Learning Through Service
Service-learning is an effective educational approach that provides valuable first-hand pedagogical skills to student teachers by engaging them in community services. The knowledge and experience gained through service-learning enables them to inspire future students to be compassionate and participate in community service. The experience also strengthens their characters and teaches them humility and independence.
The NIE Service-Learning Club (NIE SLC) organised various programmes in 2017 for student teachers to participate in service-learning. These include two major local events, Bandhudera and Art Facilitation @ St Luke’s Hospital, as well as overseas service-learning trips to Nalanda and Sikkim, India and ‘Catwalk’ - a tiger conservation effort in Malaysia. Student teachers can look forward to more service-learning opportunities as the club expands its partnerships with organisations to reach out to other communities.
Read more about service-learning activities and sign up for programmes at the NIE SLC Facebook.
- Bandhudera
Bandhudera, which means friends in Bengali, is a social event jointly organised by NIE SLC and HealthServe for migrant workers and student teachers to interact through games and activities that promote cross-cultural sharing, and to learn about each other’s dreams and aspirations. HealthServe is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the wellbeing of migrant workers in Singapore. In the second run of Bandhudera in 2017, 40 migrant workers and student teachers came together for an enriching time of games and interactions. - Art Facilitation @ St Luke’s Hospital
Held on the last Saturday of each month, this art-making event at St Luke’s Hospital is part of a long-term initiative by NIE SLC. Ten student teachers paired up with secondary school students to teach patients how to make stress balls out of socks. Participants were given a volunteer orientation session by the hospital on the guidelines and etiquette in engaging the patients. Our student teachers had a fun and rewarding time facilitating the art session, and the patients enjoyed making their own stress balls, from stuffing cotton wool into the socks to decorating them with colourful felt pieces.
