Two J2 students rated their level of preparedness for the upcoming GCE ‘A’ Level Examinations on a scale of 1-10, 1 being extremely unprepared and 10 being extremely prepared.
 
Alicia Goh, 18, from Nanyang Junior College, gave herself a 5. Elisa Lin, 18, from Saint Andrew’s Junior College, said 3. 
 
“I didn’t do well for [the Mid-Year Examinations], [this] lowered my confidence. I don’t think my foundation is strong enough and time is running out,” says Alicia, justifying the low score mentioned. 
 
Elisa says, “I know I’m lacking a lot of practice but I still procrastinate…and end up 'taking the easier way out' by studying notes or content [instead].”

Due to the worsening COVID-19 situation in late March, the “Circuit Breaker” was announced. All schools, including junior colleges, closed down. Lessons continued online at home, also known as home-based learning. 
 
Ms Clare Loh, 28, who teaches General Paper at Yishun-Innova Junior College, says, “[Home-based learning] has disrupted some of the momentum that normally builds in term 2 - since we went into full home-based learning and moved the holiday forward.”
 
For her, the greatest challenge of home-based learning was “being able to ensure that everyone is engaged”.
 
“In a face-to-face setting, we can normally check if everyone is engaged by looking at their body language or expressions. But for online lessons, many students feel uncomfortable keeping the video camera on throughout the lesson,” she says.

Elisa, from the arts stream, initially struggled with adjusting to home-based learning. “The homework [information] and submissions were all over the place and [it was] quite confusing. I needed to rely on myself more for studying independently. My self-control and time management was not very good,” says Elisa. 
 
Alicia, from the science stream, felt she required more discipline when studying from home. Learning was “pretty fast paced” and the workload was heavier as compared to before schools closed.