ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR LIM TIT MENG is currently the Vice President of the Singapore Institute of Biology and Vice Dean of the Faculty of Science in the National University of Singapore. He attained his bachelors in Zoology from NUS and his Ph.D. from Cambridge University in UK on a Churchill College scholarship. His research interests cover neurobiology and biotechnology and he is currently involved in developing a cell culture system that allows the tissue engineering of human periodontal construct. He has received many teaching awards over the years and is a popular speaker at workshops and seminars. He was the Sub Dean of the Science Faculty, a Director of the Bioscience Centre, a Programme Director for many Life Sciences workshop series, the Deputy Head of the Department of Biological Sciences, and holds many other administrative portfolios. He also served at the Ministry of Education on education matters related to Life Sciences.

The objective of our workshop series is to equip teachers with the necessary skills to guide students effectively in Science.

TWS01 Designing Life Science Trails (3 Hours)
There are many lessons in the life sciences that can be learnt from observing nature itself, and one of the effective ways is through an organized life science trail in an outside classroom setting. The trail can be in a nature reserve, a park, a farm, a garden or even within the school compound. The workshop will cover real examples and suggestions for school level learning purposes. Topics will include tips on preparation of suitable routes, designing student tasks, pre and post trail activities. An actual field trip is incorporated in the workshop.

TWS02 Workshop on Science Process Skills (3 Hours)
Learning Science is a fun process and it can be achieved by various hands-on activities to help students develop the process skills such as Observation, Classification, Measurement, and Communication. These basic skills can be further integrated at a higher level to formulate hypothesis, to design experiments or tests, to either deepen the understanding in science or to discover new knowledge. In the workshop for teachers, some activities will be conducted to achieve the above learning outcome. Examples of activities include:

1. Making simple toys to demonstrate simple machines, to learn the relationship between force and friction;
2. Simple biology experiments/activities to illustrate concepts or mechanism in life functions;
3. Hypothesis and experimental designs suitable for school students; and
4. How to use games to engage students in learning science.

TWS03 Workshop on Environmental Science (3 Hours)
Environmental science is interdisciplinary in nature and it deals with the identification and resolution of environmental problems. The themes within the field include the study of air, water, land, biota, people, policy and technology. The specific knowledge domains cover Animal Biology, Applied Statistics, Conservation Biology, Development Issues, Ecology, Energy Studies, Environmental Issues, Environmental Policy, Marine Biology, Mathematical Modeling, Ocean Science, Pollution Science, Plant Biology, Politics and International Studies, Science Communication, Sustainable Development, and even Remote Sensing through Satellite Imaging. The organization of this interdisciplinary science is often with an integrated environmental management perspective. The workshop aims to bring together some topics and activities that are applicable at the primary school level, so as to provide teachers a platform to teach and guide students in the learning of environmental science.

TWS04 Workshop on Studying Plant Structures Under A Light Microscope (3 hours)
In the primary school syllabus, plant structures and functions are taught using textbook diagrams and photo images. While plant structures and anatomy at the macro level are easily demonstrated with life samples, students may find it hard to appreciate structures that are too small for the naked eyes. ‘Seeing is believing’ and students will gain a better understanding with deeper impression if they are shown real structures under the light microscope. This workshop will teach participants how to make simple plant sample preparations for teaching and learning purposes. The techniques covered are:

1. How to use the light microscope effectively
2. How to prepare whole mount samples such as pollen grains, spores, fungi
3. How to observe plant cells and structures using the onion as a case study
4. How to prepare freehand sections for microscopic observation using common plants
5. How to make use of these techniques to conduct inquiry-based learning
6. How to design an experiment or a project involving microscopic techniques

TWS05 Concept Mapping as a Teaching Tool (3 hours)
Since its introduction in the 1980s, concept mapping has become a recognized and popular tool in teaching and learning. It is a technique for representing knowledge in graphics with key words organized into networks of concepts. A typical concept map is made of nodes or cells that contain a concept, item or question and connecting links. The links are labeled and denote direction with an arrow symbol. The labeled links indicate the relationship between the nodes. Akin to a road map, the concept map is a means for representing the conceptual structure of a subject discipline in a two dimensional form.

In this workshop, teachers will learn the principles and key consideration for developing a concept map for teaching purposes. It can also be used as a tool to enhance students self learning skills. The workshop will be conducted with selected topics and simulation of a concept mapping process.

TWS06 Motivational Techniques in Primary Science (3 hours)
To some students, learning Science effectively can be daunting task. There are many concepts and facts that require clear understanding before students can internalize the subject knowledge. Contrary to Science being considered to a cold and hard subject to teach, there are ways to make teaching and learning Science fun and exciting.

In this workshop, participants will explore techniques encompassing inquiry-based learning, concept mapping, hands-on learning, project-based learning, setting quiz and competition, devising simple games, and even using cartoons or skits. For each technique, specific Science subject examples will be employed. This workshop hopes to inspire teachers to have fun and exercise creativity in teaching Science.

TWS07 Workshop on Inquiry-Based Learning (3 hours)
Inquiry-based learning has gained popularity worldwide because of the impact it brings to the educational scene. From a teacher-centered to a student-centered mindset, inquiry-based learning focuses on using and learning content as a means to develop information-processing and problem-solving skills. Students are encouraged to search and make use of diverse resources beyond the classroom and the school. Through the process of inquiry, students will construct much of their understanding of the natural and man-made worlds. How are these worlds organized? How do they change? How do they interrelate? How do they interact? How do they communicate with us and us with them? These broad concepts contain important issues and questions that students will face throughout their lives. Inquiry-based learning will prepare students for a knowledge-based economy that requires them to constantly process information to learn and generate knowledge. In this workshop, the following will be covered:

1. What is inquiry-based learning?
2. Compare and contrast inquiry-based learning with the traditional approach?
3. What are the key principles of inquiry-based learning?
4. What is a facilitation plan for inquiry-based learning?
5. Examples of using inquiry-based learning to teach
6. Simulation of an inquiry-based learning with teachers as students
7. Summary and derivation of an action plan