| |
The Singapore Zoo Stories is a publication in support of the learning of the Chinese Language. Comprising four short stories, worksheets, an audio CD and a Teachers’ Guide, the package is the product of a partnership between the Teachers Network and the Singapore Zoo to enhance teachers’ professional development through publications.
|
|
Getting up close and personal with celebrity orang utan, Ah Meng, was just one of the many memorable moments that the team had while producing The Singapore Zoo Stories. |
|
Initially, the Teachers Network invited two Master teachers, Mdm Ng Tai Cheen and Mr Chye Cheer Lim, together with Ms Lim Siew Gek—a recipient of the President’s Award for Teachers (PAT) in 2005—to form the publications team. When these three experienced teachers came together, they decided to expand the team. They started to bring in like-minded individuals who were just as passionate about the subject.
Eventually, they roped in another five teachers, namely, Miss Lee Kam Har from Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) Primary School, Mr Chua Keng Koon and Miss Chiang Guat from South View Primary School, Mrs Ling-Teng Mui Kim from St. Andrew's Junior and Ms Teo Xiwen from Ahmad Ibrahim Primary School.
Mutual Learning through Mutual Sharing
In putting together the package, the teachers met for hours of intense critiquing of each others’ contributions and learning from each others’ perspectives. They also had to constantly remind themselves to adopt the perspective of a six-year- old while working on the content, and asking themselves questions such as “What would a six-year-old want to know about the zoo? Would he be thrilled to know that Ah Meng the Orang Utan led such an extraordinary life?”
The teacher authors then walked out of their classrooms and ventured deep into the Singapore Zoo. It was an experience of a lifetime for them to get up close and personal with Ah Meng and her keeper. The teachers found it most amazing too, to find out about the habits and background of various animals in the Zoo. Most of all, the teacher authors found themselves getting excited whenever they imagined the children eagerly flipping through the pages of the final product.
|
| Creators of the Singapore Zoo Stories and participants at the event launch in the Singapore Zoo. |
|
At the end of the collaboration, the team members agreed that it had been a most fruitful and exhilarating experience. The younger members of the team felt that they had learnt much about the intricacies of the language from the Master and Senior teachers. In addition, the senior team members were more than willing to share their experience with the rest, and everyone found it inspiring to see the veterans discussing the stories and bouncing ideas off one another. In addition, everyone remained upbeat because they were all working towards a common goal—to infuse the love of the Chinese language in our children!
Although putting together a publication was a complex process with many minute details that needed to be looked into, the team was never alone throughout the writing journey. Professional Development officers from Teachers Network were present throughout the journey, providing much support, and helped make the process smooth and enjoyable.
With more similar opportunities for teachers passionate about the teaching of the subject, learning will no longer be confined to the four walls of the classrooms. Classrooms can then truly evolve into borderless ones!
|
| Ms Lim Siew Gek shows what The Singapore Zoo Stories package consists of. |
|
The Singapore Zoo Stories is the product of the second collaboration between the Singapore Zoo and Teachers Network. It is a Chinese Language package comprising four short stories, a pupil activity book, an audio CD and a teachers’ guide. Behind-the-scene stories about the lives of Ah Meng, the celebrity Orang Utan and Komali, the Asian Elephant, were incorporated into the materials to enthuse Primary One pupils to learn the Chinese Language. These stories also added a touch of realism and allowed for more authentic learning in a zoo setting. |
|
|
|
|
