Teacher's View-Points : Chemistry

I would not like to comment on the Chemistry results but perhaps I could write an article which will benefit future pupils. The Chemistry examination questions have over the years undergone radical changes in content and style of the questions.

A major proportion of the marks goes to free response (or essay type) questions. Pupils generally find great difficulty here because of inability to organise their thoughts or put their thoughts into words that the examiner can understand. Studying good model answers is a great help in guiding the pupils on how to answer these questions.

Besides this, there are the structural questions which require short and concise answers. Generally these questions are very direct and the pupils either know the answers or not. Some pupils do very well in this paper.

Then, of course, there is the paper on objective questions. This paper is everybody's favorite (including teachers) However, except for the brilliant pupils, the average mark was about 25 out of 40.

Next is the practical examination which is to test whether a pupil can carry out instructions, calculate and make logical deductions from their results. To do well in this paper (which is really an achievement), the pupils should have as much practice as possible writing out their class experiments, should remain calm and alert and be able to organise themselves so as to be able to finish an experiment in the shortest possible time.

In conclusion, may I add that a pupil would do well in his Chemistry if he is prepared to put in conscientious effort.

By KK Chua - Senior Chemistry Teacher
Page 35 60th Issue 1981 Optimist Malacca High School