Humanities
Vision
The Humanities department in Meridian Secondary School aims to develop “Concerned Citizens, Independent Learners” through the discipline of Geography, History and Social Studies. Students will be prepared to contribute as active citizens through the acquisition of critical thinking skills and development of an inquiring mind.
Approach
The Humanities department employs an inquiry-based approach as its main pedagogy to encourage critical thinking and problem solving. Students will be required to embark on an inquiry process where they investigate, analyse, and consolidate information, and draw conclusions to the questions based on evidence. In the process, students will also be encouraged to share their conclusions with their peers, and to critique and refine their own and others’ work through pair, group and/or class discussions and through individual reflections. Geographical and historical investigations through field-based and experiential learning offer opportunities for students to engage in the inquiry process.
Assessment
Assessment in the Humanities curriculum includes Assessment for Learning and Assessment of Learning to facilitate meaningful learning and encourage independent learning. Modes of assessment include geographical and historical investigation, source-based questions and summative assessment carried out in the form of level tests or examinations. Authentic assessment tasks through geographical and historical investigations also encourage students to showcase their varied intelligences so that our assessment of our students will be accurate and holistic.
Highlights
Sec 1 History Enrichment Programme - Learning Journey to Fort Canning
Students learn best when they are involved and this field trip offers them an ideal opportunity for experiential learning. The learning journey to Fort Canning enabled the students to understand and appreciate the 700 years of Singapore’s recorded existence, which they visualised and presented in the form of sketches.<p></p>
Sec 1 Geographical Investigation-What is the quality of water in Tampines River?
The Secondary 1 students carried out a student-directed geographical inquiry into the water quality of the Tampines River and the impact that human activities may have on its water quality. Armed with a hypothesis, the students carried out a research on the areas through which the river flows before testing the quality of the water. As students were unable to carry out the water testing onsite because of the restrictions placed due to COVID 19, water from the river was collected and brought to school. The students worked in groups to test the quality of the water and test their hypothesis. Annotated field sketches were drawn and findings were presented.<p></p>
Sec 2 Interdisciplinary Learning Journey to Gardens by the Bay
The Secondary 2 students participated in an experiential trail at Gardens by the Bay, as part of the Interdisciplinary Learning Journey jointly organized by the Mathematics and Humanities Departments. To complement what the students have learnt in class about Singapore’s role in the early maritime trade from the 14th to 19th Century, the students had the opportunity to have an up-close encounter with the plants at the Heritage area of the Colonial Gardens. From there, they could identify the plants involved in the spice trade, as well as their uses and places of origin.<p></p>
One Hack at A Time
One Hack at A Time (OHT) is a Meridian Secondary Humanities Department flagship collaboration event with Chua Chu Kang Secondary and Woodlands Ring Secondary. In this Hackathon, students are challenged to design innovative solutions to contemporary issues surrounding governance and citizenship in Singapore. To enrich their out of classroom experience, industry experts are also invited as guest speakers and judges to provide their on-ground experience with students. As we believe that the 21st CC learner is also a highly collaborative player, the Hackathon places an emphasis on discussions and collaboration in the process of the competition. For more information, please visit the OHT dedicated website