Humanities
Humanities
The Humanities department comprises the disciplines of History, Geography and Social Studies.
Teaching approaches
In teaching the humanities, a concept-centric approach is used. Students attain conceptual understanding and demonstrate their understanding by drawing on content knowledge to illustrate the concepts.
E-pedagogy is applied through the use of Student Learning Space (SLS) and flipped classroom to allow students to attain information before curriculum time. This information serves as prior knowledge that students utilize for the various activities and discussions during curriculum time. Teachers also utilize other platforms to allow students equal opportunities to participate in class as well as receive feedback more instantly.
Authentic learning
Students are actively involved in Historical Investigation (HI), Geographical Investigation (GI) as well as Issues Investigation (II) as part of their Humanities curriculum.
Geographical Investigation Activities
- Investigate water quality in the canal nearby and water features in the school
- Determine the effectiveness of Singapore’s public transport system by studying data
- Measure weather elements such as rainfall, humidity and temperature in school
- Measure beach profile and wave elements at East Coast Park
- Determine reasons for visits to Sentosa by studying data
Using the Inquiry process to study primary and secondary sources, students draw conclusions on the following:
Historical Investigation (Some examples include:)
- How far did the contributions of the early migrants meet the educational and healthcare needs of the local community in pre-war Singapore?
- Was merger good for Singapore
- Did the lives of the Germans improve during Hitler’s rule?
Issues Investigation (Some examples include:)
- How were the needs of the people living in Singapore met during the COVID-19 outbreak?
Competitions and achievements (2021)
River Valley Model United Nations;
29th Raffles Model United Nations (RMUN);
ACS(I) 13th International Model United Nations Conference 2021; and
NJC e-International Humanities Symposium 2021
Selected Secondary three and four students participated in these events, where global issues discussed and debated. Students adopted varied roles in MUNs, ranging from being a delegate of a country, observers, to members of the Press Corp. They benefited from the broad perspectives shared during the discussions and debates.
For RV MUN, May Shin Thant (404) was awarded Best Position Paper; Anjaria Jitarth (404) and Desmund Loo Jian Hao (304) attained Honourable Mention; and Dave Lim Zhi Wei (401), Tan Yi Wei Bertram (401), and Chung Zhen Yang (402) were awarded Most Improved Delegate.
National Library Board (NLB) Annual Historical Scene Investigation (H.S.I.) Challenge
This competition allowed the student participants to explore the relationship between humans and the natural world throughout Singapore’s history.
The team obtained a silver award. The students were Chen Jinglong (201), Edupuganti Prajna (201), Lai Yan Xuan Carene (201) and Seet Hui Xin (201).
ACJC Annual History & Current Affairs Competition
Held on 21st April, this competition made the student participants realise the need to be more aware of historical events and global current affairs issues.
National University of Singapore Geography Challenge (NUS GC)
In this annual event, a group of Secondary Four students tackled the theme “Passport to the world: Sustainable Footprints”.
Two students were awarded Bronze. They are Akmal Ilham Bin Harry (403A) and Zhang Jiayi (404).