NIE Graduate Education Distinguished Speaker Series
Cultivating Strong Relationships & Learning Alliances in Graduate School
Dr Michele Jacobsen, a full Professor at the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary in Canada, was invited to the National Institute of Education (NIE) as part of the NIE Graduate Education Distinguished Speaker Series 2024.
Dr Jacobsen’s Distinguished Lecture on 11 January 2024, titled “Cultivating Strong Relationships & Learning Alliances in Graduate School”, described how effective relationships and institutional learning alliances can promote student success. During the lecture, Dr Jacobsen outlined six practical strategies for graduate students to take control of their academic and professional lives, and provided graduate students with a comprehensive approach to navigating graduate school.
Alongside the lecture, a series of workshops and seminars for students and faculty were conducted over a three-day period from 10 to 12 January 2024. Sessions for graduate students focused on developing their academic writing, overcoming pitfalls in publications, navigating graduate school life, and charting a successful scholarly practice.
Sessions for faculty were centred around the topic of graduate supervision. Dr Jacobsen’s lecture, “Cultivating Trust and Care in Supervision and Mentoring Relationships”, was informed by her research on quality graduate education in online and blended contexts. In it, Dr Jacobsen described how cultivating caring competencies and building relational trust in supervision and teaching relationships can help post-secondary learning communities thrive. Drawing upon her research and experience, Dr Jacobsen outlined a comprehensive approach to cultivating connections and communities of support for faculty and students. Her workshop, “Taking Action on Enhancing Supervision and Mentoring Practices”, guided faculty in a critical reflection on five key factors in supervision that can cultivate relational trust and student success. Through the workshop, faculty developed personalized goals and plans for taking action to increase effectiveness in supervision and mentoring.
Challenges and Opportunities: Student Development After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Lifestyle Physical Activity for Health and Well-being
Professor Stephen H. Wong, Professor of the Department of Sports Science & Physical Education at City University of Hong Kong (CUHK), was invited to the National Institute of Education on 4 and 5 January 2023 as part of a 2-part series to share about the “Challenges and Opportunities: Student Development After the COVID-19 Pandemic” and “Lifestyle Physical Activity for Health and Well-being”.
On 4 January 2023, Prof Wong posited that the COVID-10 pandemic has undoubtedly magnified the challenges faced by the higher education institutes on multiple grounds, leaving universities to face new expectations when promoting student development. Besides helping students to readjust to in-person instructions, Prof Wong spoke about that the heightened awareness of students’ changing emotional response to crisis because of the pandemic makes the visibility and availability of university resources in the new normal even more crucial.
Engaging in regular physical activities has been proven to aid in preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). On 5 January 2023, Prof Wong shared that engaging in regular physical activities has been proven to aid in preventing and managing noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Such a lifestyle also helps to improve mental health and well-being. Participants learnt about the health benefits of adopting a physically active lifestyle through evidence from epidemiological studies, as well as the undesirable effects resulted from a sedentary lifestyle.
Becoming a Researcher and Scholar
A special feature of this publication is the inaugural symposium by NIE NTU and Teachers College Columbia University on 11 January 2019 with the theme, “Beyond exams: Transforming schools in the changing educational landscape in Singapore”. The event highlighted the challenges posed by complex educational issues in the face of a changing and uncertain future that require school leaders, teachers, students and parents to engage in new ways of thinking, doing and being. Drawing on research and practices in school change and leadership from Singapore, the United States and elsewhere, the symposium sought to raise questions about teaching, learning and assessment, and challenge assumptions about innovations in education.
Nurturing for Talent Development and Impactful Research
View “Nurturing for Talent Development and Impactful Research”
Navigating the Tensions and Paradoxes in Preparing Educational Researchers
View "Navigating the Tensions and Paradoxes in Preparing Educational Researchers"