One of the toughest subjects to score in the GCE A-levels is the General Paper (GP). GP requires JC students not just have a great command of English but also a vast amount of general knowledge.
GP Tuition could be extremely valuable. But apart from tuition, what other interesting methods can students utilize to gain more general knowledge?
Introducing TED Talks to GP Students
TED TALKS is a prominent conference website with talks on scientific, academic and cultural related topics. Through online videos, students can access the analysis of real life events and widen their exposure to a variety of views and key issues that are prominent in the world with ‘a click of a finger’.
The talks have been designed to capture the audience’s attention, engaging them in up to a maximum of 18 minutes per topic. This is incredibly beneficial for GP students allowing their learning to be brought into a real life context in an interesting and fun way while keeping time short.
21st Century Way of Learning
Part of 21st century learning is to use technology to a student’s benefit. In today’s academic environment, the idea of interactive learning is becomingly increasingly popular. Singapore is beginning to embrace ideas like online sharing, digital learning, project collaboration and critical thinking.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is pushing for ways to give their students access to a range of learning opportunities, advocating a learning environment that is not secluded to textbooks and lectures given by the classroom teacher.
The Need to Understand Multiple Perspectives
With the idea of individuals being global citizens gaining momentum, students are expected to be able to widen their perspectives and understand and evaluate multiple viewpoints. This is an important requirement to do well in GP.
TED TALKS is able to help with these requirements. By granting access to a range of views ‘under one roof’, TED Talks allows students to access information, grasp a multitude of viewpoints and extend their learning to real life situations.
TEDx – Invigorating Students’ Learning Process
TEDx is an extension of TED Talks which supports independent organizers to create TED-like events in their own community modeled on TED’s engaging style. Aided by TEDx, educators are able to help students to develop these skills in an active, practical environment.
Rather than featuring experienced, widely recognized figures, these talks can be given by local authorities, educationalists and even students. A youth-run program can be coordinated under the active supervision of a teacher. This method of teaching can help JC students in GP because it gives them a richer opportunity to learn from experts in their own vicinity. They will have a chance to collaborate, share ideas, debate among themselves and plan their arguments.
TED talks enable JC students to work and learn together. This teaching tool creates an opportunity that, while supervised, will actively prepare them for practical work in an actual workplace environment.
To make the most of TED talks, every student must:
1. Learn to communicate clearly
2. Develop a passion for their idea and for self-development
3. Understand their role in the global environment
The skills they learn during these talks will better help them in navigating through life. Moreover, TEDx is a platform that enables students to have fun while learning these skills!
In the End..
TEDx can help JC students with their GP exams in many ways. It allows them to access videos explaining issues in an interactive, engaging way. It encourages them to learn and develop their knowledge and opinions of world issues and academic topics. The TEDx program further allows students to enhance their understanding by giving talks to their peers, holding debates to open up new areas of thinking and learning, and developing an acceptance of conflicting viewpoints.
Check out the latest TEDx events in Singapore here.
Watch online TED Talk videos here.
To gain a solid grasp of the subject, students can also enroll in a tuition agency where they can get an effective learning experience delivered by trained instructors. For writing tips, check out DailyWritingTips.com.
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