Mr Ng with his form class in 2007, showing them what a tropical rainforest sounds, feels and looks like.

He believes in the power of visuals and personal experience, and uses teaching tools such as documentaries, skits and trips outside school to demonstrate concepts and ideas. He has led his pupils on Math trails - trips to the nearby NTUC hypermart to learn about numbers and money. These visits to the hypermart are also featured in English lessons where pupils compared the differences between hypermarts, supermarkets and minimarts.

On another occasion, when Mr Ng realised that the notion of a tropical rainforest meant nothing to his pupils because they had not seen one before, he organised a trip to Bukit Timah Hill so that they could experience the sights, sounds and smells of a rainforest. To inject interest into a dry topic on ancient China, he organised a visit to the Asian Civilisations Museum so that pupils could see the costumes and exhibits of that period. Such activities create new opportunities to "open minds". To him, the intangible rewards of teaching lie in the "light of understanding in pupils' eyes" and the "glow of knowing".

Raising social consciousness among pupils

Mr Ng believes that his involvement in social and community activities should also bring benefit to Jing Shan Primary School. Eight years ago, he got involved in a Youth Expedition Programme (YEP) by the Singapore International Foundation and helped to build a school in Cambodia. Now, when he gets wind of Youth Expedition Programmes that require assistance, he invites the participants to give presentations at the school to raise awareness and funds for these worthwhile projects.

Mr Ng with his pupils on a trip to the Asian Civilisations Museum, to help make learning about ancient China come alive for them.

Two years ago, he and his colleagues also helped in the construction of an English-language classroom in India. Participating teachers were each given a ceramic tile, and asked to write and illustrate a chosen noun on his/her tile. The YEP group then brought the tiles to India and used them to create a learning wall in the classroom.

Another project Mr Ng has introduced to the school is SingTel Fold A Heart, a fund-raising activity of the SingTel Touching Lives fund. For each folded heart that SingTel collects, it donates $1 to charity. The school has taken part in this activity four times, during art classes as well as assembly periods. "We want to cultivate a culture of helping the less fortunate, and this is one way to show that it doesn't always have to be through financial assistance," he explains. Such efforts also gave the less well-off pupils the opportunity to contribute to charity.

When natural disasters struck Szechuan and Pakistan, Mr Ng helped raise awareness and organise fund-raisers at the school. Such projects increased pupils' awareness of what is happening around them, and helps to develop a spirit of generosity and kindness. "I always tell them that even if they can afford to give only 10 cents, so long as it's from the heart, then it's a great gift."

Having bagged the OYEA, Mr Ng will continue to engage his pupils in and out of the classroom. Confessing to an affinity for at-risk and slower learners, he wants to strive to ignite the "light of understanding" among them through experiential and other teaching methods. At the same time, he'll continue to be on the lookout for win-win partnerships that can contribute to character development for all pupils in the school.