A Former MOE Teacher in Singapore with More Than a Decade of Experience.
During his service period, Mr Calvin Kong went through the Skillful Teaching Enhanced Mentoring (STEM) Programme, a course jointly conducted by Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (Massachusetts) and New Teacher Centre (California). Upon being certified, he went on to be a mentor to other Physics teachers ranging from Interns to Teaching Scholars.
Mr Calvin Kong also held the role of Senior Teacher for Physics in MOE. As a designer for Physics Curriculums, he became very familiar with the Syllabus set by Cambridge International Examinations (CIE). His many years of experience with students from different academic backgrounds and foundation had also allowed him to understand and pinpoint the difficulties faced by them. Being able to break down difficult Physics concepts into simpler bite size ideas, Calvin Kong broke national record by bringing a group of students of T-score 200 to ace the O-levels with majority attaining distinction grade. This is the point where he start to discover that the strategies he had developed work! Through years of fine-tuning, it results in a powerful Physics curriculum which is able to push all students to their maximum potential.
The overall positive learning experiences and outcomes are testified by students from all corners of Singapore ranging from Yishun Town Sec (North), PLMGS (North-East), Anglican High School (East), MGS and SCGS (Central), Nan Hua High School (West), Swiss Cottage Secondary School (North West) and many more. Read positive reviews by hundreds of students here!
Last but not the least, Mr Calvin Kong is also the Founder of Concept First Physics Learning Centre (CF), where he heads the Curriculum Design and Teaching Strategies Team. CF focuses on helping students excel in Science and Physics with their unique curriculum, skillful tutors and physics lab to conduct practical classes. While in service, Mr Calvin Kong was a Subject Supervisor for O Level Practical Examinations. This gives him the relevant experiences required to plan effective practical lab classes for CF.
“His lessons are very engaging and interesting, and he really takes the time to help each and every student. I had never enjoyed learning physics until I joined his class. ”
Often a Teacher, Always a Student
Having years of experience is not enough because one may be repeating an error over those many years. An effective teacher is one who often evaluate his methods, drawing lessons from his experiences and constantly refining his craft to achieve even better outcomes. As such, he is always a student. Living by this philosophy, former Senior Teacher in Physics Calvin Kong is constantly seeking to be better than before.
Evaluated Experience
In his 12 years as an MOE teacher in Singapore, Calvin Kong had never stopped refining his teaching strategies and teaching resources. Like fine wine getting better with age, his teaching methods were proven with results. In recent years, all Physics students in Singapore attending his Physics Tuition classes have excelled in the subject with the majority getting a distinction grade.
Top Achievement in Singapore Schools
Back in 2013, Calvin Kong was assigned to teach a class of students with an expected MSG of 3.9. With the right pedagogy and strategies, he brought them to ace in the O-levels with 60% obtaining Distinctions, a good 15% above the National Average of 45%. In addition to that, no students scored less than a B3 grade. The mean subject grade of 2.1 far exceeded the expected 3.9, making this achievement the highest in the country. Since then, he decided to devote all his time and energy into developing the best materials and strategies to help students achieve their best in the National Examinations.
“His classes are very engaging, and he has a way to make physics easy to understand. Through that, I had gained much valuable knowledge on physics. ”
Now, let us look at what went on behind the scenes in creating an engaging and productive Physics Tuition Class, each and every time.
Tutor Factor - Clear Explanations that make Physics Easy to Understand
With more than a decade of teaching experience in MOE schools, Calvin Kong had worked with a wide spectrum of students, ranging from those gifted in Physics to the ones who find the subject very challenging. These very important experiences had helped him develop an acute sense in picking the right words to explain concepts to the right students.
In class, he memorises all the questions and answers that he provides his students for practice. Together with his years of experiences and familiarity with common difficulties faced by students, he is able to spot on students' difficulties and give quick and succinct feedback to help them move on. Every class is highly efficient.
Calvin Kong breaks down the 22 Chapters of the syllabus into 53 bite size bits. Together with clear explanations, research-proven teaching methods and superior lesson resources, learning Physics had never been easier.
“I also really appreciate that my questions via WhatsApp are always answered so promptly and with amazing clarity such that I only need read once to understand the concepts involve and clear my doubts.”
Lesson Planning - For a Perfect Class, Every Time.
A student needs more than a good tutor. The lesson strategies must be effective too.
Every chapter comprises of about 2 to 3 Focuses. Through years of interaction and experience with students, I have discovered that the secret to excellence lies in getting the Key Concepts right. If the Focuses are like doors, then the Key Concepts are the keys to unlock them. Many students who did not identify and master these key concepts will find themselves stuck at a certain level and unable to pass through the door to reach their target of scoring a distinction.
Calvin Kong recognises that students' attention is not consistent but follows the trend as shown in Graph 1. Therefore, his lessons are carefully planned to have regular changes in activities (Graph 2) so as to interrupt the process of loosing their attention and help students stay focused.
“There is no doubt that his fun and well-planned lessons have helped me to understand physics better and approach the different types of questions with more confidence.”
Demonstration and Experiential Learning - Revealing that Physics is indeed Interesting
Everyone knows that it is torturous to memorise facts and formulas from a textbook.
Instead, show them the wonders of Physics and they will start their journey of further discovery.
When Calvin Kong explains it, students understand. When students do it, they confirm.
“Mr Calvin Kong’s Tuition Classes are unlike the classes offered by tuition centres. His classes are engaging and the hands on activities aids my understanding of the concepts.”
Catering to Different Learning Styles
Every student's learning style is unique. This fact can easily be observed in class where some students will just listen intently while others will be taking down notes quickly. Some students prefer to file up their lesson materials by date while others will organised them by topic. There is no right or wrong method but more of a preferred method. Knowing this, Calvin Kong provides a variation of learning resources. For example, apart from his popular 2-Paged Summary for every chapter, he also provides templates for students who prefer to create their own notes.
Understanding that students have different learning styles, Calvin Kong drew Concept Slides that can be saved into any device and be read on the go.
For example, apart from his popular 2-Paged Summary for every chapter, he also provides templates for students who prefer to create their own notes.
“From a student’s point of view, materials of his are much more useful than school materials, and given the variety of organised and well-planned worksheets, his materials are designed to suit everyone.”
Harnessing on Technology to Enhance Learning Experience
In our current digital age, technology had made learning easier. This is the reason why we are always on the relentless search for new software and hardware to make our physics tuition classes even better.
By using Computer Simulations., challenging topics like Waves can now be better visualised and understood. Credits to PhET Simulations.
Calvin Kong ditched his whiteboard markers for the Surface Pro. It allows him to draw colourful illustrations, save the images and send them to his students.
“He truly brings out the vibrancy of the subject by crafting intriguing lessons filled with demonstrations, simulations and such.”
Formative Assessment - Close Monitoring of Students
Having went through the Skillful Teaching Enhanced Mentoring (STEM) Programme, a course jointly conducted by Research for Better Teaching, Inc. (Massachusetts) and New Teacher Centre (California), Calvin Kong understands that it is the tutor's duty to check the understanding of his students.
Apart from skillful questioning techniques, the other concrete way is to provide feedback by marking the students' work.
“His lessons are well-paced and he regularly check on his students’ understanding.”
Astounding Achievements
At all the features of our curriculum programme does not count if the students do not achieve their desired grades eventually. We are proud to share that ALL his students had either achieved a distinction or improved by at least 3 grades, or both!
“After attending Mr Calvin Kong’s class since early this year, my results have had a tremendous improvement from C5 in Secondary 3 SA2 to an A1 for my Secondary 4 Preliminary Examinations.”
Testimonial from Gin, Tanjong Katong Girls' School
Written messages from Yvette, Nanhua High School and Shane, Jurong Secondary School
A written message from Grace, Methodist Girls' School