Humanities
Beliefs
Quality and Innovation – The Way to Success
The department believes that authentic learning and student engagement are key to developing and preparing the students for the 21st Century. Our collective aim is to design authentic lessons that are relevant to the syllabus. Thus, Communication, Collaboration and Information Skills, as well as Civic Literacy, Global Awareness and Cross-Cultural Skills are continually interwoven into our curriculum.
To enrich students’ learning of the various Humanities subjects across various levels, the Humanities Department adopts a developmental structure for Humanities Investigation using Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL). The vehicle to develop these skills in our students is through the IBL fieldwork investigation packages, which provide teachers with the opportunity to align the lower and upper secondary syllabuses to facilitate greater depth of learning, subject mastery and progressive development of skills in the students. These packages are used to introduce hypothesis creation and develop students’ skills and competencies, such as data-gathering skills in fieldwork and investigation, technical skills in using ICT applications, as well as social-emotional competencies.
In these unprecedented times, the department went the extra mile to ensure that Humanities IBL continued beyond the classroom during the various Circuit Breaker phases. Blended learning approaches were explored and adopted, which enabled the students to effectively learn the Humanities subjects of Social Studies, Geography and History through various modes of asynchronous learning and adaptive learning platforms.
Signature Programmes
Secondary One Geographical Investigation & Inquiry: Virtual Investigation on Tropical Rainforests
The Secondary One students participate in experiential outdoor learning journeys as part of their Geographical Investigation. They engage in fieldwork activities such as observing their surroundings and sketching the human activities to deepen their learning and understanding of a particular geographical phenomenon and its impact on life and the environment.
Last year, the Secondary One students embarked on a virtual investigation of the impact of the Cross-island Line on Singapore’s rainforests. This adapted blended learning created new and enriched IBL experiences in virtual visual-audio settings for the students.
This year, the department collaborated with Nparks Officers (from the Design Division) to produce digital resources for Secondary One students to learn about how nature parks in Singapore, such as Coney Island, are planned and designed. Nparks’ Deputy Director Tan Yit Chuan and Park Manager, Sheryl Lim, provided a guided tour of Coney Island and shared some of the history and key natural features of Coney Island. Through the process, both teachers and students also appreciated some of the key facilities that make a nature park inviting and attractive for all park-goers.
Secondary One Historical Investigation & Inquiry: Leveraging on ICT to Facilitate Historical Investigation
Unlike in previous years when our Secondary One students engaged in museum-based learning as part of their Historical Investigation (HI), we leveraged on the use of ICT this year to facilitate the students’ HI projects, which focused on the concept of Historical Evidence. Through the Student Learning Space, we conducted a pre-HI lesson to help the students better understand the definition of ‘archaeology’ and the work of archaeologists. Then, the students carried out their individual research on various archaeological sources during the Home-based Learning period to address the Inquiry Question, ‘Was Singapore a safe place for the migrants during the British colonial period?’ The students recorded their findings and inferences on Google Classroom. Subsequently, the students collaborated with their group members through various ICT platforms, such as Google Meet, Google Doc and Google Slides, to write a story about the lives of people who lived in Singapore during the British colonial period.
Secondary Two Historical Investigation & Inquiry: Exploring Change and Continuity in the Lives of People Living in Sengkang and Punggol
The Secondary Two Historical Investigation project required students to investigate ‘How far has life changed for people living in Sengkang and Punggol after World War Two?’ The students were required to examine several aspects of the inquiry question. Each group member researched a particular area, such as Housing and Living Conditions, Economic Activities and Jobs, Leisure and Entertainment, and Types or Modes of Transport. The groups then consolidated their findings and examined the change and continuity in the various aspects of the lives of the people living in Sengkang and Punggol. Finally, they presented their findings through a PowerPoint or video presentation.
Secondary Three Geographical Investigation & Inquiry: Virtual Coastal Investigation
In this new innovative Inquiry-based project, the Secondary Three Geography students conducted their physical geographical investigations and inquiry on the coastal formations and phenomenon along the coasts of Singapore through various visual-audio platforms. In a safe indoor adapted environment, the students were given the opportunity to explore the various stations to learn about Singapore’s coastal surroundings through the use of virtual sensory fieldwork.
Secondary Three Historical Investigation & Inquiry: Using Historical Sources and Evidence to Evaluate Stalin’s Leadership of the Soviet Union
The students explored the topic ‘Stalin’s rule over the Soviet Union’ through the study of various historical evidence. Working in groups, the students analysed textual and pictorial sources, including propaganda posters and political cartoons, to understand how Stalin ruled the Soviet Union and the impact of his rule on the country and its people. Through this approach, the students also developed their source-based skills such as making inferences, drawing comparisons, detecting bias and evaluating reliability.
Achievements and Recognition
With the guidance of Ms Kathleen Kwan, our Geography team of Tong Mao Gen, Mogens of Secondary 4-1, Darryl Mok Kai Lun, Jolie Ong Vee Voon and Ho Xuan Ying, Evelyn of Secondary 4-2, took part in the NUS Geography Challenge 2021, an annual competition jointly organised by the NUS Department of Geography and the NUS Geographical Society. Darryl Mok further brought honours to the school with him clinching one of the Individual Bronze awards.
With the guidance of Mr Noah Zhang, two teams from Seng Kang Secondary School, comprising Secondary 2 Geography students, participated in the Asia Oceania Geographical Society - Earth Observatory Observatory of Singapore (EOS) International Geoscience Challenge 2021. The teams started preparing since January and made it to the finals held virtually on 4th August 2021.
The AOGS-EOS International Geoscience Challenge 2021 is part of the organizations’ effort to inspire and create greater interest in Geophysical Sciences among middle and high school students. The aim of the Challenge is to give students the experience of conducting an investigative Geoscience project under the guidance of their geography teachers and provide students with a platform to exhibit and share their findings with others.
Despite the constraints posed by safe management measures on their research preparation, we are proud that both teams gave their best, and they motivated and encouraged one other to stay focused throughout this competition. We would like to acknowledge all of their incredible efforts to prepare the research proposals, posters, videos, and the final presentation. Excellent work, students!
AOGS 2021 Projects
Group project: Where are feral pigeons commonly found in Singapore?
Students: Mau Si Qi Queena (2-4), Sai Xin Yee (2-4), Amrita Ram (2-4)
Video link for group project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk4OfcTMvJ4
Group project: How green is Singapore’s CBD?
Students: Wong Tze Hanz (2-4), Mohamed Aseem (2-4), Jeganath Deepapriyan (2-4)
Video link for group project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk9QpEh2VK0
