Project Objectives
Students learn best when they are put in situations where they are forced to think and learn actively. One such situation is that of teachers – learning through teaching. Through teaching, students will be led to reflect on their own learning and attitudes, and strengthen generic capabilities such as communication and organization skills. We aim at helping students to (i) develop generic competencies, specifically, be more confident, presentable, organized and effective in teamwork; and (ii) be more knowledgeable of science taught in secondary schools and universities.
Key deliverables expected and timelines for completion
We propose to achieve these goals by organizing activities in three stages. In Stage I, a set of training workshops will be developed. Topics will include time management, communication skills, and self-confidence development. In Stage II, undergraduate students will be selected as Learning Assistants (LAs); they will help to organize learning activities, such as teaching basic astronomical observation and organizing lab visits, for selected General Education courses. In Stage III, LAs will be sent to several secondary schools to work as teaching assistants, so that they can gain invaluable hands-on experience in a school setting. Their job duties will include preparing teaching materials, holding tutorial classes and laboratory sessions, and organizing extra-curricular activities.
| Project stage |
Content |
| 1. Preparation (Jan 13 – Apr 13) |
Advertising the program, recruiting and selecting participants – LA’s. |
| 2. Workshops on teaching (May 13 ) |
Training of LA’s. A series of workshops will be offered, including introduction to the NSS curriculum, teaching strategies and concepts in educational psychology. |
| 3. Microteaching (May 13) |
Before they go to teach, each LA will have a microteaching of some chosen topics. Evaluation of the microteaching will be given. |
| 4. Teaching Practice (June 13 – Aug 13) |
LA’s will be sent to different secondary schools to teach. |
| 5. Evaluation (Aug 13) |
Evaluations from the secondary schools and the LA’s will be conducted. |
| 6. Promotion and dissemination (Sep 13 – Dec 13) |
LA’s will reflect on and share their experience in teaching and what they have learnt in the program. |
Arrangements for evaluation of project deliverables/outcomes
LA’s will be evaluated by secondary school teacher advisors, and a session will be organized for LA’s to share their experience.
Evaluation of workshops by participants will be conducted after each one.
Focus group sessions will be organized to collect feedback from participants.
Means for disseminating project deliverables/outcomes
A booklet summarizing the project deliverables
Seminars
