Testimonials by my students

On Patience: 

“He is good in controlling the class and being able to communicate well with the students.  He can answer our questions and even if we don’t get it on the first round, he will still explain patiently. He is good in delivering [the] information. A very good facilitator.”

“Mr Patrick was patient and understanding towards us. When we were having any discussion with him, he would patiently listen to us first before commenting anything. Also, even if any of our points raised were wrong, he did not correct us in a strict tone but tried to understand why we would have come up with that conclusion. He then slowly reasoned [with] us [on] the correct ways that things should be done or handled.”

“Thanks for your patience and understanding throughout [these] 16 weeks. I felt that the class at times have tested your tolerance but you still managed to stay calm and collected. I respect you for your patience and tolerance. Even though this is just my elective, I still manage to gain many insights from your lessons. Hope to see you around in school. Take care!”

“I have also enjoyed learning Research methods with Patrick because I feel that he has been very patient and has taught us well. Thank you very much!”

On being understanding: 

“..Another memorable thing was to have a nice and friendly facilitator who has been very understanding towards us, instead of the usual strict or serious ones who only add on to the dullness of the lesson.”

On the use of questions for Self-reflection: 

“He uses questions to help draw out my understanding of the problem and he will also explain the topic in a more in-depth manner if any of his students has any difficulties understanding the problem statement.”

“He questions us and makes us think further about the thoughts that we have came up with. He challenges these thoughts and whether they are [workable]. He also helps us to think [from various perspectives] and [explore alternatives] to explain our plans.”

On Steadfast Engagement with the lesson: 

“He is engaged with his students during the discussion. He presents with all his heart and he never does it the easy way.”

On inspiring students and upholding Fairness:  

“He inspires his students to work harder. He guides us steadily and corrects our mistakes frankly. He believes in upholding fairness and thus he allows each student to voice out ideas confidently.”

On Issues Exploration and acceptance of alternative suggestions: 

“…the facilitator takes the effort to make the learning as convenient and palatable as possible. Even when we enquire about issues which may deviate slightly from the main problem, he never turns a deaf ear and always replies with an answer.”

“Mr Patrick was good at facilitating the lessons and motivating us when we put in a good effort for our presentations. This is especially so when we do not know what should be done. He has also emphasised on what’s important and did not discourage us when we are not clear of certain things. He will also elaborate more to make us understand.”

 On Focus:

“He is engaged with the class. He concentrates fully on the problem statement and always tries to [encourage] us to speak up more. He is well-liked by my class and I definitely enjoyed his lessons.”

On the provision of relevant examples: 

“He elaborates during his presentation and gives sufficient examples, using graphs and pictures to illustrate his points.”

On Simplification of theories and ideas: 

“He explains things that students find it hard to understand and simplify them so that we could understand better. He is also good at making the lesson more fun and interesting, keeping us interested.”

 On Class Observation: 

“I think that he is very good in observing everyone in the class because the comments he always gives are really true and that it really happened. He is also very concerned if we understand the problem and the things that we are doing. He will encourage us if we have doubts.”

On Lesson and Classroom Management: 

“He guides us in the direction on how we should solve the problem. He also took a lot of effort to address each and every one of us at an individual level or as a class. I feel that he did a really good job. He’s able to make everybody feel comfortable with the lesson and makes the effort to ensure that everybody understand the lesson.”

On Amicability: 

“He makes lesson enjoyable for the students. The important thing about attending the lesson conducted by him is that we really see his personality shine through in a light-hearted lesson. More of an observatory lesson.”

“His cheery character makes us feel at ease and we find that we can do our work in a more cheerful manner. [There is] no stress and everything flows more smoothly as everyone is happy.”

“Mr Patrick is good at communicating with us and helping us in the understanding [of the lessons]. He also showed concern for us and helped us when we are unsure but on the whole, I feel that he is one of the good facilitators as he is approachable.”

On Teacher-Student Communication: 

“He communicates well with the students and I am sure that the students like him very much.”

On Flexibility: 

“He approaches our ideas in a different way. He often encourages us to think of ways to solve a problem. Our mode of presentation is flexible”.

On Precision: 
“He speaks quite clearly and he is patient in teaching as well. Points are being brought across clearly in class. Feedback is precise so that we know where we should or are able to improve from.”

On my Blog for Students:
“[On your blog for students], instead of [the] typical catharsis, it really does have educational values. I’ve been reading the blog for some time and your entries are really worth reading. [From stuff like the way we should present], I’ve been taking notes on that and working on it.”

On being Systematic:
“I see a very systematic order in your daily lesson which I feel is something good.”

On the provision of insights during the lesson:

“Mr Patrick raises all the positive points that each group has contributed, and he indicates learning points that all of us can learn.”

“Thank you Patrick for facilitating [the class]. It has been interesting going through cross cultural communication [studies] with you as the facilitator as you always have quite a lot of insights into some of the topics……thank you for all your dedication [in] facilitating the class. I understand that it takes even more effort for the facilitator to come to class than most students so I really appreciate it. Again, thank you for everything!”

 
On Meticulousness and providing students with Participating and Learning Opportunities:
“Hi Patrick, thanks for your guidance this semester. It was great having you as my facilitator. [I have] read the email [that] you [have] sent me [and the class] and I really appreciate how much you actually value every one of your students…You will bother to [ask] questions and pay attention to every single presentation that we made…I see that you do pay attention to every single detail that we give. The questions after every presentation do give us a depth in understanding our own work further. On top of that, you do give us a chance to speak up. For instance, when a student is quieter in the team, you would pose a question to him or her…I feel that [this] is a very good approach in encouraging all the students to participate in the team discussion. Your [presentations] are always clear. Because of all these reasons, your class is the class which I look forward [to] most out of my [five] classes. It has been a great semester with you and [I] hope to see you around school in the coming semester. Thanks for facilitating us well.”

On being impartial during individual and team assessment and having an open mind:

“He gives detailed comments for both the teams and individuals. In his comment, he always gives encouragement and awards the person with the grade that he / she deserves.”

“I find that you’re a real morale-booster because I find that you’re the only facilitator who comes in to class with an open mind about his students. You listened to every student, no matter whether or not they are doing well in class or otherwise…I find that you have been a really fair facilitator when it comes to grading your students. You grade students based on their participation and the overall performance of the student itself, and not based on any stereotypical thinking that might have been built up in your mind when you facilitated the class…”

  

“You are approachable and I can see that there’s an easy interaction between the students and you. Students are not afraid to come up to you if they ever needed help. Another [positive aspect of your facilitating style] is that you know when to get serious, at times signalling that it is no time for jokes…but to pay attention to the very important message that someone is trying to make. The third quality about you is that you are very systematic. You may.. be nice and all but if the students doesn’t do any of the compulsory assignments…, you will mark accordingly. I find this to be fair and unbiased and I acknowledge this. ”

 

On being Receptive to students’ responses during lessons:

 

“…we had a really receptive facilitator [who has] also helped us in our understanding and learning… He was really apt at picking up points in our presentation, [and] seeking clarity that was beneficial both for him and for our understanding and learning growth. ”

 

On Motivating students:

“Mr Tay was good at praising us and give good comments and feedback every time we did something good, which is actually motivating us to do better in each lesson to aim for a ‘A’. Even if we didn’t do so great on a certain day, he still gives encouraging comments and actually leaves a positive impact on a student.”

“Mr Patrick, thanks for teaching us! You are a great facilitator! I like the way you teach because you are always encouraging us and really give us comments that would drive and motivate us. There are no weaknesses [in terms of your facilitation style].”

 On providing additional insights during lessons:

“Mr Patrick is good at articulating his knowledge on communication skills. He has a lot of interesting facts to share [such as the ways] to capture a good image in a camera, which is extra knowledge for the class. ”

 On creating a good impression during a single lesson while covering a colleague’s class:

“Mr Patrick was a temporary facilitator taking over [our facilitator's] class. Though it was his first day, he managed to be friendly with everyone in class. He is able to communicate with us well and attends to us whenever we have problems. He is polite and compliments [us] whenever we list points that are relevant. He is patient with us and tries to explain further if we are having doubts.”

 On connecting with youths:

“Mr Patrick was good at communicating with us as youths. Our way of communicating is different but he is able to talk to us in a way which we are comfortable with.”

 On my comments to students:

“Mr Patrick takes the extra effort to write longer comments and explaining [concepts] to us.”

“Mr Patrick is good in explaining certain things that we did not understand. He has also gone through the problems we have faced with the class. ..We will have a class discussion and many ideas will come out. This has helped me to understand the problem better. He also wrote down things we have learnt for the day in his comments to us. This is good because we can remember the [concepts] when we read our comments.”

 On going the extra mile:

“I feel that you are one facilitator that has done more than you should have. You always have insightful comments for us. You have also responded to my email queries in a very fast and responsive manner, clearing my doubts. You have also stayed back and enabled me to understand my test answers in a better manner…it is also great that you went group by group to answer our enquiries. You are a good facilitator!”

 On the provision of a quality education:

“Overall, I am very much truly satisfied with the quality education and service that you have provided us with. It was never a dull moment when you were around and even though you may be nice to us, you will still challenge us to do our best in order for us to attain our desired marks.  I truly thank you for this experience and I hope to be able to get the privilege to study under you in future modules like marketing and hope that the next batch of students will get to enjoy and appreciate the lessons [by you]. ”

 On being Caring:

“Dear Mr Tay, thank you for your guidance [for this module] for the past 15 weeks. it’s my honour to have you as my facilitator, [as] you fulfill [the qualities of a facilitator]. You are always caring. Be it in work or administrative [matters], you never fail to inform us or provide us with help. I really appreciate what you have done for our class. Frankly speaking, I can’t find any weaknesses in terms of your facilitation skills. You have always ensured that we comprehend what you are teaching and you provide additional help when necessary. On the whole, thank you very much. I hope that someday I will be able to work with you.”

 On the Application of theoretical concepts in students’ daily lives:

“…Thank you Mr Tay for everything. Your guidance and critique have definitely helped me a lot. You have also shown me how this [Communication]module will actually be relevant to my life and how to put it [into good use] for my future endeavour.”

 On being a Class Mentor:

“Thank you for being our mentor for the past 15 lessons. You have been consistent in your lesson as well as guiding us. It is really good, as most of us have enjoyed and liked your lesson as they are abstract and it enables us to think more when it comes to design [work] for the past few lessons. I really enjoyed it. Thank you!