Teaching is both a science and an art

This year has been a tough year for everyone. Unlike before when the students thronged the campus daily, this pandemic year has seen very little live at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM) Headquarters, as students have been forced to go online for most lessons. The students' gala night for leadership awards was cancelled for the second year in a row, and the student elections have seen candidates solicit votes via virtual canvassing. 

As we continue to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the partnership between SIM and the University of London, we interview two lecturers who have supported students through the recent EMFSS examinations. We interviewed Mr Nageb, who in 2021 celebrates a 30-year milestone of teaching management at SIM. We also interviewed Ms Mabel Tan, who starting teaching marketing for the EMFSS in 2019. Let’s find out what keeps them motivated as educators, as well as their most memorable moment teaching for the University of London programme at SIM. 

Mr Nageb

I have been lecturing at SIM for 30 years. In fact, this year I am a recipient of the 30 years long service award. I am also a second-time recipient of the Teaching Award.

As a teacher I am like a candle, I lose nothing by lighting another candle - in the end there is more light for everyone to share.
 
My role as a teacher is to develop character and mould the right values in my students. I aim to create self-confidence through learning and knowledge sharing using modern technological means. This is made possible as I teach business and management-related subjects.

Teaching is both a science and an art. It is a science because a teacher in schools must have the right qualifications, and it is also an art because a teacher must have the right innate qualities to motivate and inspire students to be managers and leaders in an unpredictable world.

It has forced me to be on my toes and constantly look at digital platforms and real-world examples to spur my students.

Ms Mabel Tan

Although I have been lecturing for 11 years, I started teaching the LSE-examined marketing curriculum at SIM two years ago. I teach classes of varying size, from 33 to 103. The greatest challenge is to engage a large class size through three-hour lectures. There is a need to weave understanding check-ins and make marketing relevant to students both as consumers and professionals. It has forced me to be on my toes and constantly look at digital platforms and real-world examples to spur my students. Covid-19 only accelerated and intensified the flipped, live and asynchronous, and blended lesson planning all together! In short, the last two years have stretched me like never before!

Rewarding Moment 

My most memorable moment was the stunning news from one of my students who topped the cohort internationally for Marketing Management (see image below as posted on my Instagram and Facebook pages). Every email and thank you post from students who felt the difference my lessons made truly warms my heart. Little do they know how much they have added to my life as an educator too.

[Main image: Mr Nageb, pictured right, with Dr Lee Kwok Cheong at a Faculty Appreciation Dinner in 2016]