Mr Lim Yoke Kuang
I graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours), majoring in both Physics and Mathematics, and did a number of electives in computing. Thereafter, I joined the Ministry of Education and started my initial stint in teaching as a contract teacher, which further inspired me to join the teaching service to share my passion and knowledge with others.
After completing my Postgraduate Diploma in Education at the National Institute of Education in 2011, I spent another twelve years teaching at a junior college, where I had the privilege of teaching Mathematics for a diverse profile of students at the H1, H2 and H3 levels. To enrich my teaching experience, I also had the opportunity to take on the role of the H3 Math Subject IC, and my work included administrative planning and collaborating with another junior college to develop learning and lesson resources for the subject. Over the years of my teaching practice, I realise that students differ as learners in many ways, whether in prior knowledge, background experience, interests, readiness to learn, modes of learning and speed of learning, self-awareness, confidence and independence as a learner, support systems for learning, language, culture, and so on.
These differences profoundly affect how students learn and the nature of the scaffolding that is needed in the learning process. And because there is variability among any group of learners, I appreciate the need to adapt my instructional approach to better meet learning needs that could vary. Proactive plans to cater for diverse learning needs will always be a work-in-progress –– and as the renowned pioneer and expert in differentiated instruction Professor Carol Ann Tomlinson so aptly puts, “A teacher in a differentiated classroom does not classify herself as someone who ‘already differentiates instruction.’ Rather that teacher is fully aware that every hour of teaching, every day in the classroom can reveal one more way to make the classroom a better match for its learners.” I am excited to join the Eunoia community, and look forward to being more intentional and adaptive in providing differentiated instruction for students, to create a more dynamic, responsive and effective learning environment that meets diverse learning needs.
I also believe that the heart of our education in life is the nurturance and development of inner seeds of kindness, mercy, compassion and great wisdom that each of us share with one another deeply within. This is a process that accompanies a gradual understanding of the deep interconnectedness that each of us share with one another despite the apparent differences that we may have, and this is also a process that goes along with a gradual appreciation of the ancient Golden Rule, which teaches us to “do unto others as what we would like others do unto us”, because when we try to benefit others we are also doing ourselves a service.