Why Science is the Most Interesting Subject

Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Science, Tuition
"In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not."— Albert Einstein By Mr Kwok In Science, one of our favourite quotes is shown above. We always stress to our students that there are gaps between textbook knowledge and real life applications so it pays to get hands-on to have a firm grasp of the subject matter. Therein lies the reason why Science is the most interesting subject - hands-on work in Science engages the learner like no other subject can. How often do you get to apply the theories you learned at so many different levels - visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, olfactory and even taste (if you are working on Food Science)? Establishing these many connections among various centres in the brain can only enhance long term…
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The Most Functional Way to Remember School Stuff (REALLY)

The Most Functional Way to Remember School Stuff (REALLY)

Cognitive skills, Opinion, Revision, Science
By Mr Kwok It has been more than two years since I posted Achieving a Powerful Memory (Part 1): A Method Excellent Teachers (and Students) use. Till now, Part 2 has yet to be published and perhaps never will be. One of the reasons lies in the onslaught of unprecedented changes in the outside world forcing us to scrape what little time we have to make the necessary responses - in short, Covid-19 has happened. Just as importantly, I have reflected and researched a bit over the past two years about the issue of content retention i.e. memory. We have seen often enough how seemingly cognitively capable students fail miserably all because they could not regurgitate the correct content at the right time. On our end, we continually grapple with…
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Training RGS Teachers for their School’s Learning Journey

Training RGS Teachers for their School’s Learning Journey

Biology, Chemistry, Enrichment, Humanities, News, Opinion, Science
It has always been our stand that education should involve out-of-classroom activities. They expose the student to hands-on work and real life observations not possible to replicate in the classroom. The obvious choice to apply this principle is Science, with its branches of Biology, Chemistry and Physics. However, it can certainly apply to other subjects such as History, Geography, Social Studies and more. Raffles Girls' School (RGS) has brought this principle into practice by organising a series of Learning Journeys to MacRitchie Reservoir for its students. The Learning Journey is loosely based on the ABC Waters Learning Trail @ MacRitchie published by PUB (Public Utilities Board). It involves getting to know Singapore's Water Story, history of the reservoir, the story behind World War II hero, Lim Bo Seng, geography of…
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Grand Prix with Toy Cars – Learning Science Through Play

Grand Prix with Toy Cars – Learning Science Through Play

Science, Tuition
In iMatter, we are strong advocates in experiential learning involving experimentation, hands-on work and the use of real world examples to reinforce the content we teach in class and what the students learn in school. For our PSLE Science students, Forces and Energy are taught in their syllabus and will definitely feature in their year-end national examination. Learning these two topics can be challenging for some as Forces and Energy are essentially abstract concepts and certainly invisible. However, their effects are very real, ranging from the feel of wind in our faces to the destructive aftermath of an explosion. Experiential Learning To study these two topics in a realistic yet playful and safe manner, we ran our very own Grand Prix with.... Toy Cars! Admittedly, we do not have a…
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Project Solar House: Experiential Learning for Our Science Students

Project Solar House: Experiential Learning for Our Science Students

Physics, Science, Tuition
Despite COVID-19 stealing the limelight in our daily news, climate change is still very much alive in the world's consciousness. Being a strong contributor to the mitigation of climate change, Solar Power is all the rage as society moves towards greener energy sources. As we make a global shift away from carbon based energy sources (read Combustion), solar power is the next natural step as it is cleaner and renewable. Solar panels used to be reserved for those with deep pockets but now we see them everywhere, from the apartment rooftop to the cell phone charger. In our Science lessons, we introduce to our students how solar energy works and get them to work on an individual project to construct a miniature solar house that harnesses solar energy to light…
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Parachuting Cats into the Borneo jungle – a cautionary tale for Science

Parachuting Cats into the Borneo jungle – a cautionary tale for Science

Biology, Chemistry, Opinion, Science, Tuition
This is one of those stories that approach urban myth status. We have not found corroborating evidence to prove the veracity of the story. Interestingly, Singapore is briefly featured in the story. If you have not heard of it, here's a link to an online video. To avoid giving out any spoilers here, we will only touch on the barest of background information. Regardless of how historically correct the story is, we shall focus on the lessons for our readers and students. The story was set in 1950s Borneo where malaria ran rampant. Unfortunately, the solution was not as straightforward as planned and brought about many unforeseen consequences. 4 Lessons from the Story In Science, one of our favourite quotes is from Albert Einstein, "In theory, theory and practice are…
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Are our students out of touch with nature?

Are our students out of touch with nature?

Biology, Opinion, Science
Here is our article published in The Straits Times Forum on 23 Sep 2020. Click on the link to continue reading. Over in iMatter, we believe in experiential learning and real life application of knowledge. For example, our Science tuition lessons are always enriched with real life examples, case studies and practical experiments. Read the posts in our News to find out more. The following science tuition programmes are available in our centre. Primary School ScienceLower Secondary School Science'O' Levels Chemistry'O' Levels Biology'O' Levels Physics'A' Levels Chemistry We also run enrichment programmes during the holidays. These include field trips and hands-on activities. (Due to COVID-19, out-of-classroom activities are minimised for the health and safety of our staff and students.) The ubiquitous coconut found in the tropics of which Singapore is…
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Learning about Science, Chemistry and Biology from the Fascinating Leech

Learning about Science, Chemistry and Biology from the Fascinating Leech

Biology, Chemistry, Science
Leeches are one of my favourite animals because they are so tough. When one latches on to your delicate skin, popular media suggest using fire, salt, medicated oil and a plethora of other substances to dislodge it. Salt does work but does anyone actually carry a vial of salt for a jungle trek? Fire should work but the leech will outlast the fire long after you cringe away from the heat. As for medicated oil, well, it is probably the most practical solution though personally, I make use of a different approach. More will be discussed about this approach in a future post. A Living Classroom in a finger sized package Do not mistake a leech as a brute latching on your skin, biting its way through and sucking its…
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Experiential Learning of Acidity in Science through Experimentation

Experiential Learning of Acidity in Science through Experimentation

Chemistry, Science, Tuition
By Mr Chen In iMatter, Science is a passion among our tutors and we work to inculcate it in our students. Perhaps sounding cliched, we wholeheartedly believe that Science is Everywhere. Science is not a subject to be studied solely by theory. Book knowledge has to be reinforced and nurtured through hands-on experimentation and observation. If the Science student has the opportunity to conduct field work, more power to him! The Trouble with COVID-19 Unfortunately, the past few months of the COVID-19 situation has somewhat dampened the experiential aspect of Science. Schools and their laboratories were closed. Public venues e.g. Science Centre, Marina Barrage were likewise closed to the public. A student interested in biology, hydrology or ecology could not even visit our parks and nature reserves to observe Science…
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Join our Crash Courses during the May 2020 School Holidays!

Join our Crash Courses during the May 2020 School Holidays!

Biology, Chemistry, Chinese, COVID-19, Crash Course, English, Math, Online Teaching & Learning, Revision, Science
Prepare your child for PSLE and 'O' Levels with our online Crash Courses Does your child need an intense revision of what he has learned previously? Our online Crash Courses reinforce the knowledge and understanding critical to preparing for the coming examinations. Crash Courses are available for the following subjects. Check our schedule here. They are open to both our centre’s regular students and any other students of the right academic level. PSLE ‘O’ LevelsEnglishMathMathChemistryScienceBiologyChineseChinese Call or WhatsApp us at 8768 6497 or email us at info@imatter.com.sg to find out more and register. Hope to see your child in our Crash Courses!
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