Non-cognitive skills Archives - iMatter Learning Centre. Tuition Centre in Yishun. Small class size

20Sep 2022 by Principal

Why do students perform poorly in their studies: Getting to the heart of the matter

News, Non-cognitive skills, Opinion, Tuition

By Mr Kwok This is a continuation of our earlier post, A Checklist of Reasons Why Students Perform Poorly – Are you looking at the right ones?. In it, we discussed the various reasons that could have led to a student's poor performance. They are all important reasons no doubt but the more we reflect upon them through the lens of our teaching experiences, the more convinced we are that a recurring reason stands out. As in Lord of the Rings, it is the one ring that controls the other Rings of Power. It is also our belief that when this single most important factor is rectified, all other issues will fall into place like a chain of dominoes. What is this all-important factor then? The heart of the matter…

31Mar 2021 by Principal

A Checklist of Reasons Why Students Perform Poorly – Are you looking at the right ones?

Cognitive skills, English, Non-cognitive skills, Opinion, Tuition

Over here in iMatter, we make use of this simple checklist to evaluate our students against their performance in school. Through discussions with our students about their learning, It enables us to at least have a grasp of the possible issues they are grappling with. Though this post is aimed at students performing poorly, it can very well be used as a checklist to explain why students excel in school by reversing the viewpoints below. (We have a longer and more descriptive version of this checklist guest posted at Singapore's Finest website. It includes several suggestions on how some of these reasons can be managed.) A Caveat Many factors/reasons tend to overlap one another and determining the underlying cause(s) may not be easy as the obvious reason may not be…

08Nov 2019 by Principal

Join our Enrichment Programmes in Nov/Dec School Holidays!

Cognitive skills, English, Enrichment, Math, News, Non-cognitive skills, Revision, Science

Our Enrichment Programmes are designed for students to be away from their studies and learn new knowledge and skills, both academic and non-academic. They are open to both our centre’s regular students and any other students of the right academic level. The following programmes are scheduled to run on the given dates. Click on each of them for fees and further information. Call or WhatsApp us at 8768 6497 or Email us at info@imatter.com.sg to register. English Creative Writing for Upper Primary Students (23-24 Nov)Secrets of Studying Smart for Secondary Students(11 Dec)Design Thinking for Solving Problems in Real Life for Secondary Students (2 Dec)Water Quality Monitoring Field Trip for Secondary Students (12 Dec)Biodiversity Survey Field Trip for Upper Primary Students (11 Dec) Primary 6 PSLE Math Preparatory Course (17-19 Dec)…

09Feb 2019 by Principal

Achieving a Powerful Memory (Part 1): A Method Excellent Teachers (and Students) use

Non-cognitive skills, Opinion, Revision

By Mr Kwok Achieving a powerful memory has always been striven for in education. Though not a direct learning objective in curricula, content retention can make or break a student's grades. To help students learn better, excellent teachers use a technique known as scaffolding and we are not talking about construction here. Scaffolding is the support given to a student during the learning process so that he can achieve his learning goals. Some learning professionals also refer to scaffolding as the building of an idea on top of another idea. This is somewhat like why you go for your PSLE long before you attempt your 'O' Levels because you need all the knowledge and skills from P1-6 and S1-2 before having the capability to pick up whatever is dished to…

23Sep 2018 by Principal

Education Minister: Going for more fun and passion but also critical thinking and soft skills

Cognitive skills, Enrichment, News, Non-cognitive skills

Education Minister: Going for more fun and passion but also critical thinking and soft skills Bloomberg: … “A transformation towards an economy that is more innovation-driven, that is more productivity-driven.” Ong’s chief responsibility -- the local education system -- is a key to Singapore’s labor needs and economic transformation. “We need to use an inquiry-based approach to teach students how to exercise critical thinking,” he said. “It used to be ‘knowledge is power.’ Now, power is knowing what knowledge to ignore, and what to take in, and decide for yourself.” Updated on 28/9/18: I still believe that content should be trimmed down in MOE curricula to allow time and space for critical thinking and other higher order skills e.g. dreaming. At the end of the day, how much content do…

11Sep 2018 by Principal

Cognitive vs. non-cognitive skills for the student

Cognitive skills, Non-cognitive skills

How important are cognitive vs. non-cognitive skills for the student? "Enough research has been done to let us know what makes some students more successful than others. Surprisingly, it isn’t in-born intelligence or a high IQ. Sure, those things make learning easier, but they don’t guarantee success. Instead, it’s the students who have non-cognitive skills like perseverance, self-control, and grit who are most likely to succeed, whether online or offline." Students, take heart, especially those who feel that you are not intellectually endowed, no matter how true that really is. Work on your perseverance, self-control and grit. These can enable you to go far not just in your studies but in life. All the best!