RVRC Fellow Sadaf Ansari has won multiple teaching awards both as an individual and as a member of a teaching team. She has consistently struck colleagues, in RVRC and beyond, for her thoughtful, reflective, and proactive approach to her teaching and to her students’ experience. She is a caring educator who is highly attentive to students’ well-being.

This is the case in the classroom and on the many fieldtrips that she leads as part of her courses, which often focus on questions of spatiality in Singapore. Her teaching emphasizes student-led discussions, activities that connect with the world beyond the classroom, and the importance of reinforcing students’ learning. She has innovated through her deployment of blended and hybrid learning in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic. Even before the onset of the pandemic, she helped design and deploy a framework for identifying students at risk, which was implemented across the courses at RVRC.

Sadaf’s documentation of her teaching is strong, with a robust teaching philosophy that is intellectually grounded and authentic. Her teaching emphasizes what the students are thinking during lessons, as she believes that the freedom to explore ideas establishes a sense of purpose for students through discussion and asking questions. Where possible, she designs learning experiences within authentic and relevant contexts with the use of place-based learning. Sadaf fosters deep learning by prioritising class time for students to learn iteractively. Interdisciplinarity in learning is encouraged by inviting students to question, reason, and synthesize knowledge across domains.

In recognition of her sustained excellence in teaching and learning at RVRC, the RCTEC welcomes Ms. Sadaf Ansari to the Residential Colleges Teaching Excellence Award Honour Roll.