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Mr.
Donnell Koh has been my civics tutor as well as my chemistry teacher at
Raffles Junior College. He is one of the best teachers I have come
across throughout my schooling years ... he cares
for the well-being of all his students and exhibits care towards every
individual in the class ... he
commands a respect from his students ... his teaching is highly
effective and his lessons are always well-taught and very
comprehensible...his students almost never lose focus during lesson and
always take away new knowledge after each lesson...the difficult concepts appear to
be much easier when he explains...I
will attribute my successful application to Cambridge University to Mr.
Koh entirely. His strong recommendation and excellent teaching has been
the reason why I am able to receive an offer from such a prestigious
University."
Han
Shuting, RJC 2005 - 2006
(Medicine
- Cambridge)
"Mr
Koh was a strong pillar on which
the class dynamics was built upon. For instance, he would initiate
class CIP and conduct interesting lessons (especially during civics
lessons) to strengthen class bonds. I admire Mr Koh’s uncanny
ability to strike a balance between his professional and brotherly
demeanor such that he can be a supremely effective teacher and friend
at the same time...it seems almost unfair that Mr
Koh is armed
with such a formidable arsenal of teaching techniques. He has the
ability to slow down to make the weaker students understand, and also
the ability to incessantly challenge and intrigue stronger students...It
is excessively difficult to exaggerate Mr Koh’s qualities as
a
teacher – a mentor, as I would wish to, for the sake of
writing
an outlandish testimonial. Indeed, he epitomizes the spirit of a
teacher so well that there is little room for that.
Kho Chen Han George, RJC
2005 - 2006
"I would describe Mr Koh as
not only a knowledgeable teacher who is always ready to clear our
doubts regarding our work, but also a dedicated friend whom we all
respect...The learning environment was kept fun
during chemistry tutorials...Being
good- natured, he often encouraged us to be actively involved in
community service and even joined us on our class CIP where we
volunteered to do mural painting at the Institute of Mental Health. Mr
Koh was supportive not only as a teacher but as a friend, often
expressing concern over how we were coping with both studies and CCA,
and offering advice on all our unduly worries of our future...It
was a memorable time for me in Junior College, in a wonderful class
with such an inspirational teacher to guide us along."
Lin Shumin, RJC 2005 - 2006
"Mr.
Koh is easily
one of the best Chemistry teachers in RJC, if not the best. He is able
to articulate complex concepts to students in a manner that is easy to
grasp and comprehend. In other words, he makes difficult concepts
simpler to absorb. His tutoring skills have developed to a stage where
he can predict most of the common mistake students often make when
attempting questions. His lessons are not only engaging but also
enriching. It is because of his tutoring that my Chemistry has improved
tremendously, and I am very certain that he has worked wonders for many
of my fellow schoolmates as well.
Mr.
Koh possesses
all the characteristics of a model tutor. It is not an exaggeration to
say that every student would like to have a tutor like him. He clearly
has the passion and zest for teaching. Personally, he has inspired me
to enjoy Chemistry, which is truly remarkable. All in all, he makes
learning a rewarding experience."
Koh Kian
Leon, RJC 2005 - 2006
"Mr.
Koh has been a
terrific chemistry tutor and role model for me. He is one of those rare
teachers who can compound flippancy and conscientiousness, both an
easy-going mate and a serious worker. In this he sets an endearing
example of exemplary conduct and work ethic without the stifling
nitpicking that sets student’s teeth on edge. His patience
and
concern with understanding of the subject establishes him as a top tier
teacher who truly deserves the respect and affection my class and I
give him."
Si Yuan Shen,
RJC 2005
"Mr
Donnell Koh is,
first and foremost, a teacher who shows much dedication in his work.
With much patience, he would go the extra mile to see that his students
attain a better understanding of Chemistry, even if it means going
through what he has already gone through before. Mr Koh's
approachability endears him to his students. Adding in his sense of
humour, what you have then, is a teacher to remember."
Matheus Yeo,
RJC 2005 - 2006
Mr
Koh saw me through A level chemistry at RJC
and he is one of the most dedicated teachers i’ve known. He
stresses on ‘getting the basic concepts /big
picture’
because he believes that once we have the concepts at our finger tips,
we will be able to tackle any exam question. Thereafter, he will expose
us to a variety of questions and teach us strategies to approach the
question in an exam smart manner.
Mr koh
will not dismiss questions raised by his students as
‘irrelevant’ or ‘too silly’.
Through these
questions, he is quick to detect misunderstandings that the student may
unknowingly have. Because of his approachability and patience, students
dare to clarify doubts and hence gain a better understanding in the
subject. I remembered how Mr Koh took a personal interest in every
student’s progress. He ensures that no student is left behind
by
organizing small group tutorials to meet the needs of each
student. Such a teacher who goes beyond his call of duty is
hard
to find these days.
Having
him as my chemistry tutor is one of the greatest blessings in my
JC days. I strongly recommend him to anyone who is struggling with
basic chemistry and those seeking to understand higher level chemistry
concepts!
Charlotte Tan, RJC 2005 - 2006
(Medicine - NUS)
Mr Koh
had been a superb civics tutor when he was still teaching back
at RJC. Despite having to handle a rather playful civics tutorial
group, he was always patient with us, giving his best efforts both
inside and outside of the classroom. Even after he left RJC, Mr Koh
continued to show tons of care and concern for his students. He
remembered birthdays, wished us luck for our exams and was extremely
concerned with our academic progress.
As a
private tutor, Mr Koh showed relentless commitment to teaching as
well, preparing to-the-point summarised lecture notes and comprehensive
practice questions for every single topic. Under his tutorage, I have
made tremendous improvements in my grades. In addition, his humorous
style of teaching completely transformed boring Chemistry lessons into
interactive and engaging ones. Most importantly, he was always able to
explain abstract Chemistry concepts in simple layman terms, ensuring
that everyone in class understood fully. All in all, I
strongly
believe that he would continue to produce many more outstanding
students.
Kehui, RJC
2007 - 2008
H2
Chemistry
used to be the burden of my JC life. no matter how hard i tried to
study, i just couldnt figure it out. and now, after attending just
weekly lessons, my grade has improved drastically. More importantly, Mr
Koh gives me the confidence that i need to ace my As! And i'm sure that
applies to everyone who went for his lessons too. Probably the most fun
and interesting tuition ever. Twig!!
Marcus Ng,
RJC 2007 - 2008
I've
always hated Chemistry until I went to Twig. Twig breaks down chem
topics into easy-to-understand bits, which makes learning H2 Chemistry
no
longer boring and dry but interesting and interactive. If you are still
struggling to comprehend those thick school notes with lots of
unnecessary materials, hesitate no more. Going to Twig is one of the
most useful decisions you can make to improve your Chemistry grade!
Zhuang Yi,
RJC 2007 - 2008
Joining
Twig Learning Center in early 2008 was
one of the best academic decisions I have made. For most of my JC life,
I was uninterested in Chemistry. It was a confusing subject quagmired
in thick notes and my grades left much to be disired. Lessons with Mr
Koh changed that - his lessons made each topic simple, direct and
to-the-point. It gave me the firm foundation in Chemistry knowledge
that I badly needed, and that gave me the confidence to handle the
subject.
In
addition, Mr Koh is also a very patient tutor. He ensures that
have full understanding of the explanation to the many (many)
questions that I asked, always explaining every answer from its very
core concepts upwards to strengthen my foundation. This I found very
helpful, as it taught me how to handle any questions in examinations.
He goes the extra mile for his students, staying behind after each
lesson (sometimes for many hours) so that we can clarify our doubts.
As a
result of his efforts, not only have my Chemistry grades improved,
I find Chemistry interesting (believe me, this is no mean feat). The
one subject that I couldn't wait to get rid of in JC1 is presently one
that I hope I will have further opportunities to study. Thank you Mr
Koh.
Xue Wei, RJC
2007 - 2008
Mr
Koh, you are a natural teacher. There are
some people who are born to be writers, poets, artists, etc, and your
gift is in teaching. One explanation is always enough. Twig's notes are
short, clear and to the point, and it really prepares one well for
examinations. On the contrary, school notes can be thick, confusing,
and sometimes incomplete cos the lecturer swiches slides before we even
finish copying!
The
best part about Twig is that we're always free to ask you questions
anytime during the lesson. The class is small, and even if we do not
ask questions, we benefit listening to other students'
questions
and hearing the explanantion. It is impossible to ask so many questions
in tutorials at school, and even more difficult to hear the questions
my classmates ask because school tutorials are so noisy! At Twig, we
never face this problem.
I
joined Twig because my H2 Chemistry grade dropped from A/B in JC1 to a
E in
JC2 CT1, largely because organic chem was a new topic and I didnt
understand it well initially. After I joined Twig, my grade improved
from E to A within the span of 3 months, even topping the class! Even
my school tutor could not understand how I managed to improve so much!
Twig's
Chemistry lessons are the only lessons which I look forward to
attending. Sometimes I dread going to school but I enjoy the cosy
atmosphere at Twig!
Hu Ching, RJC
2007 - 2008
(PSC Scholar)
H2 Chemistry was never my best subject and I often took a long time to
master each topic. Weekly tuition at Twig accelerated my conceptual
understanding and enhanced my application skills greatly. Twig's notes
are concise and encapsulate well the required definitions and
qualitative explanations under the syllabus as well as provide
sufficient basic and advanced level practices. More importantly, Mr Koh
is a natural and extremely adept teacher - his explanations never
failed to aid me in internalizing what I could not fully comprehend
from lectures and tutorials in school. That is perhaps the greatest
comparative advantage that Twig can offer over other tuition centres.
Mr Koh makes a conscious effort to link new topics to old ones,
building on past understandings to re-establish new ones. He uses as
well simplified models and this diagramatic approach to teaching is
truly effective in honing a holistic understanding. I am most grateful
to Mr Koh for his willingness to clarify my queries in the month before
the A level examinations. That I was able to process his explanations
over email is but a testament to my strong foundation of the subject
that he managed to build.
Thank you Mr Koh!
Ying Jie, RJC
2008 - 2009
Describing
Donnell as an excellent teacher will definitely not be an
overstatement. He is able to communicate very effectively with his
students and seems to have a nack of making difficult concepts look
easy. As a teacher, he is selfless in assisting students under his
charge to achieve grades which may have been seemingly out of reach. He
wouldn't hesitate to offer assistance to students in need and would
have no qualms staying back an hour or more just to brush up chemistry
concepts which they could not grasp during lesson time. Ample practice
is definitely provided during lessons for students to put their problem
solving skills to the test. All in all, TWIG has a wonderful package of
lessons provided and with such a wonderful, caring and compassionate
teacher at the helm, it is undoubtedly the place to be if you would
like your H2 chemistry grades to improve by leaps and bounds.
Jonathan Sim, RJC
2007 - 2008 and
Deborah Sim, TJC
2008 - 2009
I
never had
a really keen interest in chemistry. But failing my first ever H2
chemistry test in JC caused me to actually want to go for tuition for
the first time in my life, thus beginning my journey at Twig. After
attending Twig, thanks to Mr Koh’s patient guidance, my H2
chemistry results improved tremendously, to the extent that I never got
anything lower than a B for my school exams. Mr Koh’s concise
and
easy to understand notes also helped me develop a greater understanding
for the various chemistry topics. Mr Koh conducts lessons in an
interesting manner. He once demonstrated the electrolysis of sodium
chloride for us in the classroom! His enthusiasm for chemistry also
helped me develop a greater interest in chemistry. Mr Koh is always on
hand to answer my queries and help me when I encounter any problems
when doing the many practice questions he gives us. With Mr
Koh’s
guidance, I was one of the top students in my cohort for H2 chemistry
during my prelim examinations, and eventually got an A in H2 chemistry
for my A levels. Thank you Mr Koh!
Gwee Xin Yi
Hwa Chong
Institution 2008 - 2009
Hi
Mr Koh,
I am very grateful to you for your guidance for the past two years. If
it’s not for you, I doubt I would be able to achieve A for H2 Chemistry!
Other than preparing notes on every topic, you would even point out the
important sections that we ought to remember or be aware of, making our
learning much easier, on top of having to study our school notes. Not
to forget, you also provided us with many useful topical practices, as
well as booklets with different topics for our revisions before prelims
and A level. I especially love the experiments that you had performed
in class! Just by using items that can be found around us in our daily
life, you make lessons and chemistry more interesting! I doubt any
other chemistry tutors do that during their lessons. You are also
patient and clear in explaining concepts and queries whenever I go to
lessons early or even after lessons when I stayed back for a while. Not
only that, you also care a lot for your students, I still remembered
that you sent me a sms to remind me to take good care of my eyes when I
am unwell. I really appreciate your care and concern. I never regretted
going to TWIG for tuition and meeting such a fun and nice teacher like
you. Once again, a very BIG thank you! I bet now I will be able to
start filling up the best-seller book written by you with more
adventures! =) Once again, thank you very much!
Li Ting
Jurong JC
2008 - 2009
Mr
Koh is
one of the best tutors that I have had. He has a natural ability to
simplify abstract concepts through the use of examples and analogies,
making H2 Chemistry simple and easy-to-understand. He is a patient and
committed tutor who always ensures that every student has a clear
understanding of the topic at hand. Mr Koh is able to integrate
seemingly unrelated topics, building a better understanding of H2
Chemistry as an entire subject and preparing us for the (increasingly
common) challenging cross-topic questions.
With
his persistent
guidance and the help of his concise and effective notes, I have never
had to worry much about H2 Chemistry, leaving more time for me to focus
on my poorer subjects. Mr Koh makes Chemistry an interesting and
manageable subject. Thank you Mr Koh!
Qin Ying
Nanyang JC
2008 - 2009
(Scored A for 2009 A-Level Chemistry)
I
never had
much interest in Chemistry and it had been one of my weakest subjects
since secondary school. However, after attending Mr Koh’s
tuition
classes in J2, it became a different story altogether! The simple
experiments that he conducted in class, like for electrolysis, and the
examples that he used to show how H2 Chemistry is involved in our
everyday life made Chemistry become a life subject. Thus, it was not
difficult to give him my 100% attention! His concise notes made it
easier for me to revise and understand all the concepts that were
required especially in application questions. Also, his patient
guidance and constant encouragement helped to alleviate my fear in
attempting difficult questions instead of avoiding them, like in the
past. Thanks to Mr Koh, I achieved an A in my H2 Chemistry
for A Levels! Thank you Mr Koh!!!
Shu Jun
Yishun
JC 2008 - 2009
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