In today’s blog entry I will continue on a
similar train of thought as my previous entry- on the practical side of
studying Geography at NUS. The degree structure at UCL, from my experience, has
focused very much on independent learning- particularly independent reading. At
NUS, while there is certainly a heavy emphasis on reading as well, there are
more contact hours with the lecturers or teaching assistants. For every module,
we have two hours of lectures a week (the same as at UCL), however we are also
expected to attend a 90 minute tutorial, once every fortnight, for each module.
For these, we are given an article to read prior to the tutorial which we then
discuss- what we learnt, concerns we may have with what the author is saying,
etc. We can also go over any themes from the lecture that we may not have
understood.
On a personal level, as someone who is not
particularly forthcoming when it comes to seeking help and utilising lecturer’s
office hours, these regular tutorials have been very helpful. It forces people
to make vocal contributions in classes and to really think critically about
what the compulsory articles are saying as critical analysis and thoughtful
comments are expected from the participants.
These are the reasons why I think these
tutorials have been beneficial. However,
I also think there is a specific reason why a university in Singapore is using
this tactic. There have often been criticisms of the Singapore education system
in that, due to its highly competitive nature, students reach the end of their
education lacking the skills to think critically and creatively.
This has even been acknowledged by the PM himself. For a discipline such as
Geography, with such a strong focus on problem-solving, this is an issue, and
this may be why more time is invested in making students question rather than accept
everything that is written (in an academic sense) at face value.
However, what I have noticed is that,
whereas the readings at UCL really stretch your learning by moving further away
from the content of the lectures and encouraging you to make new links, the
readings at NUS, in most but not all cases, tend to reinforce, rather than
expand on, what has already been covered in the lectures.
Overall, having reached the end of the
first semester, I can say that I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Singapore
and believe that it has already broadened my horizons. Bring on the second
semester!
