Turning chemistry into a fun and interactive game, this teacher from Ipoh is making big waves in local education.
A Malaysian teacher from Ipoh received an exciting surprise recently when she found out that she had won a Global Teacher Award from AKS Education.
V. Komathy, a 38-year-old high-school chemistry teacher from Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Ave Maria Convent, Ipoh, was among six potential finalists in Malaysia selected for the international prize.
Presented to excellent teachers from around the world each year, the Global Teacher Award organised by AKS Education selected Komathy as the winner from over 300 other nominees.
|Image Credit: Bernama
“I still can’t believe I’m being selected as the winner out of 321 candidates from Malaysia, and about 26,000 from other countries,” she told reporters who recently visited her at home. “Of that number, 500 had been shortlisted – including six Malaysian candidates.
Komathy who has been teaching for the last 14 years, accepted her award virtually during the live ceremony held on the AKS Education Facebook and YouTube pages on October 24, 2021. She was selected for the award for her passionate and interesting approach to a difficult subject that many students find complicated or intimidating.
To help her students better grasp the intricacies of chemistry, Komathy created a card game she calls the Chem-Ester Kit that teaches players about molecular formulas, structures, alkane compounds, alkenes, alcohol, carboxylic acid, and esters.
“Chemistry is a less popular subject because it is full of formulas and involves a lot of calculations, so we need to educate in an entertaining way so as to grab students’ interest in this subject and avoid them giving up easily,” Komathy explained.
Energised by her win, the talented educator who has several other notable works to her name has mentioned how much this award is motivating her to continue creating more fun chemistry-related learning materials.
“When people say I am one of the inspirations to other teachers, I feel my inspiration comes from the students because it is towards their needs that I strive for excellence,” she said.
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