Research at the Cognition and Education Laboratory@NUS has appeared in such journals as Computers in Human Behavior, Educational Psychologist, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, and Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. In 2018, the Lab gained international stature for discovering retrieval effects in the learning-by-teaching instructional strategy. Within three years, their novel retrieval hypothesis rose as one of the top three theories driving the entire field of learning-by-teaching research internationally. This research was also successfully translated in the real world, enhancing educational practice and policy at the university.

Assoc Prof Stephen Lim further leads educational reforms and advocates for teaching excellence at university-, national-, regional-, and international-levels. At present, he directs the Singapore National Academy of Higher Education as Founding President, and mentors international teaching academies around the world. His educational impact has been widely endorsed by peers across Singapore, Asia (mainly Japan, Korea, and Thailand), the UK (mainly London), and the USA (mainly Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Washington). Assoc Prof Lim is winner of the 2020 NUS Outstanding Educator Award, the highest honours for education at the university.