[GEN2050Y] Teach SG

IMPORTANT

Course duration. This is a year-long service-learning course offered in both Semesters 1 and 2 of the Academic Year. GEN2050Y 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. GEN2050X 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.
Mentoring period. Over the course of two MOE school terms, you will be journeying with your assigned mentee(s), often disadvantaged children or youth, through weekly mentoring sessions. The mentoring period for GEN2050Y is from March of the enrolling semester to September of the same calendar year (MOE Terms 2 and 3); for GEN2050X, from September of the enrolling semester to March of the following calendar year (MOE Terms 4 and 1).
Mentoring commitment. The mentoring period includes the summer vacation period for GEN2050Y, and the winter vacation period for GEN2050X. This is because of the commitment you will make to your mentees to journey with them during the MOE school year. For GEN2050Y, mentoring during the MOE June Holiday period is optional and subject to mutual agreement between the school/Student Care Centre (SCC) and mentors. Thus, you can still enrol in this course if you have other commitments during the MOE June Holiday period.
However, if you think you may likely be away due to Student Exchange Programme (SEP), overseas internship, Leave of Absence (LoA), short exchanges, etc, you SHOULD NOT enrol in this course. You would not be able to adequately fulfil your responsibility to the mentee(s). Students on local internships are not affected and should check with their faculty on internship guidelines.
Note to graduating students. If you intend to graduate at the end of AY2024/25 and wish to read GEN2050, the latest you can enrol is Semester 1 of that Academic Year, in GEN2050X. 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

Teach SG is an integrated service-learning course for the education sector to help uplift primary and secondary school students from less-privileged family circumstances. Students will learn key concepts in volunteerism. They will also be equipped with essential skills including communications & collaboration, and coaching & mentorship. Students will apply these skills as they perform service work through mentoring school students in after-school care at Ministry of Education (MOE) schools or Student Care Centres (SCCs). Through experiential learning, students will learn to develop character, empathy, and personal effectiveness. The course is a collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Social & Family Development.

GEN2050 Video Introduction 31July2023.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; and specific skills related to teaching pedagogy, academic coaching, and mentoring
Empathise with students from less-privileged family circumstances and implement approaches to improve the attitude and aptitude of these students
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

Mentoring prerequisites

NIL

Commitment

60-80h of service work spread over one year. This comprises of regular weekly visits to a MOE school/SCC to conduct mentoring sessions and/or other activities with children/youth. Training will be provided to equip you with mentoring microskills and knowledge on volunteerism, ethics and the social landscape. The mentoring schedule is pre-determined by each MOE school/SCC 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 school/SCC. 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
Guide a small group of mentees in homework and play, including non-academic enrichment activities
Conduct enrichment classes on topics of general interest (e.g. sustainability, arts & culture, technology etc.), if requested
Conduct Learning Journeys, where volunteers bring mentees on experiential learning trips, if requested

Service Work Locations and Schedules (To be updated for AY24/25 Sem 2)

Students may book their preferred service work locations from a list of selected MOE primary and secondary schools, and SCCs. Students are to register for mentoring only if they can commit to the school/SCC's 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 their preferred service work location via the Dynamic Course Registration (DCR) System in EduRec. Booking will be granted on a first come, first serve basis. Students will be prompted via email and uNivUS 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 - 4	Tutorials 1 & 2 Students will attend face-to-face tutorials in Weeks 3 and 4 on campus. Each tutorial is 2h in duration.
5 - 6	Mandatory Onboarding Workshop (To be updated for AY24/25 Sem 2) The onboarding workshop equips students with skills for planning and facilitating mentoring sessions. It also offers students the chance to connect with their groupmates going to the same school/SCC. This mandatory training constitutes part of service work. Students going to the same school/SCC will attend the same session. Groups will be allocated one of the following slots: (To be updated)
7 - 8	Link-up Session Groups will present their draft proposals to their NUS tutor and MOE school/SCC supervisor and further refine their activities.
9	Proposal Submission Groups will submit finalised activity & budget proposals for approval.
9 onwards	Service Work (Mentoring sessions) Students will visit their assigned MOE school/SCC for weekly mentoring sessions, which will extend into the summer vacation period. The exact start date is subject to school/SCC schedules. NUS tutors will conduct on-site check ins with students regularly.
9 onwards	Submission of Mid-Service Reflection Students will submit their mid-service reflection prior to the MOE June Holiday period.

Second Semester

Week	Event
1 - 7	Service work (Mentoring sessions) Students will continue with their mentoring sessions which will end in mid-late September, depending on the school/SCC’s needs.
9 - 10	Tutorial 3 Students will attend a final 2h tutorial on campus to share and reflect on their experiences and wrap up the course.
13	Submission of Service Portfolio Students will submit their service portfolio.

Please click here for frequently asked questions.

For further enquiries, please contact the GEN2050 team:

Course Leads

Ms Sim Qin Ying (pvosqy@nus.edu.sg); Ms Raiza Rifaaie (pvofrar@nus.edu.sg)

Course Tutor

Ms Tan Chin Yee (tan.cy@nus.edu.sg)

See you in Teach SG!