[GEN2062X] Community Activities for Seniors with SG Cares

IMPORTANT

Course duration. This is a year-long service-learning course. GEN2062X is offered in Semester 1 of the Academic Year; it runs till the end of Semester 2 of that Academic Year, when grades are awarded. GEN2062Y is offered in Semester 2 of the Academic Year; it runs till the end of Semester 1 of the following Academic Year, when grades are awarded.
Service work period. Over the course of a year, you will be journeying with your assigned seniors, through weekly activity sessions. The service work period for GEN2062X is from Semester 1 of the Academic Year to the end of Semester 2 of that Academic Year; for GEN2062Y, from Semester 2 of the Academic Year to the end of Semester 1 of the following Academic Year.
Service work commitment. The service work period is year-long, during both the regular semesters. This is because of the commitment you will make to the seniors to journey with them during this one year. Thus, you can still enrol in this course if you have other commitments during the winter vacation period.
However, if you think you may likely be away during the regular semesters due to Student Exchange Programme (SEP), overseas internship, Leave of Absence (LoA), etc, you SHOULD NOT enrol in this course. Students on local internships and short exchanges are not affected.
Note to graduating students. If you intend to graduate at the end of AY2024/25 and wish to read GEN2062, the latest you can enrol is Semester 1 of that Academic Year, in GEN2062X. Grades are awarded at the end of Semester 2, which means your degree will be conferred in end-June, and you will join the Commencement ceremony in the same year.

Course Description

SG Cares is a nationwide movement to support local communities through Volunteer Centres for a more caring and inclusive society. In one aspect, these centres provide activity hubs to help keep seniors active and connected. In this course, students will learn key concepts in volunteerism and essential skills in empathy, communications, conflict management, team and activity building, and apply these to the design, coordination and conduct of activities for seniors at selected Volunteer Centres. Thus, students will sharpen their interpersonal effectiveness in communications, collaboration and engagement. This course is a partnership with MCCY through its SG Cares Office.

GEN2062XY_CourseTrailer_20230724.mp4

Learning Outcomes

Through this course, students will:

Understand fundamental concepts of volunteerism: motivation & benefits, roles & impact, and ethical & good volunteering
Evaluate and apply general skills related to communications and collaboration, including empathy, active listening, conflict management, and self-awareness
Develop and apply team and activity building skills to group facilitation and activity management to strengthen self-confidence, and enhance decision making
Synthesise reflexive learning to develop character and empathy, fostering personal effectiveness

Pre-requisites

NIL

Course Units

4 Units. As this course spreads over up to a year, it will count 2 Units in the first semester and the other 2 Units in the following semester. Thus, students can always register for these courses on top of their usual planned workload of 20 Units or so, without breaching workload cap per semester.

Grading, Delivery & Assessment

Grading. Graded. Students will be assigned an In-Progress (IP) grade in the first semester and will receive their final grade upon the completion of the course.

Delivery and Assessment. There are no final exams. Students are required to watch pre-recorded online lectures, attend three face-to-face tutorials, and carry out service work. They will be assessed through the submission of a service portfolio.

Service Work

Service work prerequisites

Able to speak basic Malay, Tamil, Mandarin or Chinese dialects

Commitment

60-80h of service work spread over one year. This comprises of weekly visits during the semester to a SG Cares Volunteer Centre (VC) to conduct community activities for seniors. Training will be provided to equip you with relevant microskills and knowledge on volunteerism, ethics and the social landscape. The service work schedule is pre-determined by each VC e.g. every Monday, 9am-12pm and will be made available to students prior to CourseReg Round 2.

Your tutor will specify a target required number of service sessions. This forms your minimum service obligation. To meet this obligation, you have to log your attendance on the Fieldwork Management System (FMS). In most cases, your total service obligations will likely be less than 80 h.

You should not worry if you cannot meet the minimum service obligation if the contributing factors are outside your control, e.g. sessions are cancelled by the VC. You will not be penalized for such extenuating circumstances, provided you have documented them in FMS.

Roles and Responsibilities

Students are responsible to:

Build rapport with seniors in the assigned precinct/community
Design, coordinate and conduct healthy living activities or programmes such as games, sports, arts and crafts, reminiscence activities, or short courses to inform seniors and raise their awareness in any topic that would be of interest or benefit to them, such as in health and wellness or digital literacy
Promote active ageing of seniors and their bonding with community through these activities and programmes

Service Work Locations and Schedules (To be updated for AY24/25 Sem 1)

Students may book their preferred service work locations from a list of selected Active Ageing Centres and Senior Care Centres under SG Cares VCs. Students are to register only if they can commit to the schedule and requirements across both semesters. Booking will be granted on a first come, first served basis. The list of locations will be available in due course.

Course Structure

First Semester

Week	Event
0 - 1	Service Work Registration Students will book a preferred service work location via the Dynamic Course Registration (DCR) System in EduRec (https://myedurec.nus.edu.sg). Booking will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. Students will be prompted by email and uNivUS notification upon successful course registration
1 - 2	Tutorial Registration Students will register for a tutorial group via CourseReg. Refer to NUSMods for details.
1 - 2	Online Lectures Students will complete pre-recorded online lectures to equip themselves with an understanding of the social landscape they are engaging and relevant skills for service work.
3 - 5	Tutorials 1 & 2 Students will attend face-to-face tutorials in Weeks 3 and 4 on campus. Each tutorial is 2h in duration.
3 - 5	(To be updated for AY24/25 Sem 1) Mandatory Onboarding Workshop (There are two runs of this workshop, you only need to attend one) Students will attend a 2-hour training to equip them with key understandings and skills for conducting activities for seniors. This mandatory training constitutes part of service work. Indicative programme Taking a Strengths-based Approach (30 mins) Proposal Planning & Facilitation Skills (30 mins) Role-play & Critique (45 mins) Reflection & Questions (15 mins)
6	Activity Proposal Planning (for the 1st 3 sessions) Groups will submit activity proposal planned for the 1st 3 sessions after the training provided in the Onboarding Workshop.
Recess	Link up Session: Orientation and Consultation on-site Students assigned to the same centre will team up and meet their NUS tutor and field supervisor to understand their roles and responsibilities. Students will also present their activity proposal planned for the 1st 3 sessions and consult their field supervisor on the suitability of their activities for the seniors at the centres.
7	Activity Proposal Planning (for the remaining sessions) Groups will note supervisor's feedback from the Orientation and Consultation session as they plan their activity proposal for remaining sessions. Groups will submit their proposal, receive feedback and prepare for service work.
8 onwards	Service Work (Activity Sessions) Students will visit their assigned centre for service sessions every week during the semester. There are no scheduled sessions during holidays. The exact start date is subject to the SG Cares VC. NUS tutors will conduct on-site check ins with students regularly.

Second Semester

Week

Event

1 - 8

Submission of Mid-Service Reflection

Students will submit their mid-service reflection paper in Week 1.

Service work (Activity Sessions)

Students will continue with their service sessions which will end by mid-March, depending on the VC's needs.

9

Tutorial 3

Students will attend a final 2h tutorial on campus to share and reflect on their experiences and wrap up the course.

11

Submission of Service Portfolio

Students will submit their service portfolio.

Please click here for frequently asked questions.

For further enquiries, please contact the GEN2062 team:

Course Lead

Ms Yvette Seow (yvette@nus.edu.sg)

Course Tutor

Ms Cai Hui Bin (huibin.nus.edu.sg)

See you in Community Activities for Seniors with SG Cares!