We are pleased to announce that six of our graduate students have recently won the Graduate Students’ Teaching Award (GSTA) for Semester 1 AY2022/2023!
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- Chua Khai Qing
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- Eelama Devi Paraniruva Singhan
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- Lee Russell
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- Lionel Lim Cheng Liang
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- Nadyanna Binte Mohamed Majeed
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- Ryan Chua Qi Xian
Russell will also be placed on the Honor Roll, in view of his sustained high performance in winning the award three times.
Congratulations to all six winners, who have done our department proud!
Since Eelama, Khai Qing, Lionel, and Nadyanna are first-time winners, we also took the opportunity to find out what makes them such effective teachers.
Eelama
1. What inspires you to teach?
I have been very blessed in my journey so far to have been guided and still continue to be guided by several impactful tutors, teachers, mentors, and professors. I credit all of them for inspiring my passion to teach. I am also inspired by my students. Sharing my knowledge and empowering students is immensely gratifying.
I, particularly, enjoy the dynamic and reciprocal nature of teaching and learning. To be a teacher means to be a student always. At the university level, the questions that students ask and the discussions that follows helps us both grow in terms of knowledge and application. This inspires me further to improve my skills and methods and develop as a teacher.
2. What are some of the major challenges you face as a teacher?
Silence in the classroom can be fairly daunting. As a tutor, my aim is always that the class understands the material I am presenting to them and that they are able to engage with it. However, when the students are quiet, it can be hard to discern if the silence is to do with the dynamic of the class or if it has to do with the material not being understood. Students should not hesitate to ask questions as that is how we learn and grow.
I think another major challenge I face is to engage every student in the class. I am constantly thinking of ways to deliver content in a way that is engaging, that can challenge thought processes, and encourage responses from the students. Although this preparation can be time intensive, I have found that preparation is key to addressing these challenges.
3. Why do you think you are an effective teacher?
I would like to believe it is because I try my best to achieve a conducive environment where everyone’s voice in the class is given a safe space to be heard. I believe that creating a non-judgmental, warm and understanding environment augments the learning and teaching process in ways that extend beyond the walls of the classroom which is fundamental to being an effective teacher.
In addition, I believe that taking a sincere interest in students and striving to build good rapport with them helps to build communication. I have found that doing so can also facilitate students with the opportunity to provide feedback on my teaching through the semester and this helps me immensely in my growth as an effective tutor.
Khai Qing
1. What inspires you to teach?
There are topics in Psychology that I am genuinely interested in, and I want to share my enthusiasm and interest in them with the students.
2. What are some of the major challenges you face as a teacher?
It is a challenge to engage all the students in the classroom. Some of them may not be as interested in the topics. I have to find ways to keep the lessons meaningful and relevant to all the students. It is also challenging for some students to voice out their thoughts in class. I have to create a welcoming environment for every student to participate in the class discussions.
3. Why do you think you are an effective teacher?
I try to take on the perspective of the students and break down concepts to make it easier for them to understand. I also try to use real-life examples and pose thought-provoking questions to make it engaging. Most importantly, I believe that as much as the students are learning from the classes, I am also learning from the students. They bring in interesting perspectives that their classmates and I can learn from.
Lionel
1. What inspires you to teach?
I find the process of education to be interesting, and being able to develop a student’s point of view is something rather enjoyable, and potentially quite eye-opening as well when they surprise you with a rather creative thought. Additionally, after meeting some good and some terrible tutors in my undergraduate years, I realised that the quality of the tutor can have a major influence on how enjoyable a student finds the mod, and I try to be a good one to keep the students engaged. Well, the pay is certainly not inspiring enough (joking…or am I? I am…or am I?)
2. What are some of the major challenges you face as a teacher?
In my opinion there are two major challenges as a tutor, presenting complex information in a simple manner and keeping students engaged. As psych topics can be rather confusing (heritability estimates), it is incumbent upon the hopefully cognitively endowed educator to endeavour to devise methodologies to ameliorate the inscrutability of the subject matter, so as to preclude any propensity to discombobulate the pupil. Because when things are perceived to be overly complex to the student (i.e. the sentence prior), it might confuse, annoy and ultimately disengage the student. Therefore one should try to simplify explanations, but without missing key details. Not all modules are popular to the students as well, hence at times they might not be interested or willing to listen at all. One therefore has to find methods to keep them occupied, and one has to derive ways to keep all students engaged.
I found that keeping explanations short and simple, using highly illustrative and bombastic examples have been rather successful in both explaining a concept, and holding the student’s attention.
3. Why do you think you are an effective teacher?
I certainly don’t think I am one, but my students do so I guess that’s good? I think simply preparing for class and having clear teaching objectives so you aren’t bewildered in the middle of your lesson. I found that communicating those objectives to the students so they know what they are getting out of the class to be rather useful too as it provides some fallback structure for you should you deviate. I think engaging with the students when they respond to questions, raise questions or produce interesting viewpoints is important to do, especially if your class has a participative component. If the student is willing to step forward and present their idea to the tutor, in my opinion the tutor should try to address it at minimum. And finally, just generally having a good idea of the topics being covered so you are prepared.
Nadyanna
1. What inspires you to teach?
I have always been passionate about sharing knowledge since I was younger; I find it a way to “pay back” the people who’ve shared their own knowledge with me when I was curious about things. I also hope that this inspires my own students to pay it forward to the next person—I believe that knowledge should always be shared wherever possible. Apart from that, it’s personally fulfilling when my students understand something after trying to figure out for so long, which is especially relevant to me since I teach a module most psych students are very daunted by (PL2132).
2. What are some of the major challenges you face as a teacher?
I see my role as a teacher as one that extends beyond the classroom—I want to guide my students to learn things that are relevant and important to them. However, students may not always know what they’re aiming for, so it can be challenging to help them in the limited amount of time I have with them.
3. Why do you think you are an effective teacher?
I try to help my students identify key takeaways that tie in with the bigger picture. I don’t see value in absorbing content that isn’t going to be retained when the semester ends, and I’d like my students to have something useful that they can bring away with them. To me, the critical thinking skills that are developed along the way are more important than any content or facts that I share—my students poke fun at me for always asking them “why?” in class 🙂
