By Lim Vin Tsen
Two of HELP Academy A-Levels Science Lecturers recently won the MTSF Science Education Award 2021.
*From left to right: Mr. Low Chiang Heng (Senior Lecturer, Biology) & Mr. Seow Yoke Hock (Senior Lecturer, Physics)
The Malaysia Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) Science Education Award is awarded to Malaysian science teachers/educators in secondary schools and pre-university colleges in recognition of their innovative and effective teaching methods in science education. Mr. Low entered the competition together with his co-applicant, Mr. Seow. Their winning project: Augmented Reality (AR) of Double Fertilisation in Flowering Plants, was built and designed by an IT company, Virtuocity Systems Sdn.Bhd. for the A-Levels department. Its application, content and idea with the AR model was provided by Mr. Low himself.
This project was conceived with the aim in helping students to better visualise the process of double fertilisation in flowering plants using augmented reality (AR) model. Double fertilisation is covered as part of the topic “Reproduction in Plants” in A-Levels and SPM Biology. The use of the AR model makes the learning process more engaging and more interactive, especially during online lesson. ‘This AR model,’ said Mr. Low, ‘will show the structure of a flower with labels and also includes an animation to depict the process of double fertilisation in a flowering plant.
*The AR Model in action*
Applicants for the competition were selected based on the objective of the projects, the unique features of the ideas and how these ideas would be implemented via its teaching methods as well as how would these methods benefit the students overall. “This award is a recognition of the innovative and effective teaching methods in the science education department of A-Levels. It has also motivated me to continue exploring more innovative ways to improve the teaching and learning of Biology to students in the A-Levels programme.” Said Mr. Low.
Mr. Low also pointed out that as of today, HELP Academy’s A-Levels Department has proudly won 27 MTSF SEA Awards, including this one, with a total of Winner Prize, Runners-up Prize and Consolation Prize. HELP Academy is the Holder of the highest record 77 World Top Awards together with another 37 National Awards. They are the first centre in the Malaysia to conduct both Edexcel International Advanced Level and Cambridge International A-Levels and is also recognised by the QCA, UK and fully accredited by the Malaysian MQA. HELP Academy is recognised by Pearson Edexcel as Centre of Excellence for delivery of the International Advanced Level programme Best Performing Registered Training Centre 2014. Furthermore, HELP Academy is Winner of 7 Gold Medallion Awards from Pearson Edexcel 2014 for Best Scores in Individual Subjects.
With a total of 85 World Top Awards to date, including this year’s record of eight, the Malaysian Toray Science Foundation (MTSF) winners for thirteen years running, and not surprisingly, being declared the “Best and Biggest Edexcel A-Levels Centre in the World” in 2011 (World Conference, Hong Kong), HELP is indeed more than a centre of excellence. The long list of top achievers continues to expand, with an increasing number of annual graduates gaining both admission as well as scholarships to top universities worldwide.
For more info, on HELP Academy A-Levels Department and their programmes, visit: university.help.edu.my or call 03-2716 2000 to speak to a counsellor.
For more details on MTSF SEA, visit: www.mtsf.org.
