Canadian Guest Tutors Enrich IMU Foundation in Science Students’ Learning

March 16 to April 3 – The Foundation in Science (FiS) students at the International Medical University (IMU) were in for a little pleasant surprise in March when they had two guest tutors from Canada who were undergoing their internship as teaching assistants in the University. Shana Good and Karlee Sinclair are final year students from Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada, who had chosen to do their practicum in IMU, as part of their course requirements to complete a three-week volunteer block for “Teaching for Social Justice.” The three weeks were filled with fun and laughter, along with exchanges of cultural information for the two guest tutors and the FiS students. The students were exhilarated to teach Shana and Karlee common ‘survival’ phrases such as ‘Terima kasih’ and ‘Apa khabar’!. Shana and Karlee also carried out sharing sessions where they shared about their culture, country and their university, giving a little insight of Canada to the FiS students. The students were all eager beavers, soaking up information about Canada from the ladies! Among the teaching activities that Shana and Karlee carried out during their visit at IMU included assisting to facilitate tutorials for English classes and invigilating of examinations. Shana and Karlee facilitated a very useful workshop for the students, Critical Thinking Skills workshop. A lot of brainstorming and discussion took place in this workshop, enhancing the thinking skills of the FiS students which is very much necessary and needed as they progress to pursue their tertiary studies in IMU. The three weeks ended all too quickly, what began with an awkward ‘Hello’ has turned to sad ‘Goodbyes’ as the two ladies bade farewell to the FiS students after their three-week stint here.