Carmen's Reflection 3

I found the Learning Journey to be quite an innovative way of getting students to learn Singapore Poetry. By just reading Singapore Poetry, students may not have the interest. However, when they are brought to the places that are mentioned/related to the poem that they are reading, this unconventional way of teaching may interest and even excite students into learning more about Singapore poetry.

For me, I found the Learning Journey to be quite an interesting experience (despite not being able to complete it). It made the whole experience in reading Singapore poetry all the more interesting. Looking at shop houses while reading Old House at Ang Siang Hill by Arthur Yap, it made me thin more about the poem, as well as experience the nostalgic feeling that the poet was trying to portray in the poem.

I also learnt many facts about Singapore during our visit to the URA building which I never knew, like how 2/3 of Singapore's land area is used as water catchment areas, or how 12% of Singapore's land is for routes, etc. I experienced "building a city" and realized how hard it is to maximize the usage of land space, keeping in mind the happiness of the citizens and the finance needed. It was also a struggle to upgrade old facilities and yet preserving Singapore's heritage.

Learning Journey would be a good way to teach Literature. The teacher could prepare a worksheet like the one we had, except having more detailed and guided questions and less venues to go to so that less time is wasted on travelling and hence more time to conduct the activities. A pre-lesson should also be conducted to brief the students on what is expected of them and what they need to prepare and take note of for the Learning Journey. There should also be a post-lesson to debrief and reflect on what the students have learnt from the Learning Journey, as well as the going through of the poems that were being used during the learning journey.