The Humanities department aims to provide student-centric, values driven education based on key Humanities principles of critical thinking, empathy and sense of inquiry. This will be achieved through our signature E³ Humanities Programme: Engaging minds, Empowering Individuals, Enriching Community. This programme aims to:

engage students with experiential and authentic learning experiences through which they will acquire knowledge and life skills;

empower students to be positive young leaders with the ability to lead themselves and people around them; and

enrich our community through our students who will contribute as active and responsible citizens.

Through varied level programmes, Vistarians make connections with what they have learnt in class and attempt to relate to real-life examples or case studies. Our dedicated teachers customise various packages to suit different learning needs of students.

Geography

As students prepare for a knowledge-based economy, they need to be digitally ready. That means having access to digital technology, knowing how to use it and being able to create with it. Hence, in NV’s Geography lessons students have been given opportunities to dip their toes into the water, and experience the potential of Geographic Information System (GIS). They learn to read and create digital maps, and find out how and why information is represented as such. This helped them understand geographical concepts of place, space and scale simultaneously. As part of the experiential based learning experience, our students also conducted Geographical Investigation (GI) on the topic of Housing, Weather and Tourism. Through GI, students were able to witness how Geography comes to life and applied in the real world. In addition, a group of upper secondary geography students also had the privilege to participate in the NUS Geography Challenge.

History

History lessons are inquiry based in nature. Lower Secondary students are given the tools and lenses they need to discover the world and its past. As part of the experiential based learning experience, our students will also get to visit the Asian Civilization Museum, Changi Chapel Museum and enjoys tours of our Heritage sites such as the Peranakan Museum and the charming streets of Katong. To enhance their learning experience, students enjoy live and interactive Historical Investigation lessons in the Lower Secondary via the Historical exploration WIX site created by their very own teachers as well as direct source exploration via the use of authentic historical sources. The Secondary 2 Historical Investigation is an exciting end to the lower secondary learning experience as students enjoy an inter disciplinary project with the Literature department where their final Historical Investigation product is that of a poem and a sketch based on the discoveries they have made during their historical investigation. Upper Secondary History students continue to see History come alive in their classroom where they enjoy ICT based lessons and role plays on pivotal events in History including WW II and The Cold War. Students also enjoy further experiential learning by participating in the Istana Heritage Challenge, National history Challenge and War and Diplomacy which is a game based learning experience.

Social Studies

The Social Studies curriculum aspires toward the growth of our students as informed, concerned and participative citizens. At the heart of the Singapore Social Studies curriculum is the preparation of our students to be citizens of tomorrow by helping them to better understand the interconnectedness of Singapore and the world they live in, and appreciate the complexities of the human experience. Drawing on aspects of society that are of meaning and interest to the students, Social Studies seeks to ignite students’ curiosity to inquire into real-world issues that concern their lives. To help students attain relevant knowledge and understanding about these issues and to allow them to develop critical and reflective thinking skills, our students conduct the Issue Investigations in collaboration with the Values-in-Action projects. The Secondary 3 students were tasked to carry out research work to find out more about one of the following groups of people – the migrant workers, people with disabilities, those from low-income households and the elderly. They had to conduct interviews and surveys to find out more about the needs and wants of these groups of people, then propose possible solutions to the problems surfaced. To do this, students contacted various Voluntary Welfare Organisations (VWOs) and conducted visits with their classmates. Through such inquiry and authentic learning experiences, students are able to appreciate multiple perspectives and be inspired to show concern for the society and the world they live.