Nanyang’s NIE top choice for educators
DURING the early stage of her teaching career, family matters took centre stage for Intan Salwah, but these did not extinguish her desire to pursue a higher degree programme. Being the head of the English Department of her school, it reinforced her resolve to do so, as she sought to lead her fellow educators effectively in curriculum planning and design.
The opportunity came and the mother of four commenced on her Master of Education (English) programme at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
On her motivation behind her choice of institute, she said: “Apart from the fact that NIE is a renowned institution for teachereducation and exceptional educational research, what drew me to the programme was the possible collaboration that I could forge with the extensive network of peers and mentors that I would have developed from my time here at the institute.”
Even without having prior knowledge on English Literature, she still enjoyed the engaging and enriching nature of specialisation courses that examined the interdisciplinary connections between English language and English literature, which would allow her to apply sociocultural, linguistic and literary theories to the critical reading of texts.
“The thought-provoking discussions on language issues that grip not only Singapore but also globally have allowed me to gain a deeper understanding and a different perspective on the evolution of language-teaching. The depth and breadth at which the areas of research and studies that I had the privilege of analysing through the different electives have presented me with a sharper lens to navigate curriculum design and assessment back in school.”
The programme aims to equip teachers with a repertoire of critical, aesthetic, cultural, and multimodal literacies in relation to English education. Additionally, it offers educators the flexibility of selecting from specialisation elective courses in the teaching of English language or the teaching of English literature or both.
Educators can pursue and build upon their interests in topics related to teaching grammar and writing, multimodality, world literatures, and creative writing among others. Educators will also acquire critical inquiry and action-research skills and apply them to the investigation of a specific issue related to the teaching of English.
The NIE is an autonomous institute under the Nanyang Technological University. It has been ranked as one of the top 20 education institutions in the world and top 3 in Asia by Quacquarelli Symonds ranking.
For more information on the range of higher degree programmes offered by NIE, visit www.nie.edu.sg/gpl/hd