Overview
As of this year, the Lower Secondary Science curriculum is carried out through the modular system. Thus, a Secondary One student will study, in one term, one whole module of one component of science (biology, chemistry or physics) before moving on to the next module. Over three terms, he would have completed the whole science curriculum for Secondary One. Likewise, a Secondary Two student will complete one whole module before moving onto the next module.
One advantage of the modular system is that there is consistency in pedagogy. Previously, the whole curriculum of Lower Secondary Science was taught by the same teacher to one class. Thus, for the same topic, there inevitably will be some difference in the way the content is brought across. By having one teacher to teach the same module to different classes instead, this difference is minimized,
Also each teacher has different strengths and familiarity with the different components of Lower Secondary Science. By having a teacher to teach the component he/she is trained in will allow him/her to teach it more creatively, and perhaps, stretch the students more.
Life Science Programme
An additional module for Life Science has been incorporated into the Lower Secondary Science. This basic module is taught in Secondary One, and serves to give a basic introduction of what is Life Sciences, and culminates with an experiment of tissue culture. Through this module, we hope that the students can have a better understanding, and therefore appreciation of Life Sciences.
In Secondary Two, Life Science education is offered as an enrichment course. The Secondary One Life Science module is compulsory for all students to help them have a better understanding of the subject. We understand that not every student is geared towards the Life Sciences, nor show an interest in this field at a greater depth. Thus the enrichment module is only on an opt-in basis when the students are in Secondary Two. For the past two years, we have been working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic in conducting this enrichment module. For this year, although the plans have not been finalized yet, we are looking forward to working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic again.
Once the students are in Upper Secondary, the Life Sciences programme is usually catered towards the students who study biology, and is carried as enrichment programmes. This year, ACS ( Barker Road) has been selected together with 25 top schools in Singapore to participate in the Research Outreach Programme organised by the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB). This programme allows our students to work side-by-side with scientists using cutting-edge technologies in Life Sciences. For the biology students who are not involved in this programme, we aim to broaden their horizon by conducting Life Sciences activities during their two-year stay with us in Upper Secondary.
Other enrichment programmes
Besides enrichments for Life Sciences, the department also carries out enrichment programmes in other areas. For example, under the physics department, an ‘aerospace’ enrichment course is being organised for the Secondary Two this term. We seek to conduct enrichment courses to reinforce curricular contents, as well as to stretch our students and widen their appreciation for Science. Likewise, the Secondary 4 students who are studying pure physics will also be going through a course on electronics, to aid them in their preparation for the GCE ‘O’ level examination.
The boys have also participated in various seminars and competitions, such as the ACJC Science Symposium, C.B. Paul Memorial Quiz at ACJC, RJC Toy Inventor’s Challenge (which we came in top 19), RJC Eureka! Quiz and crystal growing classes for the lower secondary boys. All these activities sought to enrich and provide our students with a holistic learning environment for them to grow and be exposed to a variety of science-based programmes.
