Background
iMatter Learning Centre was set up in 2018 at Junction 9 Mall in Yishun and has been there since.
It was founded by Mr Kwok (aka Mr Chen) with over 10 years of educational experience as a Senior Lecturer in Singapore Polytechnic. He believes that with the right tutor to guide a student, the student can keep up with his school work, do better in his assessment and enjoy his learning journey.
Education in Singapore
Singapore’s education system has been steadily getting tougher for our students over the years. More content, more homework, more competition and less enjoyment are becoming the norm.
In a typical class size of 30-40 in a normal school, the teacher is hard pressed to complete her syllabus, much less pay close attention to the learning of every student.
Therefore, we believe that tuition fulfils a much needed function to help the student cover the gaps in his knowledge and understanding.
Our Teaching Philosophy
We believe that every student in our tuition centre matters, hence our centre’s name and motto.
There is no secret formula to excelling in studies. In iMatter, we believe in adopting the right fundamentals in teaching and learning.
1. Small class size (no more than 6*) in a relaxed atmosphere
* Except for certain special classes
A small class size of about 6 students has advantages over the typical MOE class size of 30-40 but also over 1-to-1 tuition. Click here to find out more.
2. Professional and dedicated tutors who are patient & passionate, showing genuine concern for the student
The tutor should be a subject matter expert adopting a suitable teaching approach for the student. She should exhibit patience in her teaching with no question from a child ever considered too stupid to answer. These qualities are what iMatter looks for in our handpicked tutors.
3. Interaction and discussion between tutor & students and among students
We believe that interaction and discussion in a class are important to learning. They allow the student to consolidate and reinforce the content in his head through active engagement of said content.
In such a process facilitated by the tutor, he gets to experience alternative view points and examine the soundness of his own knowledge and understanding.
4. Explanation and examples should complement worksheets which should not be the primary mode of “teaching”
While the completion of worksheets has its place in learning, that should not be the primary or only mode of learning. We do not “throw” worksheets out to students for them to tick off a quota.
Our tutors provide adequate explanation and examples before the student attempts bite sized exercises of a similar nature. Discussion follows each chunk of exercises to wrap up the student’s learning before proceeding.
5. Each lesson should have a variety of activities to sustain the student’s interest
As emphasised above, we never simply hand out worksheets, get the student to do, collect, mark and return to them. We get the student to participate in a variety of activities such as group discussion, mind mapping, self-reflection, experiments, field trips and others.
To optimise the learning time of the student while he is in our centre, we do not have a designated break in our lessons. Nevertheless, the student is free to take his own individual break if necessary.
In a Nutshell
Helping students in their studies is always a priority in our tuition classes.
If you think that we are a good fit to help you in improving your child’s grades and getting him to enjoy school more, please look through our programmes and schedule or contact us for more information.
