Inter-Disciplinary Week 1998 was held from 3 August to 11 August 1998. During this period, the Secondary 2 teachers and students of the Gifted Education Programme (GEP) in Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) embarked on an interdisciplinary project based on the case study on the Redevelopment of Pulau Ubin. This is the first time such a project was organised in the ten-year history of the GEP in ACS(I). The theme for the project was ‘Conflict in Transition’.
The project was organised by our teachers to allow us students to infer the pervasive nature of conflict, understand how conflict can be studied and resolved in various disciplines, and realise how these disciplines are interconnected. The project was also organised to allow us to experience interdisciplinary learning by providing us with a complex learning environment. The learning experience was a great difference from the usual, boring lessons held in our classrooms. The project was associated with almost all our academic subjects, as well as other areas of learning like affective education, National Education, thinking skills and project work skills.
We are one of the six groups working on the project. It was a great experience working together as a team, towards a common purpose. The schedule during the week included a field trip to Pulau Ubin as well as to City Hall, where the National Library and National Archives is located. The field trips included a survey with the members of the public as well as some research. The jobs were taken up with much vigour and enthusiasm. The teachers neatly planned out our activities, and everything ran very smoothly.
Pulau Ubin is one of the few islands of Singapore which is undisturbed by urbanisation. It has a long and interesting history behind it. Most of its inhabitants have lived there all their life. Their way of life is simple and peaceful, a striking contrast to the hustle and bustle of city life in mainland Singapore. Recently, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has made plans to redevelop Pulau Ubin. This is to accommodate the growing population in Singapore. However, what problems would this change bring about?
In the webpage, which was designed for the project, we will explore deeper into the problem. We will give accounts on what we did, as well as what our findings revealed. We hope this webpage would be of some benefit to the viewer.