Jom ke Johor! Revised Sec 2 Malaysia GCP Trip

Department: GCP + IDS + HUM

Leaders: Aloysius Foo

Members: Norazlina binte Abdul Jalil, Liew Chiat Siang, Woon Hsiao Hui, Clarence Yeo

1.  What was the current need/gap that you were addressing?

1. Lack of breadth and depth in cross-cultural and global learning Students were interacting with Malaysia at a surface level in previous trips. Pre-trip preparation was minimal, leading to missed opportunities for breadth and depth of knowledge and cross-cultural competencies. Pre-trip activities in earlier years were largely logistical; students were not told what to observe as there was no main inquiry question. 2. Limited understanding of Malaysia’s contemporary landscape Students struggled to connect their experiences to bigger issues such as sustainability and Singapore-Malaysia relations. 3. Inconsistent interdisciplinary learning Industrial visits were ad-hoc and not clearly connected to Humanities, Geography, or CCE curriculum.

2.  How had it been experimented and enacted?

The 2025 Malaysia GCP represents a complete redesign grounded in deliberate experimentation, piloting, and iterative improvement based on 2024 findings. More importantly, we framed the rationale for Johor as the destination in terms of getting students future-ready and knowledgeable about the newly-established Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone. a. A new pedagogical underpinning: AEIOU Framework + Inquiry-Based Learning AEIOU was introduced to all staff and students during the pre-trip preparations. Students were provided an inquiry question to unpack: "How might Malaysia and Singapore collaborate on a sustainable future?" Students used AEIOU across all sites — Imagine AI, Nictar Pineapple Park, JB heritage walk, and school exchanges. This created a common language for observations, interpretation, and reflection. b. Multi-layered pre-trip curriculum to build cultural, historical, and interdisciplinary readiness Working with IDS and Hum departments, external speakers were engaged to provide students with background knowledge about AI and sustainable agriculture so that they could draw comparisons between Johor and Singapore. The GCP comm engaged NHB to set up a Causeway exhibition for students to understand the historical and social connections between both countries. As a result, students had some background knowledge when they visited Johor. c. Revamped itinerary based on clear thematic anchors Each day was redesigned around a theme: Day 1 – Economic & Industrial Learning Imagine AI, MyCyberSphere, iTani → AI applications, cyber innovation, drone technology Nictar Pineapple Park → sustainable agriculture Kraft Complex Johor → Malay traditional crafts & batik Day 2 – Cultural & Social Interactions School exchanges with nine different Malaysian schools (Islamic, Chinese Independent, International, Boarding, National schools) JB historical walk to connect heritage to Singapore’s past Structured reflection built into the itinerary. Unlike previous years, 2 full hours were dedicated to: - group work at Ramada Hotel - teacher-facilitated reflection - preparation for the group vlog.

3.  Which group(s) had benefited?

Students (Entire Cohort), Teaching Staff (Selected Groups)

4.  What was the positive impact?

We are still in the process of consolidating results. 1. Based on anecdoctal feedback from teachers: they find that the programme's structured presentation segment enables students to recall what they have observed, and share with others quickly, hence helping them to better learn and draw the connections. 2. Across all survey items done by students, they rate themselves to have effectively gained knowledge about Malaysia and improved their cross-cultural and global competencies (all items score above 3.10 out of 4).

5.  What is a future need that this IdEas@work could meet?

1. Enhanced PD for staff chaperones - perhaps advanced recee trip for them before they bring their students 2. Platform for interdisciplinary learning which can be expanded in different directions.