Introduction: Becoming an 'E' Educator

As I teach, I embark on a journey of self-discovery; a journey in which I learn more about geography as a discipline and also become more conscious of my teaching philosophy. I have always been an 'A' or 'B' geography student and today I have evolved into an 'E' educator. This essay presents some elements of my teaching philosophy: the need to enrich students with a body of knowledge; the importance of engaging students through experiential learning; the desire to impart enduring skills and my wish to encourage student research. Apart from these fundamentals, I have also become more aware of a number of value-adding dimensions in teaching. These include empathising with students; taking advantage of the environment; enthusing learners through personal touches and exposing students to cross-cultural encounters.

Enriching Content Knowledge

In teaching, I hope to enrich students with an understanding of geographic concepts, phenomena and specialised bodies of knowledge. While it is not the goal of education to know everything under the sun, it is nevertheless worthwhile for students to understand a select body of knowledge (pertaining to the chosen modular discipline) that will distinguish them as people of learning.

Working within a 13-week timeframe per semester in NUS, educators face a challenging task of condensing a sub-discipline into a semester's worth of salient issues and concepts. To ensure that the key ideas taught are relevant and current, I find it essential to update my teaching material annually. Refreshing modular content, visuals and updating reading lists keep me vigilant; as I have fresh materials and novel insights to share, I will be more enthused in my delivery. At the end of each semester, I always ask myself whether what was taught has made a difference in students' lives. Reviewing student feedback provides a gauge. If students benefit from the knowledge taught, I know that I have enriched them in some tangible way.

Engagement through Experiential Teaching

In lectures and tutorials, I engage students through 'Active Learning Sessions' (ALS); I believe that learning is most effective when students actively apply personal experiences. Hence, in a tourism module (GE2218 "Leisure, Recreation and Tourism") that I teach, instead of talking about souvenirs and the concept of 'cultural commodity', I insist that students bring to class items they had bought overseas. Original and memorable insights are shared when students discuss tourism concepts while viewing and touching an Aborigine boomerang, a Thai tribal fabric or an engraving from Mecca.

Enduring Skills Content

knowledge and conceptual understanding are not enough. When I was a student, I was always fascinated when lecturers share their study tips. As a teacher today, I try to impart study skills which I have found helpful as a student. I call these 'Big Picture' skills as they can be applied across disciplines and faculties; hopefully these are also lifelong skills that students can take into the working world.

Let me illustrate with one example. In 2004, I first came across Tony Buzan's concept of mind-mapping (Buzan, 1996, 2002) and found it to be an effective tool for classifying and categorising ideas and information. By applying mind maps in my lessons, I exemplify their usefulness. During revision, students are asked to apply mind maps to summarise all the key points covered in class. Able students do a remarkable job in mind-mapping all the main concepts and issues taught. In the final lecture, the best mind maps are reviewed and discussed. I believe that an ability to mind map is a lifelong skill that everyone can apply to good effect in a corporate environment.

Encouraging Student Research

Students often find the academic research process daunting. Through 'Research-based Teaching', I share my research challenges and personal field work and publication strategies. I go 'behind the scenes' to discuss research methodologies and the ways knowledge is constructed. By demystifying the research process and demonstrating that research methods are never foolproof, students are less intimidated by the research process. Students are heartened to hear of their lecturers' experiences (and failures), and to learn that research is an everevolving craft. Through sharing my experiences, I hope students are encouraged to venture into independent inquiry and research.

Empathising with Students

I regularly put myself in a learner's position and try to recall what learning tools I found useful as a student. When students have to grapple with five modules per semester, it is difficult for them to internalise the numerous new concepts and ideas introduced. As a student, I have always found alliterations, quirky acronyms and metaphors helpful in understanding and remembering new ideas.

As much as possible, I devise wordplay to facilitate learning. For example, instead of reminding students to evaluate a phenomenon from the various 'social, political, economic, cultural and spatial' perspectives, I tell them to put on their 'SPECS'. When students enquire about possible research topics to explore, I encourage them to ask the five 'P' questions: what is their personal passion; what place(s) are they interested to study; what noteworthy phenomenon should be studied; what practicalities need to be considered; what is their personality type?

When alliterations fail, helpful metaphors may be used instead. As a secondary school student, I recall a Chemistry teacher helping us understand the periodic table with a humourous limerick, and a Geography teacher explaining glaciation through metaphors of eating and other domestic activities. These memories have stayed with me. 'Memorising' facts in our information age is rather useless; nevertheless, some degree of memory is still needed when we study. Helping students recall and classify ideas with alliterations and other literary devices is a fun activity for both teacher and learners.

Using the Environment to Best Advantage

Who says lessons have to be conducted in a static classroom? A scenery change is always refreshing, especially for a geography class. Each semester, a colleague and I bring students to the Singapore River for a 3-hour outdoor lesson. More recently, this riverside lesson has incorporated a 15-minute visit to a café to talk with a budding entrepreneur. Students get to ask the café owner questions about his operations, as well as validate academic concepts in the business world.

Figure 1. Classroom with a view: conducting a field trip at the Singapore
River.

While it is ideal to get students out into the field (e.g. through overseas field modules which the Geography department conducts twice annually), it is not always logistically and financially possible. A less ambitious, but equally memorable environment change can be effected. For instance, for a tutorial on eco-tourism, I conduct the lesson under the beautiful rain trees near the Old Administration Block in NUS. I have invested in a number of inexpensive rattan mats for students to sit on and a few rustic fans to chase away the heat. A simple change in environment always keeps lessons fresh and students anticipative. The NUS campus abounds with limitless possibilities for alfresco classrooms.

Figure 2. The alfresco classroom: an eco-tourism discussion outside the
Old Administration Building.

Enthusing Learners through Personal Relat ions

Knowing students and calling them by their names do make a difference. When students feel they are given personal attention, they are willing to put in more effort. Whenever I take attendance, I sketch a floor plan of the class and attach a name to each 'smiley face' in it. I will call on students with their names (after stealing surreptitious glances at the plan, of course). After each class, I attach brief comments to different students in the plan to help me remember who had said what. These notes also help me to identify students who are non-participative. After two or three tutorials, it becomes much easier to attach names to faces and voices.

Cross-cultural Encounters and Exposures

Above and beyond the classroom environment, I like to get my students to meet peers from a different cultural background. If we are to prepare youths for a global working environment, what better way to start than in schools? In 2001, I participated in a 'borderless classroom' exercise with colleagues from University of Hawaii, Manoa (UHM). Over five weeks, 150 NUS students exchanged information and ideas about tourism with 50 UHM undergraduates. Virtual chat-rooms, communal discussions and group projects were created online to facilitate student interaction. Notwithstanding some technical glitches, the sustained dialogue between American and Singaporean youths provided opportunities to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions.

More recently in 2005 and 2006, a colleague and I initiated a field studies module (GE3230 "Field Studies in Southeast Asia") involving 20 University of Malaya (UM) and 20 NUS participants. The 6-week long special semester module allows students to spend three weeks each in Malaysia and Singapore. Project groups comprise a mix of NUS and UM students and assignment tasks are designed to facilitate cooperation and cross-cultural dialogue. It is heart-warming to see students from across the Causeway helping one another in a spirit of camaraderie. More significantly, strong bonds of friendship are forged between Malaysians and Singaporeans. I look forward to many more cross-cultural encounters in these borderless classrooms.

Figure 3. Cross-cultural encounters: TC Chang, NUS and University of Malaya
students with Orang Asli children in Cameron Highlands.

Conclusion: Empowering Educators

It is a challenge to maintain a high standard of teaching from semester to semester, over the years. In the same way that we try to empower students with new knowledge and skills, educators also need to be empowered for the long haul. I suggest three strategies of empowerment. Firstly, a good teacher must be passionate about research. When one actively undertakes research, the material one teaches is current and cutting-edge; such an educator speaks with personal experience and conviction of his/her research findings. Secondly, pedagogical research provides an excellent outlet for educators to reflect on their teaching strategies. Through publishing articles on my Hawaii- Singapore collaboration, for example, I have learnt more about the role of the Internet in education and its effects on the young. Finally, colleagues need to share with one another their best practices and problems. CDTL does a great job by providing a platform for exchange and dialogue. In the Department of Geography, we have also inaugurated a biannual staff sharing session to brainstorm best practices and challenges. There is always something inspirational and insightful when we discuss and share with one another our teaching experiences. Empowering educators is undoubtedly a crucial ingredient in producing and sustaining teaching excellence in NUS.

References

Buzan, T. & Buzan, B. (1996). The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential. Plume.

Buzan, T. (2002). How to Mind Map. HarperCollins.