Merlin Lim holds a Bachelor of Arts (Merit) degree in Geography and Sociology from the National University of Singapore. Trained at the National Institute of Education for her Postgraduate Diploma in Education, she has been teaching Geography since 2000 at secondary and junior college levels.
Merlin has served as a mentor and led in pedagogical development in her role as a Senior Teacher since 2015. A reflective practitioner, she has conducted various action research projects to improve on her teaching practices. She has presented her research projects at various platforms, such as the Geography Chapter Sessions, the Ministry of Education (MOE)’s Excel Fest, Geography Symposium and the ERAS-APERA International Education Conference. In recognition of her contributions to the professional development of geography teachers in Singapore, she was awarded as Associate of the Academy by the Academy of Singapore Teachers in 2018.
Merlin is passionate about fieldwork in geography and was one of the ten awardees of the Geography Overseas Attachment Programme by MOE in 2015. The programme consisted of fieldwork training at Nettlecombe Court Field Studies Centre and research at the Institute of Education, University of London. This opportunity has enabled her to lead her peers and students on meaningful and enriching humanities field trips locally and overseas.
Merlin believes in making the learning of geography relevant and bringing real-world experiences into the classroom. She has a keen interest in the arts and enjoys various art forms, especially postmodernism art, film, fashion and jazz music. She hopes to imbue in her lessons at SOTA, the various ways in which the humanities and the arts are interwoven in the conceptualisation and utilisation of space and places by different communities.