Kai Ying Khoo

Pre-service Teacher, Secondary Science

Profile

I'm a final year pre-service Science teacher at the University of Western Australia (UWA). I am particularly interested in chemistry and environmental sciences. One of my great loves is applying scientific perspectives to understanding the world around us - from the cell biology of native plants, to how humans interpret (or misinterpret) statistics!

This Eportfolio is a summary of my teaching philosophy and experience. In the "AITSL Standards" section, I have specifically addressed how my work meets the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers developed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Things that get me excited about teaching:

  1. It helps other people. It's important to me to make my livelihood through work that also benefit others.
  2. It's challenging. I enjoy creatively solving problems, and the challenge of finding the best way of teaching different students.
  3. The world is full of beautiful and fascinating things, teaching is a way of celebrating this fact!

Education

  • Masters of Teaching (Secondary), The University of Western Australia. Major in Science, minor in Mathematics.
  • Bachelor of Science (Honours) - Land Rehabilitation, The University of Western Australia. Honours research project: Acid-volatile sulfide and trace element signatures in wetlands fringing the Swan-Canning Estuary.

Experience

  • Tutor at the University of Western Australia (2018 - 2019). Teaching field, chemical and statistical analysis techniques for Environmental Assessment, a third-year Environmental Science Course.
  • Assistant English Teacher for the Japan Exchange Teaching Programme (2016 -2017). I assisted English language classes for kindergarten to junior high school age students in Chikuhoku, a rural village in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
  • Environmental Field Work and Native Plant Horticulture (2015 - 2016). After completing my undergraduate studies in Land Rehabilitation I worked in private industry doing environmental field work and propagating native plants.

Teaching university students how to do soil chemical analysis

Counting microplastic particles in urban soils

Collecting a wetland sample for my Honours research

Learning Japanese calligraphy with students in Chikuhoku Village

Image CreditsFrom top to bottom, and left to right.
1. Banner: Nuytsia floribunda in Gin Gin, Western Australia by Kai Ying Khoo 2. Profile: Portrait by Hendrix Setyawan 3. Aqua Regia digest by Kai Ying Khoo 4. Microplastic analysis by Kai Ying Khoo5. Sediment sampling in Mandurah, Western Australia by Andrew Rate 6. Community calligraphy mural by Tsutsujio Shiho