2023 NCHS SS PRELIM QP

Name: Register Number: Class: PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION 2023 SECONDARY FOUR EXPRESS HUMANITIES (SOCIAL STUDIES) 2272/01 2273/01 2274/01 2287/01 Additional Material: Writing Paper 23 Aug 2023, Wednesday 1 hour 45 minutes READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST Write your name, class and index number on all the work you hand in. Write in dark blue or black pen. Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid. Answer all questions. Please start your answer for Section B on a fresh page. At the end of the examination, fasten all your work for Sections A and B separately. The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question. The total marks for this paper is 50. Setters: Mr Gary Lim and Ms Ng Bi Ru This document consists of 7 printed pages including the cover page. For Marker’s Use Parent’s Signature: _________________

2 NCHS 2023 4E5N PRELIM SECTION A (Source-based Case Study) Answer all questions. Living in a Diverse Society Study the Background Information and the sources carefully, and then an swer all the questions. You may use any of the sources to help you answer the questions, in addition to those sources which you are told to use. In answering the questions you should use your knowledge of the issue to help you interpret and evaluate the sources. 1 Study Source A. What is the message of this source? Explain your answer using details from the cartoon. [5] 2 Study Sources B and C. In what ways are the sources different in showing how COVID-19 affected students’ learning in Singapore? Explain your answer. [6] 3 Study Source D. Is Source D helpful in understanding about students ’ learning during COVID-19? Explain your answer. [7] 4 Study Sources E and F. Does Source E make Source F surprising? Explain your answer. [7] 5 ‘COVID-19 has worsened students’ learning.’ Using sources in this case study, explain how far you would agree with this statement. [10]

3 How has students’ learning been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? BACKGROUND INFORMATION Read this carefully. It may help you to answer some of the questions. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. As a result, many countries were forced into a situation of lockdown to minimise the spread o f COVID-19 and to protect public health. This also meant that school-going children would not be able to attend school and had to stay home. Thus, many countries adopted an approach of remote learning where students continued to have the opportunity to learn from their homes. This could be in the form of video conferencing to use of online education platforms. There have been mixed responses to this approach. Supporters of remote learning shar ed that it allows students to be more independent learners and even allows teachers t o customise the lesson based on the needs of students. Whereas opponents argue that remote learning is not as effective as face- to-face teaching due to uneven access to important resources such as digital devices or the internet. Study the following sources to find out the impacts that the COVID-19 p andemic had on students’ learning. Source A: A cartoon published in an American newspaper in July 2020.

4 Source B: From an article published in the Straits Times newspaper, April 2020. Besides the availability of devices, there are other factors that determi ne the extent to which children can reap the benefits of Home-Based Learning (HBL). For example, a child who has his own room may find it easier to concentrate on HBL, while three children sharing on e laptop in the living room may have more difficulty focusing on the assignmen ts. In addition, wealthier parents have the option of paying for online tuition, which could boost HBL for their children. Beyond Social Services, a charity that serves low-income households, notes that Covid-19 affects poor families disproportionately. Volunteer-run free tuition sessions for needy families have ground to a halt under the circuit breaker. Source C: From a parliamentary reply to a Member of Parliament ’s question about the impact of COVID-19 on students’ learning in Singapore, published in October 2021. We keep schools open as far as possible, and by ensuring that learning can still take place as effectively as possible even under HBL conditions. The overall performance of our students in the 2020 national examinations was also comparable to that of previous years, affirming that there were no major learning losses. Amidst these challenges, the crisis has presented us an opportunity to emerge stronger. Many of our students have also become more self-directed and independent in their learning, and more resilient to disruptions. There will be some impact on learning with the lost of conventional in-person schooling, especially the loss of CCAs and other informal interpersonal interactions. That is why we try to resume those activities where we can. But our assessment is that the impact is not major thus far. Source D: From an interview with a high school student studying in Florida, America. This was published in September 2020. I was thrilled when I heard we ’d be pivoting to a purely digital environment. I ’m an introvert who deals with social anxiety, but in an online classroom, I don ’t have to feel apprehensive about speaking up. I struggle to raise my hand in class. Now, I can just ask whenever I want in online chat. I ’m as calm as I can be, in my safe space at home. These days, I wake up around 8 am and plan a to-do list. After that, I jump right into my homework and take a short break every hour and a half. We ’re sent PowerPoint presentations and short videos to simulate all the lessons. I don’t have to worry about getting to all of my classes on time, and because of that, I’m much more efficient.

5 Source E: From the East Asian Forum website, published in October 2020. It is a website for analysis and research on matters relating to public policy, centred on the Asia Pacific region. The first three months of home-based learning captures variations in the learning practices of Indonesian students. Unequal access to facilities and infrastructure, differences in remote- teaching abilities, the type and location of schools, as well as students’ environment at home contribute to these variations. Distance learning relies heavily on network coverage, yet the data shows that coverag e varies highly between regions. According to Statistics Indonesia, in 2018 more villages in Java received a strong signal compared to other regions of Indonesia. Because of this, many teachers are unable to teach to the best of their ability. In many cases, their students have either no smartphone or internet access. These teachers visit their students and usually only hand out assignments (without teaching at all). This practice is common in public scho ols in rural areas. Source F: From an article published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), published in 2022. Schools in the Republic of Korea were better prepared than in many countries due to the introduction of the previous national masterplan ’s ‘SMART Education 2011 –2015’ initiative, which had a strong focus on the integration of digital technology. Korea also focused on supporting vulnerable learners to narrow learning gaps. A scheme was launc