iMatter Learning Centre: Latest News and Blog Posts on Education

28Feb 2019 by Principal

Spice up your English with Body Parts Idioms

English

By Mr Kwok One challenge many students face is how to make his writing more interesting. Sure, a good plot helps in narrative writing, just as a well constructed argument in discursive writing. One technique many students neglect is the use of idioms. Technically, an idiom is a phrase which does not express its meaning from its words. For example, the idiom "make ends meet" hardly hints that it means earning enough money to pay one's bills. What are Body Parts Idioms? There is however a class of idioms of which I am a fan of. These so called "body parts idioms" are intuitive. All of us have the same body parts, say head, heart, hand, foot and many others. Therefore, if you hear "laughing your head off", you can…

18Feb 2019 by Principal

学华文永远不变的原则

Chinese

Forever Principles of Studying Chinese By Ms Kelly 平日要多做练习，多阅读。要提高语文能力并不是一朝一夕能做到的事情，而是靠长期的努力和认真的学习态度才能达到的目标。第一点：要加强华文语文能力的第一步骤是要让自己先喜欢华文。若学生对华文并没有任何的喜爱，所付出的努力是为了做而费心思。长期下来，学生如果没有见证成绩进步，很容易就会想要放弃。第二点：去寻找自己喜欢通过什么样的管道接触华文。比如说，因为我个人非常喜爱听歌、唱歌，所以我利用这点，通过流行华语歌曲，从中接触更多的汉字。第三点：学校课本中的词语是必须了如指掌，在做试卷二的综合填空会比较轻松。阅读课本时，要能够清楚地明白课文的内容。若课文读不懂，请不要害羞，要向老师发问！这是因为课本中的课文若读不懂，那在试卷二的阅读理解部分作答时会有很大的困难。第四点：多读别人的佳作有助于试卷一的写作能力。虽然佳作往往都有很多优点，但学生必须知道从一篇佳作中要学到的是什么。比如说：我对成语、谚语之类的好词好句并不是很了解我是要如何去运用它，也不懂要怎么用才不会有语病的问题。那我从佳作中要找的是这些好词好句，而我会从中模仿佳作作者是如何运用它们，使文章更生动有趣。 You may sign your child up for our Primary Chinese Tuition or Secondary Chinese Tuition for him to learn more about many other interesting usage of the Chinese Language.

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…

04Oct 2018 by Principal

Work on your academic weaknesses or get a head start next year

Tuition

If you would like to make use of this school holiday to work on your academic weaknesses or get a head start next year, come join us! In iMatter, we believe in adopting the right fundamentals in teaching and learning which can make all the difference to every learner. Helping students in their studies is always a priority in our business. · Small class size (no more than 6) · No material fee · Professional and dedicated tutors · Patience and passion in teaching · Genuine concern for the learner · Relaxed atmosphere · Trial classes are available Our tuition classes are starting in November (schedule) so contact us now to sign up! Promotional Offer! @imattersingapore On Facebook, LIKE our Page and SHARE our promotional post to enjoy a $50 one-off…

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!

12Aug 2018 by Kate

Education Minister: PSLE and class sizes stay status quo

News

Education Minister: PSLE and class sizes stay status quo. Please refer to the transcript of Minister Ong Ye Kung's speech in Parliament. Without rehashing the contents in his speech, the two most relevant points are: PSLE will not be scrapped! He went on to provide several real life alternatives in other countries. Nevertheless, PSLE still "happens to be the most meritocratic, and probably the most fair of all imperfect systems."In a nutshell, our primary school students in SG still have to struggle with their preparations for PSLE in the foreseeable future. And that is what iMatter Learning Centre is about. We are here to help our students make their way through their PSLE journey as painless as possible. Class size will remain status quo for most schools. In his words, "Let…