Temasek Academy
Temasek Academy is a defunct four-year Integrated Programme initiated by Temasek Junior College in Singapore. Singapore and International students are admitted at the age of 15, after experiencing two years of secondary school life in their secondary schools. This programme have since been amended and integrated into the current six-year Integrated Programme offered by Temasek Junior College through the Secondary School Joint Admission Exercise to all Secondary School students.[1]
History
The Temasek Academy programme had its first intake of 121 students in 2005, 143 students in 2006, 99 students in 2007, 65 students in 2008, 70 students in 2009 and 77 students in 2010. Students sit for the GCE 'A' Levels at the end of the four years. Students only have to take the GCE 'O' Level Higher Mother Tongue exam at the end of the second year unlike the majority of their contemporaries.
There are four Civics Groups (CG) in IP Year 4, three in Year 3, three in Year 2 and three in Year 1. Civics Groups in the first two years are addressed with a 'TA' in front, and classes are labelled with alphabets, together with the year of admission. E.g. TA2A08. From 2008 onwards, in order to integrate the Temasek Academy classes with the new JC1 cohort, the Year 3 classes are no longer labelled as e.g. TA3D06, but CG0408. CGs 0109 to 0409 are the IP classes who will be taking their 'A' levels in 2010.
From 2013, Temasek Academy will start admitting students who just completed primary school, at the age of 13, functioning as a full 6 years integrated programme leading up towards the GCE 'A' Level examinations.
Teaching style
Unlike the conventional teacher-oriented style of teaching, Temasek Academy encourages students to learn beyond mere academics. With the new "Teach Less, Learn More" method as supported by the Ministry of Education, students are expected to initiate research projects, ask tutors for clarification if there is any doubt, and be a self-disciplined learner, instead of having tutors "spoonfeed" students.
The Academy uses laptops and/or tablet PCs as an aid to learning. Since the College is already covered with wireless access to the Internet, students can conduct research and view the materials that tutors have uploaded on the e-learning portal (known as the MaTrix) during classes.
WOW Attachment
Initially, when it has just started in 2007 for the pioneer batch of TA students in their third year of Integrated Programme (TA3), the WOW Attachment programme has lasted for 10 weeks. The TA3 students are later required to catch up with their JC1 counterparts who have already had their lessons for 10 weeks. For the second batch of TA students, who are from class 01/08 to 05/08, and are considered to have been merged with their JC1 counterparts, they underwent a four-week WOW Attachment programme, so that they could be on par with their JC1 counterparts in terms of academic pace faster. These TA students caught up with the syllabus in June 2008, as much knowledge has been inculcated over the last two years of Integrated Programme.
WOW! Attachment is one of the characteristic and robust programmes of Temasek Academy. It provides for a valuable opportunity for TA students to gain exposure to life in various institutions across Singapore. It is a means of learning – an indispensable one – which leads to an expansion of one’s horizon, hence in turn multiplies one’s perspectives in view of problems and challenges, which can thus tackled by raising various possibilities, in lieu of insisting obstinately on negative and cynical limitations. This way of learning through exposure, not only enriches one’s knowledge and inspires a profound interest in such enrichment, but also grooms mature and critical minds, nurtures one’s moral compass and a healthy, life-loving attitude of youthfulness.
References
- ↑ "Overview". www.temasekjc.moe.edu.sg. Retrieved 9 July 2016.