KUALA LUMPUR – A teacher from SJK(C) Hua Lian I, Taiping, Perak has won the 2023 Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards for Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
Goh Kok Ming was named regional winner in Malaysia for his achievement in teaching students coding skills used to help solve community issues.
He started the Kampong Code initiative as a means to encourage his students to build applications to help solve community issues and strengthen their interests in coding.
“I’ve always had a passion for coding. I am thrilled to share my passion with students and encourage them to build their coding skills for a better future.
“I believe that persistence will see transformation and change. I’m proud that my students have continued with the initiative to learn an extra skill to help their future,” he said when commenting on his win.
As the regional winner, Goh will receive £500 (RM2,800) worth of books or digital resources, along with a Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards trophy for Goh and his school.
He will also be featured on a thank you page at the front of new Cambridge University Press Education textbooks from February 2024.
This is the second time that a Malaysian teacher has been chosen as a winner for the Awards on global and regional levels after Khalifa Affnan, a teacher from Keningau Vocational College, Sabah was named global winner of the award last year.
Khalifa won the award for his achievement in initiating a STEM project, where he trained students in robotics, drones, coding, and other technology-based disciplines, which has increased the participation of female students and special needs learners in STEM activities.
The award run by the Cambridge University Press is a global competition that celebrates the efforts of teachers around the world.
It gives students, parents, and other teachers the chance to nominate a current primary or secondary school teacher for something wonderful they have done, and it aims to demonstrate the inspiring and positive impact of teachers across the globe and give students a platform to thank their teachers.
This year, the competition received over 11,000 nominations from 99 countries, an increase of over 30% compared to last year’s nominations.
Matthew Walker, publishing director for education at Cambridge University Press, said: “The achievements of our 2023 regional winners, plus the thousands of nominations we received for the competition, speak volumes for the value of teachers’ roles and the positive impact they have on students.
“We hope that this recognition will continue to inspire teachers to deliver exceptional teaching and encourage the next generation of learners to aim high in their ambitions.”
The public can now vote for their favourite teacher out of six regional winners to become the overall winner of the Cambridge Dedicated Teacher Awards 2023. This will be announced on June 6.
For further details, please visit http://dedicatedteacher.cambridge.org/vote. – The Vibes, May 11, 2023
