(ST)²: Storytelling for Systems Thinkers (Run 2)

Poster of (ST)²: Storytelling for Systems Thinkers, a workshop for students from National University of Singapore Residential College 4.

Despite the recently-announced Covid-19 restrictions, the second run of (ST)²: Storytelling for Systems Thinkers was successfully completed.

A workshop on the art and science of crafting persuasive and convincing narratives, (ST)² was conducted once more for students from National University of Singapore Residential College 4.

Thanks to invaluable feedback from participants in the first run, this run was held over two days and covered three areas: Asking Good Questions, Listening for Good Answers and Telling Good Stories.

My thanks also go to the participants of Run 2 for their insights and adaptability as we discussed how best to shift the workshop online, while still meeting their learning needs effectively.

I’m looking forward to good stories – as well as stories for good – from them in due course!

Storytelling for Systems Thinkers

I had the pleasure and privilege of conducting a storytelling workshop for Residential College 4 last Friday (Feb 5, 2021) in NUS.

RC4 is one of four residential colleges in the university which offer a two-year residential programme, with the college’s focus being on systems thinking.

In the workshop, we looked at both the purpose and power of narrative in creating understanding of systems, as well as communicating that understanding clearly and effectively to stakeholders.

We also touched on interviewing and writing techniques as part of asking good questions in order to get good answers that clarify understanding.

It was a meaningful experience and, as always, a happy return to the alma mater.

Adventures in teaching Boom by Jean Tay (Part II)

Yikes! Very overdue but I’m going to post this regardless because I’ve been meaning to put it up.

How does Tay create an atmosphere of melancholy in this passage? Explain your answer with close reference to the passage.

So when we last left off, I was busy making the horses thirsty.

One of the ways in which I did so was to allow them to devise their own exam questions – in a structured manner, of course.

Without going into detail, I crafted the lesson with the objectives of making the students:

  1. Revise the question requirements for the O-Level exams; and
  2. Think about the issues in the particular passage, and thereafter the text.

While carrying out the lesson activity, this happened:

Student A: (reading out what he had written) “How does Tay create an atmosphere of me-lan-cho-lee –”

Student B: (from the other end of the classroom) “Eh, what melancholee – you think what, this one Indian food ah?”

Student C: “Ya lah, later you go to Lew Lian there the Indian stall you tell them, ‘Uncle, I want two kosong and the curry you gimme melancholee one’ and then you see what happen after that.”

Temporarily could not take it because was laughing so hard, so had to tell the students to give me a moment to finish laughing before we carried on with the lesson.