Please refer to the BA website for more information.

Course Synopses

ASL10A Disciplinary Foundations in Primary Social Studies: Geography

This course aims to develop in you a geographical perspective towards citizenship education in the primary social studies curriculum. You will acquire conceptual knowledge of selected topics on the geography of Singapore and Southeast Asia that are linked to the primary social studies syllabus. Relevant field experience will be provided, and you will have an opportunity to do a geographical project based on a current issue that Singapore faces.

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ASL10B Disciplinary Foundations in Primary Social Studies: History

This course aims to provide student teachers with the skills and knowledge of the discipline of History that underpin the primary Social Studies curriculum. In this course, students will learn the overarching historical concepts and have opportunities to practice historical skills such as source reading and analysis, carried out within the framework of historical inquiry. Students will also acquire knowledge of selected topics from the histories of Singapore, Southeast Asia and early world civilizations and will be introduced to available historical resources that will enable them to meaningfully teach the primary school Social Studies curriculum.

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ACL20A Teaching Social Studies in the Primary Classroom

This course aims to provide student teachers with an understanding of the nature, scope and goals of Social Studies in the context of the Singapore primary curriculum. It seeks to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage primary school children in meaningful learning of Social Studies. Student teachers will be given opportunities during tutorial sessions to design unit and lesson plans focused on key concepts / generalizations and key questions, and craft alternative assessments to assess understanding. The various classroom-based instructional strategies to teach historical, geographical and economic concepts and skills will also be examined.

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ACL30A Inquiry in Primary Social Studies

This course aims to equip student teachers with the understandings, knowledge and skills to teach inquiry-based lessons for conceptual understanding. They will take on the role of curricular-instructional designers, and learn to select or adapt appropriate discussion and/or investigation models, facilitate effective discussions of issues related to social studies, and conduct process-based inquiry either in the primary classroom and/or in the field. They will be able to select, adapt and/or design suitable resources with the goals of helping their students develop deeper understanding of social studies content, multiple perspectives and empathy, and research and critical thinking skills so as to make decisions that are based on sound and objective reasons. They will also have an opportunity to plan, organise and conduct an inquiry-based fieldwork.

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ACL40A Managing Diversity in the Social Studies Classroom

This course aims to equip student teachers with the knowledge and strategies to teach about diversity in Singapore and to cater to diverse learners in the classroom. Student teachers will be introduced to the principles and strategies of differentiated instruction and opportunities will be provided for them to plan a differentiated lesson for Primary Social Studies. They will also be encouraged to research and reflect critically on issues related to teaching about diversity in their Social Studies lessons so that primary pupils will be able to make meaningful connections and develop enduring understandings about diversity in Singapore, the region and the world.

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ACL40B Curriculum Leadership in Primary Social Studies

This course aims to provide student teachers with an in-depth conceptual understanding of the Primary Social Studies curriculum in preparation for becoming specialists and curriculum leaders in school. It will equip them with the competencies necessary for designing, implementing and evaluating the Primary Social Studies curriculum.

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Please refer to the BA website for more information.

Course Synopses

AAL10B Identities in a Diverse World

This course provides students with an introduction to the concept of identity, and invites them to think about key identity facets that are relevant to living in today’s world of increasing diversity. The course guides students to see identity both in terms of a micro-level psychosocial process and in terms of a more macro-level sociological process, and to think about how these two processes interact. Through various learning activities, students will explore at some depths key aspects or issues relating to identity including race and ethnicity, nation/nationalism, xenophobia and racism, assimilation and integration, multiculturalism and transnationalism, class, gender, and cosmopolitanism(s).

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AAL10C Singapore Studies

This course will provide you with a foundational understanding of politics, political ideologies and governance in the context of Singapore’s development as a state and society. We will examine critical concepts, issues and debates that undergird important facets of any state and society and apply them to the Singapore context.

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AAL10E Principle and Practices of Social Research

This course introduces students to basic principles and practices of social research, including formulating research questions, research design, basic quantitative and qualitative research skills/techniques, data collection/analysis, and research writing. Students are required to propose original social research questions and carry out empirical research to answer their questions. The course adopts a workshop approach such that at different stages of the research process, students will share and learn from peers’ research projects via presentations and discussions. The course aims to equip students with essential competencies in social research so as to better prepare them for inquiry-based social studies education.

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ACL32A Inquiry-based Learning in Social Studies

This course aims to prepare student teachers with better understandings of social studies inquiry and the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed by teachers and students in order to support the use of inquiry in the learning of Social Studies. The course seeks to equip student teachers with a variety of inquiry-based teaching strategies that are appropriate for diverse learners. The course will provide opportunities for student teachers to design inquirybased learning activities and lesson plans and practice inquiry-based teaching strategies in a cooperative learning environment.

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ACL42A Assessment and Reflective Teaching in Social Studies

This course aims to provide student teachers with an understanding of the rationale and goals of secondary social studies assessment (both formative and summative). To develop assessment literacy for social studies assessment practice, student teachers will learn about formative and summative assessment and have practice designing assessment to support student learning in social studies. They will have opportunities to examine examination papers, mark sample scripts and set source-based and structured-response questions, as well as devise mark schemes. They will simi larly learn about formative assessment design and practice and assessment in Normal Technical Social Studies. Student teachers will also have opportunities to reflect on teaching and learning practice in schools and their own performance as teachers (after practicum experiences)

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