Amala's Reflection 3 (Learning Journey)

1.      What did you enjoy about it?

I must say that I truly enjoyed the Learning Journey that we had even though I could not be there till the end. Firstly, it because this is the first Learning Journey we had as a Literature class. Going on a Learning Journey together with my Literature course mates was a joy too. I also enjoyed the fact that many places were included within a Learning Journey which included the URA exhibition and Ang Siang Hill. It was my very first time visiting the URA building and I was indeed amazed with the wide exhibition that was present there. This is because there were information and facts that I had learnt from the exhibition. Also, these were facts that I was not aware of initially.

2.      What did you learn from it?

I learned more about the huge progress Singapore has made in the last forty-five years and even though a few of the facts were some that I had came across before, the images and visuals together with the audio indeed made the facts even more amazing to me. I was surprised to look at a few images that belonged to my grandparents’ era or even far beyond. I also learned more about the places we visited as memories about them were reflected in the poems we read as well. Looking at the exhibition, I also learned more about the development of new buildings in Singapore through the miniature buildings that were seen at the URA centre.

3.      What interdisciplinary possibilities are there?

 

Besides Language and Literature, I realized that this Learning Journey could be linked to the discipline of Geography and History as well. There were many components of the exhibition at the URA that comprised of many historical values. Through this exhibition, I believe that students will be able to learn more about Singapore history as well. Also, looking at the various places that were visited like the Ang Siang Hill, I also think that it could be linked to the various geographical locations in Singapore and linking those with the local poetry as well. With this, I agree that this Learning Journey was very much one that could be linked to various disciplines.

 

4.      How can you design and use learning journeys for effective learning in and out of your classrooms?

Moving away from teacher-talk and frontal teaching and exposing students more to learning journeys and learning out of the classrooms would engage students better in their learning. It also creates a more fun and vibrant learning environment when students are brought out of their classrooms once in awhile. It might not be possible to design learning journeys very often but bringing students out of the classroom once in awhile could create a difference in their learning patterns and cater to their learning styles. Learning journeys could be an effective way to manoeuvre and move away from lessons that are conducted only within the classroom.