About myself
I joined the Mathematics and Mathematics Education (MME) Academic Group, National Institute of Education (NIE) in July 2009 as Assistant Professor. NIE is an institute of the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. My first degree is from the National University of Singapore, where I obtained my B.Sc. (Hons) in Mathematics. I completed my M.Sc. (by Research) in Mathematics at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in 2002. Then I pursued my PhD in Computer Science at the University of Birmingham in 2003. After my graduation in 2006, I returned to Singapore in 2007 and worked in the education sector for almost two years, respectively in Singapore Polytechnic and Raffles Institution (Junior College).
I am married to my best friend, Teo Hwee Hoong, and have three lovely children: Samuel, Ella and Esther. Here are some cool pictures I took in various places I had been to.
Career history
I started off in 1998 as a teacher at Raffles Junior College in Singapore, where I taught Mathematics and Further Mathematics for the next five years. In 2000, I embarked on a part-times basis the programme of Masters of Science (by Research) offered by the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) at the National Institute of Education, studying domain theory under the supervision of Professor Zhao Dongsheng. In 2002, I graduated with my M.Sc. thesis titled “Theory of Frames”.
In 2003, I received a scholarship from The University of Birmingham (UoB), United Kingdom to embark on a Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. I left the teaching service in Singapore and started my Ph.D. studies on 1 October 2003. In my Ph.D. research work, I focused on applying domain theory to understand programming language semantics. At the School of Computer Science where I spent three fruitful years of my life as a Ph.D. student, I received the finest graduate education the world has to offer, and established the deep and lasting friendships. Under the supervision of Professor Martin Hötzel Escardó, I successfully graduated with my Ph.D. thesis titled “Operational Domain Theory and Topology of Sequential Functional Programming Languages” in 2006.
Shortly after my return to Singapore in 2006, I worked as Mathematics Lecturer in Singapore Polytechnic for a semester, and then started my second stint with Raffles Institution (Junior College) as a Teacher Mentor that lasted for almost two years.
In July 2009, I joined the Mathematics and Mathematics Education (MME) Academic Group of the National Institute of Education (NIE) under the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) as Assistant Professor.
Career vision
My career vision is guided by the following personal mission:
“To impart Singapore students and teachers computational thinking in terms of both content and pedagogical knowledge, and equip them with the technological skill of coding as an essential 21st century competency so that the nation is adaptive and resilient enough to take on the challenges of the future.”
Computational thinking. This is a scientific paradigm first introduced by Jeannette Wing, corporate vice-president of Microsoft Research, in her three-page “Computational Thinking” viewpoint in the March 2006 issue of the Communications of ACM (Association for Computing Machinery). In my own words, computational thinking is a paradigm of tackling large complex problems by systematically (i) breaking these down into smaller tasks, (ii) finding representations for them so as to make them tractable, and in most cases, (iii) creating efficient algorithms to solve them. Computational thinking is the way a computer scientist thinks. Intrinsically, computational thinking is closely related to mathematical thinking.
Coding. This refers explicitly to writing computer programs in a programming language. It is about giving precise instructions for a computer to execute an algorithm with the objective of solving a problem.
My career vision aligns well with NIE’s V3SK (Enhanced Value-Skill-Knowledge) model: content and pedagogical knowledge are identified strands of Knowledge (K), technological skill is identified under Skill (S), and adaptiveness and resilience falls under Teacher Identity (V2).
Career activities
To realize this vision, I devote myself to the activities centred on Research, Teaching and Service – the three different aspects of my career, each of which is elaborated in the respective link listed above.
I am the Programme Leader for the graduate programme, Master of Science (Mathematics for Educators) – an M.Sc. by coursework specializing in content mathematics. Prospective students should visit this link, and are welcome to drop me an email.
I also supervise graduate students who wish to pursue Ph.D., M.Sc., and/or M.A. in MME at NIE. Interested students are advised to browse my Research page, find out more about the respective programmes at this link, and/or drop me an email.