There is sometimes a perception that to analyse something is to sap the joy out of it, or even that such a critical attitude destroys beauty.
I would like to help students experience how analysis and critical thinking can bring their own pleasures.
”
Dr LO Mun Hou
MA, PhD (Harvard University); BA (Princeton University)
Department of Physiology
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- Writing and critical thinking
- Literary studies
- History and theory of gender and sexuality
li>Directed, from 2003 to 2012, the University Scholars Programme (USP) Writing Centre, a peer- and student-centred collaborative learning facility that has served as a model for similar initiatives at NUS and in Asia
- Coordinated the USP’s Writing and Critical Thinking programme from 2003 to 2007, a formative period during which the programme consolidated, systematised and distinguished its teaching pedagogy
- Served on the USP’s Curriculum Review Committee, including during periods of curriculum revamp
- Planned and managed several academically rigorous international programmes, often with field trip and virtual interactive components, in collaboration with NUS’ partner universities
- Nurtures students to develop discerning minds and new perspectives by spurring them to engage in rigorous and intensive reflection
- Creates carefully planned syllabi to encourage students to sharpen their thinking skills and question conventional wisdom
- Conceives innovative assignments as demanding as conventional ones that enable students to delve deep into a topic and blur the boundaries between learning within and beyond the classroom
- Crafts dynamic and flexible lesson plans capable of accommodating students from diverse disciplinary backgrounds with different learning paces
- Essays and reviews have appeared in journals such as GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, Modern Fiction Studies and Sojourn, as well as various anthologies and collections
- Contributed articles on teaching to various university publications
- Winner, Modern Language Association’s Crompton-Noll Prize (2011), an international award that honours the best essay in lesbian, gay and queer studies
- Annual Teaching Excellence Award, NUS (2009/2010, 2003/2004)
- USP Teaching Excellence Award (2011, 2010, 2009, 2005)
"My aspiration, for my students as well as myself, is to strive toward precise and rigorous thinking; from this, I believe, intellectual conviction follows. That I try to bring about such thinking primarily through the teaching of writing is therefore both appropriate (since writing is so much about choosing the exact words) and challenging (since those exact words or even exactness in language can often prove elusive)."