AA Receipients Sharing Session on 31 Oct 2006

Dr Tan started the sharing session off with his three fatherly beliefs: 1. do not scold the students; 2. love them & treat them like your own kids; and 3. encourage the students to do well.

Dr. Tan made use of video clips to demonstrate that we have to affirm our students’ abilities so that they can change their limiting belief (‘I can’t do it!’) to positive self-image. [Click here to view the video clip]



Seok Ling first identified our students as being in the Y/Z generation. Many of the students are from lower income group. Many of them are also very much influenced by the media.

Working with the Y generation students, Seok Ling asked herself “I am not like them, I may not like what they do or their attitude, but can I try to understand and empathize with them?”


Seok Ling used PASSION to illustrate how she relates to her students.

Passion – that is why she is called to the profession
Articulation – being clear in teaching is the fundamental task
Sensitivity – being sensitive to how students feel, especially the weaker students.
Sense of Humour – it might not be a joke but an act to receive a response or reaction from the students.
Innovation – the use of many ways of delivery, e.g., lecture-on-demand, games, flash video, PBL
Opportunity – make available each incidence as a learning opportunity
kNowledge – profound statement from Seok Ling “I have to be a learner to be an effective facilitator to the learners”.




Jeffrey shared his 3Ms in teaching:

Management of Class

In a class room, there is a community of learners (students). They should be treated as rational adults with the ability to reason. Students should be able to be who they are and there should not be ‘labeled’ (good student, bad student, etc). Students are also encouraged to use their common sense to carry out their tasks.


Motivation of class

Students’ interest in a topic should be cultivated by the lecturer. The usefulness of the module or topic should also be illustrated. For example, Jeffrey showed the students how to apply risk management in real life.

Lecturers/tutors should also encourage students and tell them that they can do well in the module, and mean it too.

Manner of delivery

Honest – everybody makes mistakes. Don’t be afraid to admit your fault if you do.
Candid – be spontaneous
Sincere – mean what you say and don’t ‘black-list’ students
Simplify – break down a complex idea into sub parts so that they are easier to grasp and understand. Most importantly, keep the main thing the main thing.