OUR TEACHERS
Mr Stewart Teng
Head of Mathematics Curriculum
Biography
As an experienced Mathematics educator of more than 20 years, Mr Teng has coached hundreds of Primary and Secondary students towards scoring distinctions for their Maths exams.
It is no surprise that students who apply his methods consistently score distinctions in their Maths exams. In fact, his students’ distinction rates of 88% for PSLE students and 80% for O Level students are way above national averages.
A testament to an illustrious career in the Ministry of Education, Mr Teng has been awarded the prestigious Outstanding Youth in Education (OYEA) Award and made vital contributions to education in his capacity as Head of Department and Vice-Principal (Designate) of one of the top performing schools in Singapore. Throughout his stellar MOE career, Mr Teng’s passion in maths education never wavered.
After leaving the MOE fraternity, Mr Teng co-founded and built VisibleMath Academy, one of the most impactful Maths programmes, and had the opportunity to help even more students improve their mathematical understanding and Maths exam results. He also conducted training for Maths HODs and teachers in schools, so that his methods can enable teachers to teach Maths better. Mr Teng is also co-author of the popular Maths assessment book series Visible Thinking Math and Getmethinking.
Mr Joel Chang
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Mr Joel Chang teaches Mathematics at the Secondary and Pre-University levels.
A Mathematics fanatic since primary school, he deeply enjoys the rigour of learning complex levels of Mathematics, allowing him to consistently ace Mathematics and graduate from NUS with First Class Honours.
Learning Mathematics at an advanced level gives Mr Chang the opportunity to combine his passion for mathematical theory and application through his research on machine learning.
Always the enthusiastic Mathematics teacher, Mr Chang has taught Mathematics at various levels of understanding—from high school students to university undergraduates—equipping students to form insightful connections intuitively and propels them to excel academically. Mr Chang finds deep satisfaction in igniting interest in Mathematics among his students, and pushing them to explore concepts beyond the school curriculum.
Ms Joanna Lee
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Joanna has more than 10 years of teaching experience in school enrichment programmes and conducting school workshops. She is passionate about nurturing and training students to be independent learners reaching their fullest potentials.
Joanna is a dedicated teacher, specialising in helping students to stretch beyond their perceived capabilities. They are motivated under her guidance as she breaks down Maths concepts into bite sized basics that are easy to understand. She enjoys building students’ confidence, which is the key to their success.
Ms Deborah Sng
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Deborah Sng teaches Mathematics and English at Cognitus Academy. In addition, she has more than 10 years of experience conducting courses in drama, debate, public speaking, academic as well as life skills workshops in pre-schools, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions. Deborah loves to impact minds through teaching. Students, young and old alike, gravitate towards her as she has the ability to engage and connect with them. She finds it rewarding whenever students grow and develop their knowledge and skills, often with that sparkle in their eyes.
Deborah holds a certificate with a Grade 6 Drama with Distinction from Trinity College London. Whenever possible, she will inject drama-based activities and fun in her workshops and classes to engage her students. Deborah’s greatest satisfaction comes from being able to impact the lives of her students and she has received many positive feedback from both her students as well as her students’ parents.
Deborah graduated with a degree in Mass Communications from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT). She was a multi-award director who has spent more than a decade working in the world’s leading advertising agencies prior to her teaching career. A self-starter, Deborah will push the envelope and constantly challenges herself to give of her best. She will never give up once she has set a goal for herself, be it in the area of teaching, drama, advertising or even conquering Mt Everest!
Ms Nawirah Nordeen
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Nawirah Nordeen completed her degree in Psychology with Magna Cum Laude. Always passionate about teaching English and committed to her students, she has guided hundreds of students since she started teaching in 2012.
Ms Nawirah Nordeen teaches in the primary and secondary programme at Cognitus Academy. Having been an English tutor since 2012, she has developed a passion for teaching the language and a love for nurturing young learners.
As an avid reader and writer, Ms Nawirah continues to have a fascination for the English Language and enjoys sharing its nuances with others.
After achieving A* and A’s for her PSLE, she attended Tanjong Katong Girls’ School where her sterling O Level results opened doors for her to Meridian Junior College.
Inspired by her teachers and driven by a passion for the subject, Ms Nawirah aced her General Paper. After great ponderance at the post-A Levels crossroads, Ms Nawirah was led by a curiosity to understand human behaviour and eventually decided to read Psychology in university where she graduated in 2017 with Magna Cum Laude.
Apart from academic rigour, her Bachelor course gave her an opportunity to intern in London. Her internship with the UK government exposed her to multiple facets of British schools and affirmed her desire to connect and work with youths.
With proper guidance and diligence, Ms Nawirah believes that every student has the ability to unleash great potential. She strongly advocates for strong literacy and effective communication skills, which set up youths for lifelong success
Ms Shabbna Feroz Khan
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Shabbna earned her degree from the National University of Singapore, majoring in philosophy with a minor in English Literature. Before that, she achieved a sterling academic record for English scoring A* for PSLE, A1 for O Levels and 7 out of 7 for IB English at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent).
An English Language and English Literature tutor since 2013, Shabbna strongly recognises that each child has a distinct voice and dedicates herself to honing and nurturing her students’ individual voices.
Academically, Shabbna has always excelled in the English Language and humanities. Attaining an A* and A1 for English Language in the PSLE and O Level examinations respectively, she headed to Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) where she graduated with an IB Diploma, scoring a 7 in English A1 at the Higher Level.
It was at the National University of Singapore that Shabbna found a discipline that quenched her thirst for knowledge – Philosophy. She values and encourages questioning and independent thinking, often employing the Socratic method in her teaching.
She supplemented her hunger for all things antiquity with a Minor in English Literature, which further fuelled her passion for the English Language. Every lesson she conducts becomes an opportunity to rub off good reading habits on her students.
With a strong inclination towards social service, Shabbna opted for an internship with the Ministry of Social and Family Development in 2013 where she saw first-hand the hardship some children had to endure. The experience still plays a key role in motivating her to work with children.
In every lesson, Shabbna wishes to impart her love for the language to her students, with the aim that they, too, will grow to develop their voice, speak, and be heard.
Ms Cheryl Wong
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Cheryl Wong teaches English at the Primary and Secondary level at Cognitus Academy. Her love for the language is evident in her excellent English results, scoring A* for English at PSLE, A1 at O Level, and A for General Paper at the A Level. Ms Wong’s passion for the language inspires her students to enjoy the language and excel in their English examinations.
A Theatre Studies major from the National University of Singapore, her love for teaching started from volunteering at social services and community theatre projects. Ms Wong melds her expertise in teaching English with her knowledge of theatre and drama, and constantly seeks new pedagogy to combine both in order to ignite greater interests for the English language in her students.
Being in Cognitus Academy gives Ms Wong the opportunity to teach English in her most natural way because she believes in the role of the arts and humanities in developing critical thinking, communication skills and empathy in students.
Ms Heidi Boon
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Ms Boon graduated with a degree in English from the National University of Singapore, and has more than a decade of experience teaching English privately. As a certified MOE relief teacher, she has also taught at Anglo-Chinese School and River Valley High. She was also a teacher and centre manager for an established English Language centre.
Ms Heidi Boon has taught classes at the Vietnamese embassy and given private lessons to the ambassador’s children. Deeply passionate about the use and teaching of the English Language, Ms Boon also writes for online publications and bespoke articles for private clients.
Ms Jacqueline Tay
Education Consultant / Teacher
Biography
Passionate about language, Ms Jacqueline Tay finds joy and purpose in teaching English, leading her to teach English and English Literature at different levels over the period of about 3 years. Now, at Cognitus Academy, she teaches English at the primary and secondary level.
In teaching, Ms Jacqueline draws inspiration from her own educators from her formative years, remembering and emulating those who have taught from the heart. She believes that her overall academic excellence and her subsequent achievement of the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature at NUS is a sure result of good educators who teach beyond the minimum.
As the world handles increasingly complex information flows, Jacqueline particularly believes in nurturing critical thinkers who are able to discern events or text with clarity and nuance. This is made possible by building a strong foundation in language skills. On top of that, she believes in nurturing creativity and independence in students. Most importantly, she always looks forward to learning from her own students!
Cognitus Academy Teacher Training Programme
Teachers form the foundation of our English programmes and are screened meticulously and trained rigorously before they enter the classrooms to teach.
Having been a teacher trainer at the National Institute of Education (NIE), Dr Daniel Chua has not only crafted a solid curriculum for our students, but also an effective training programme for our teachers.
Cognitus Academy teachers are interviewed at least three times and must exhibit the following qualities:
✅ Professionalism
✅ Compassion
✅ Dedication
✅ Passionate
✅ Inquisitive
All teachers appointed by Cognitus Academy undergo an intensive 3-month training programme in order to develop the following core competencies:
✅ Positive classroom culture
✅ Lesson preparation
✅ Lesson delivery
✅ Assessment and feedback
Whereas these competencies take months or even years to develop, the Teacher Training Programme puts the teacher on a strong footing at the start of their teaching journey.
During the training programme, teachers will be trained through the following modes:
✅ Classroom observations (weekly for at least two months)
✅ Reports of classroom observations and reflections (weekly)
✅ Weekly review meetings with mentors
✅ Weekly reading reports (see reading list below)
✅ Curriculum design exercises
✅ Diagnostic reports of students’ weaknesses
✅ Sterling results achieved in internally conducted English exams at the PSLE, O, and A-Levels.
(Note: Our teachers must be able to achieve strong results before expecting students to do so.)
Apart from honing their craft in teaching, our teachers must develop academic and philosophical roots in their pedagogy by studying the following materials in-depth.
✅ Singapore Chronicles: Education (S Gopinathan)
✅ Essential Motivation in the Classroom (Ian Gilbert)
✅ Critical Thinking (Paul and Elder)
✅ Dos and Don’ts of Behaviour Management (Roger Dunn)
✅ Designing a New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Marzano)
✅ The Quality School (Glasser)
✅ Teaching Kids with Learning Difficulties (Winebrenner)
By the end of the training, every teacher is well-positioned to be successful as an educator for all students at Cognitus Academy.
For NIE-trained teachers who are interested to join the team at Cognitus Academy, please note that the training programme may be customised to complement your current expertise and experience.
Cognitus Academy invites all qualified, passionate and committed individuals to apply for the following positions.
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Our experienced teachers have consistently helped hundreds of students across
Primary, Secondary and Junior College levels improve on their English, Math and GP results.
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towards the path of massive improvement.