and meaningful?
5. The Future: will you take history in your next school or in university?
If you are interested in presenting, please send your name(s), school, email address, and a short summary of what you will talk about to us by 30 October 2010.
Conveners
Dr Loh Kah Seng, lkshis@gmail.com
Ms Candice Alexis Seet, candice.seet@gmail.com
Ms Junaidah Jaffar, jun.jaffar@gmail.com
Ms Lee Si Wei, witchcraftz@yahoo.com