It is crucial that students know engineering codes of practice and how to apply them in the real work environment.

Delivery of content in a classroom setting is often dry and uninteresting to the student. We are faced with the challenge of how to transform the student’s learning experience from humdrum to interesting and meaningful.

In this paper, the author shares his experience in encouraging students to work on the topic “Refurbishment for Barrier-Free Accessibility in Buildings” through the use of a project-based method.

The paper was presented at a recent CDIO conference in Singapore.

Read the complete paper:

» Facilitating Independent Learning using Project-Based Method
[PDF, 9 pages, 1.12 MB. Copyright © CDIO™. Used with permission.]

Author

Mok Thai Koon is a lecturer in the School of Engineering,
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

What is CDIO?

CDIO stands for Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating.

According to CDIO.org,

The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products. Throughout the world, CDIO Initiative collaborators have adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular planning and outcome-based assessment.

The 5th International CDIO Conference was held at Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore, June 7 – 10, 2009.

Using technology to enhance the learning experience is common in schools of engineering. There are many simulation tools (both hardware- and software-based) which can be used to teach various engineering topics. However, for some new and complex engineering subjects such as Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), securing a good learning tool at a reasonable cost is not easy.

The following paper talks about how we’ve used a self-developed DVB system customized to enhance student learning. Since students have easy access to the system, self-exploration is enabled and encouraged.

The paper was presented at a recent CDIO conference in Singapore.

Read the complete paper:

» Using Technology to Enhance Learning of Digital Video Broadcasting
[PDF, 10 pages, 119kB. Copyright © CDIO™. Used with permission.]

Authors

Eva Rosdiana

Chua Beng Koon

Eva and Beng Koon are lecturers in School of Engineering, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

What is CDIO?

CDIO stands for Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating.

According to CDIO.org,

The CDIO™ INITIATIVE is an innovative educational framework for producing the next generation of engineers. The framework provides students with an education stressing engineering fundamentals set in the context of Conceiving — Designing — Implementing — Operating real-world systems and products. Throughout the world, CDIO Initiative collaborators have adopted CDIO as the framework of their curricular planning and outcome-based assessment.

The 5th International CDIO Conference was held at Singapore Polytechnic, Singapore, June 7 – 10, 2009.

The Chinese have a saying:

Reading 10,000 books cannot be compared with walking 10,000 miles.

In various ways, the Overseas Immersion Programme (OIP) is testimony to that popular belief.

The Experience

A six-week programme for the School of Film & Media Studies’ Mass Communication students took them – all for the first time – to Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, China. Wuhan is unfamiliar to many of our students who mostly equate China with Shanghai and Beijing.

From late August to early October 2009, the twenty 2nd-year students found themselves thrown into the deep end of the pool – not that they minded, since they were there during the blistering heat of summer, with temperatures rising to 42 degrees Celsius!

With Wuhan as the base, the students had the unique opportunity for a total learning experience that would involve the key aspects of learner-centred learning – doing, exploring, collaborating and reflecting. We designed the core module’s assignments specially to ensure a meaningful journey of discovery.

The Intent

The Overseas Immersion Programme in Wuhan was designed to:

• Provide students with the opportunity to complete a core module (Feature Writing) and two Interdisciplinary Studies modules (Chinese History & Culture and Chinese Political System) while in China;
• Develop and sharpen student insights into China’s media industry, culture, business operations and work ethic through visits to industry as well as cultural and historical sites;
• Enable students to experience for themselves cultural similarities and differences at play and sharpen their cross-cultural sensitivies and behaviour by interacting with foreign and local students as well as staff of Wuhan University; and
• Ensure that students develop a personal relationship with China, her people and her possibilities.

Magazine Project

One example of the activities undertaken by the students was a magazine project, which required the students to work in groups to plan, produce and present two magazines targeted at youths, with Wuhan as the theme.

The editors of the magazine project created a Wuhan survival guide for the first-timer in Wuhan and a travel magazine that would give insights into the key highlights of the city of 12 million people. Putting the magazine together meant the students had to explore the three districts of the city – Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang – to feel its pulse.

The students produced 2 magazines about Wuhan.

The result was two endearing magazines that not only featured the lifestyle and culture of the people but also heartrending stories of poverty and loneliness. One story featured three women entrepreneurs’ passion that was turned into a viable business. Another article looked into the pain of young girls sold to a life of selling flowers on the streets. Visitors to Wuhan are startled by that desire for survival as the girls cling to tourists’ legs begging for 5 yuan (S$1)  per flower.

Food stories abound as Wuhan cuisine is quite unlike what we find in Singapore. Re Gan Mian (literally hot, dry noodles bathed in a rich sesame paste) is the traditional favourite, as is Mian Wo, a deep-fried Chinese doughnut. These make a great, cheap breakfast. Such stories took the students along the rocky path of research, interviews and analysis – to understand the differences between Wuhan and Singapore, between the Chinese and Singaporeans.

The Interdisciplinary Studies modules were challenges in more ways than one. For most of the FMS students, Chinese is not their first language. It was a cultural shock to learn that the Chinese History & Culture lectures would be conducted in Mandarin and that all assignments had to be written in Chinese. Google’s translation tool came in truly handy! The lecturer, Professor Zhang, is such a riveting story-teller that even the most resistant to Chinese were won over by the end of the course.

The experience of Chinese culture became even more real when students found themselves in Taiji aerobics and calligraphy calisthenics. The flexing of unused muscles helped the students develop a new-found respect for China and things Chinese. A visit to Red Cliff (where the great battle between the armies of Cao Cao, Zhao Yun and Zhuge Liang took place) made the John Woo movie Red Cliff even more memorable.

Meeting a local at Red Cliff.

Human propulsion on a shallow reach of the Three Gorges.

Ascending Wudang Mountain – the birthplace of Taiji and Taoism – rejuvenated the roots of a great legacy long buried.

Cultural insights from Red Cliff and Wudang

New friends were made, and ideas were shared with not only Chinese students studying English as a foreign language but also foreign students from Africa, Indonesia, Korea and Japan. Our students collaborated with their new Chinese friends on a poll to discover Chinese youths’ attitudes towards the Chinese Communist Party – an assignment for the Chinese Political System module.

We hosted the Mid-Autumn Festival (Mooncake Festival) party for our new friends, giving them a taste of Singapore chicken curry and the warmth of our hospitality. This was networking in action.

At journey’s end, it was time for reflection. An evaluation form was created and conducted to gather the lessons learnt and harness the knowledge gained for future programmes. More importantly, the value of an immersion programme such as this is in readjusting attitudes and views – and even putting to sleep certain prejudices.

It is no mean feat to complete a 15-week semester in six weeks overseas followed by two weeks’ of instruction back home. There is no doubt that the difficulty level for the two modules soared (compared to a classroom-based class) but the students rose to the challenge – perhaps inspired by their Chinese counterparts hungry for a better life or their new African friends who see the value of being part of the Chinese world.

The Outcome

Participants were profoundly affected by their Wuhan experience and learned a great deal.

Two students from the Overseas Immersion Programme share what they learned during their visit to Wuhan.

[Click each one to view. Used with permission.]

Author

By Sng-Fun Poh Yoke, lecturer in School of Film & Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Diploma in Psychology & Community Services (PCS) is a 3-year programme which aims to develop and transform post-secondary students into work-ready professionals with the requisite knowledge, skills and attributes for careers in social services or welfare organisations, and the drive and know-how to make a positive difference in the communities they serve.

Apart from a strong grounding in the fundamentals of psychology and how these fundamentals are applied in providing community services, the learning experience must develop the PCS graduate into someone who is not only a competent professional and a flexible lifelong learner but also one who is compassionate, resilient, innovative, resourceful, pro-active, IT-savvy, analytical, and an effective team player with good communication skills.

While it is not uncommon to hear claims of holistic development in a curriculum, what often happens is that the core academic knowledge and skills remain the explicit focus of the course and its assessment practices. The affective portion is usually left as part of the ‘hidden curriculum’ and may or may not be achieved.

However, in the Psychology & Community Services course we have attempted to integrate the core academic knowledge and skills with the desired attributes expected of its graduates. This is achieved by:

1. Having a blend of pedagogical approaches and strategies that are carefully selected to work together within the curriculum to shape and develop the cognitive, metacognitive, affective and attitudinal facets of the PCS graduate; and
2. Creating space for integrative learning.

Students visited the Help Every Lone Parent Family Service Centre as part of PCS experiential learning

Key teaching and learning approaches

The approaches used in the Psychology & Community Services Curriculum include, but are not limited to, the following:

a. Problem-based Learning

In this approach, students working in small teams, encounter and learn to work through a real, usually ill-structured and multi-faceted problem. Students develop and hone strategies to deconstruct multi-faceted, multi-layered authentic problems, seek information, construct knowledge and understanding, and suggest ways to address the problem and discuss alternatives with other teams working on the same problem. Used with the more foundational subjects such as ‘Intro to Sociology’, this approach intends to strengthen students’ grasp of the fundamentals and sharpen students’ conceptual thinking through getting students to:

• Develop the discipline to analyse and identify the possible root causes of a situation,
• Get into the habit of taking explicit stock of the quality and sufficiency of current levels of knowledge and skills before moving on to identify and seek new knowledge, skills and concepts needed to work through the issues at hand.
• Explain and justify their solution to colleagues
• Receive and consider critiques of their solution
• Learn from alternative (and often innovative) approaches and concepts used to address the same problem.

Following is an example of one of the PBL activities that students needed to complete. [Click to open.]

b. Case-based Learning

Case-based learning provides students with examples of how their class room knowledge  engages with real world situations. For example, in the module “The Brain & Behaviour”, various case studies introduce selected neuropsychological concepts. Students were exposed to a case study on a client with seizure disorder who underwent hemispherectomy (removal of half of the brain). They would subsequently examine the neurological basis of seizure disorder and the implications of hemispherectomy. 

c. Service Learning

Introduced in the more foundational modules such as "Introduction to Statistics and Research", the service learning approach pushes students to identify an issue of concern in a community or society and seek ways to apply the particular knowledge and skills learned in the particular modules in order to impact sustainable change in the community.

Students learn to work in teams to analyse and work on community issues. However, and perhaps more critically, they also learn to collaborate with their with community partners and the recipients of their services to research the issues in order to make recommendations that are of relevance and significance to the partners. Through this approach, they develop attributes of perception, sensitivity, empathy, compassion, and resilience as well as a sense of professionalism and responsibility.

Following is an example PBL report by students in their first year (the "Platinum" group, consisting of Jaslyn, Nuryanty, Sukanya and Zoe. Used with permission.)

PBL Report – Social Inequality in Singapore (by Platinum) [PDF, 7 pp, 98 kB.]

The following photo was taken while Platinum group was conducting casual interviews with some foreign workers in Little India.

Platinum Group being orientated by staff from HealthServe.

d. Reflective Learning

While reflecting on their experiences, students develop their abilities to objectively review and take stock of their own learning & development (cognitive, psychomotor and affective), the quality of their performance, and how to address their development gaps. They develop self-directed capacities to identify and direct their own further development needs.

Following is an example of one of the deliverables – a newsletter by tutorial group 1B01 – which includes reflections on how the students have applied what they learned in each of their core modules. (Used with permission.)

New Perceptions Newsletter (by 1B01) [PDF, 4 pages, 709 kB.]

e. Work-based Learning

This approach injects into the curriculum authentic opportunities to develop workplace competencies which include attitudes, behaviours, and procedural knowledge and skills needed to perform as a professional. Opportunities include using real workplace case studies and problems during class work, visits to industry, joint projects with industry, and internships. Students get second and first-hand experiential opportunities to observe empathy and innovation in action and learn through opportunities to undertake workplace tasks and get feedback on their performance. They learn to hone their conceptual and academic knowledge and skills into appropriate workplace practices.

Selecting Approaches and Strategies

When designing the PCS curriculum, we used the following key guidelines in selecting and blending the approaches and strategies:

a. Variety

Psychology & Community Services students need to experience a rich variety of activities so they develop the necessary learning skills to be comfortable learning in several environments: independently, in structured contexts, through ill-structured experiences, both face-to-face and online.

b. Range

The PCS student must be exposed to learning approaches that range from the more conventional instructor-led sessions in lectures and workshops through to the more learner-centred approaches that involve active, authentic, and experiential learning. It is this range that will scaffold the learners from the more foundational to the more experiential and self-directed aspects of learning and development.

Students experienced what it is like to use a wheelchair as part of a visit to the Spastic Children’s Association of Singapore.

Integrating the Learning

The mix of approaches in any one semester must complement each other in terms of the aspects of cognitive, metacognitive, attitudinal and affective skills, traits and attributes being developed. This blend ensures that in any one semester, a PCS student has the opportunity to integrate and apply foundational knowledge and theories into practice in authentic contexts. This also ensures that a student’s learning experience in any one semester includes a careful blend and balance of the more time- and resource-intensive, emotionally-engaging experiential approaches with the more time-efficient teacher-led approaches which culminates in an Integrated Project.

The curriculum designers created space and opportunity for students to demonstrate their efforts at integrating the various one-semester modules. For example, in the second semester of their first year, students study the following 5 modules:

• Introduction to Sociology
• Lifespan Psychology
• Introduction to Statistics & Research Methods
• Family & Relationship Studies
• Behaviour In Organisations

In the PCS diploma, students experience integration of the above modules via participation in the following:

a. Integrating theory into practice by ensuring that students encounter authentic cases and problems as they learn the theories and concepts required of the curriculum.

b. Integrating class-based learning with workplace experience through planning for well-scaffolded encounters with the workplace and industry throughout the 3-year curriculum.

d. Integrating the academic and applied knowledge and skills acquired in the different modules through a major, performance-based integrated assessment each semester. An example of this is the end-of-semester project in which students are expected to collaborate with their peers and staff to plan for, organise, execute and participate in an event which showcases their learning and development to parents and industry partners and celebrates their achievements and contributions to industry and community for the year. 

In a recent semester, the “integration celebration event” was in the form of a Symposium, which allowed students to consolidate the various learning experiences they had gone through in the semester.  Students were given the opportunity to present their research findings as well as their journey over the whole semester, in an exhibition and presentation.  In this project students incorporated their learning from classroom lectures on psychology; identification and solving of problems (Problem based learning); presentation of their project report (Project learning); learning from an authentic scenario (Experiential learning) and their service learning experiences.

Here is the brief that students needed to follow for the Symposium.

Integrated Project Example

In the “Lifespan Psychology” module, students were assigned to work with HealthServe Community Clinic whose clients are mostly foreign workers.  Using their classroom knowledge, students examined the implications of working in a foreign country on the development aspects of these foreign workers.  Students were able to present a report which identified the problems based on their research and the programmes that HealthServe develop to serve the needs of the foreign workers. In this way, students not only demonstrated their understanding of the theoretical basis of psychology but made linkages between what they have learnt in the classroom and the real world. 

Here is one of the project submissions (by the "Introvertz" group, Jessica Ann Joseph Vincent, Oh Shao Shiuan, Siti Fasihah Binte Subto, Yan Manhong and Yeo Yun Jing. Used with permission.)

Final Statistics Report – HealthServe (by Introvertz) [PDF, 23 pages, 271 kB]

Closing remarks

The Psychology & Community Services curriculum is a work-in-progress. The curriculum structure and descriptions mentioned in this article refer to the structure for the first cohort of PCS students. With each cycle of curriculum review, modules continue to be reviewed, revised, and, where necessary, re-positioned as we continue to reflect on the variety, range, blend and integration of approaches.

It has been heartening to observe how the curriculum is working to nurture the PCS graduate – one who is not only a competent professional and a flexible lifelong learner but also one who shows compassion, resilience and innovation, and is an effective team player with good communication skills.

Authors

Joyce Tang Wai Ching

Tan Yew Kong

Joyce and Yew Kong are lecturers in School of Humanities, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

1. Overview

To give a flavour of the World Issues: A Singapore Perspective module, let’s first look at two scenarios that students may need to discuss during class.

Scenario 1

In the workplace, we’re often asked to do things that are "out of the box". Here is a possibility.

You’re working for a financial services company. One morning, your manager summons you to assist in making sense of key developments that will affect the company. Your task is to help prepare an insight brief which the manager will present to a board meeting the next day. Your paper needs to include a summary of current and relevant developments in Singapore and in related industry sectors around the world. Your paper must make clear the most important conclusions arising from your research. What key insight will you give your manager?

Scenario 2

Race relations is a sensitive issue in most countries, particularly in culturally-diverse Singapore.

Imagine Singapore in the year 2061. China has become the undisputed world power and the resulting developments have given rise to a ripple effect in nations worldwide, including Singapore. Due to a pragmatic shift in policies to cater to this new global economic order, almost all jobs now require an ability to read, speak and write Mandarin. Increasing racism emerges in society as Singapore is perceived as a country only for the Chinese. One fateful day, the groups fighting for minority rights march in protest against alleged racist government policies and employment practices.

In a bid to control a situation rapidly spiralling out of control, the government sends in the troops. This heavy-handed response results in many non-Chinese civilian casualties. You are part of a think-tank that is trying to understand why the years of seemingly "peaceful" coexistence have been swiftly undone. Your team has chosen to look at the Southern Thailand insurgency that flared up in 2001 as there are many parallels between that incident and the current crisis that would allow you to better understand the present situation in 2061.

Both the above scenarios challenge students to have a global outlook and a sense of the problems confronting Singapore in a rapidly changing world.

As module leaders of the World Issues: A Singapore Perspective module, we have had the privilege of designing a module that challenges our students’ thinking and brings the outside world to them.

This article gives an overview of this compulsory module.

2. What is WISP all about?

Singapore’s Ministry of Education requires all schools to include National Education (NE) in the course curriculum. This subject (which is part of Social Studies and is studied through primary and secondary school) is unfortunately perceived by some to be pro-government propaganda.

The module "World Issues: A Singapore Perspective" (WISP) is Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s response to such perceptions. The module is a prescribed year 3 module for the majority of Ngee Ann Polytechnic students. The key objective of this module is to enhance students’ understanding of current global events and issues in the context of Singapore and to encourage criitcal thinking.

Instead of taking a dogmatic approach to the important issues facing Singapore, the WISP module encourages students to question, explore, defend and shape their own opinions. We believe adolescent thinking responds better to an issues-based approach and that to present a prescriptive National Education curriculum would not be approriate for their stage of thinking and development.

The intent of the module’s design is to develop thinking students who are able to make thoughtful decisions and informed choices. It allows them to acquire information by exploring themes from multiple perspectives, to make reasoned judgments, and to act upon them. Through a constructivist approach, the students have opportunities to gather information from different media and reflect critically upon events and issues both locally and globally.

In Ngee Ann Polytechnic, the WISP module plays a key role in helping produce graduates who are "global smart", ready to meet the challenges of globalisation having considered the consequences of their actions, beliefs, position and thinking.

3. Learning Approaches in WISP

WISP has redefined the teaching of National Education and changed student perceptions of the subject. The paradigm shift is summarized in the table below:

(a) Active learning and self-discovery process

The module does not force-fit National Education messages in the curriculum nor explicitly state them. Instead, such messages are embedded in the learning materials for the students to discover along the way. The manner in which they are embedded within the main themes of the module is outlined below.

i. Prejudice and Discrimination in a Globalising World

• We must uphold meritocracy and prevent corruption.
• We must preserve racial and religious harmony.

ii. Conflicts around the World: War and Peace

• We must ourselves defend Singapore.
• No one owes Singapore a living.

iii. Global Trends

• Singapore is our home; this is where we belong.
• We have confidence in our future.

Classes are conducted in small tutorial groups and delivery methods employ active, learner-centered approaches.

Following are two examples of learning through a balance of in-class and outside-class activities.

(b) Non-conventional mode of teaching

WISP tutors play the role of facilitator, guiding students in their discovery of different perspectives on world issues. The students need to formulate and articulate their personal opinions based on sound judgments of the information acquired. This requires the lecturer to not only be passionate about world issues in general but possess skills in broadening students’ perspectives, moderating discussions, nurturing students in taking a greater interest in world issues and becoming active citizens, and bringing about a change in mindset.

A variety of teaching and learning strategies are employed to facilitate greater student engagement and to maintain a high level of interest. The various strategies, approaches and media employed in the WISP module include:

• Internet-based New Media (e.g. WebQuests, online discussion forums, blogs, online surveys, YouTube, news feeds, Google Maps and Google Earth, Skype, Wikis, podcasts and newsfeeds, etc)
• Movies (dramas, documentaries, animé)
• Music (e.g. anti-war songs)
• Anecdotes, personal stories, jokes, cartoons
• News articles (online and print)
• Artefacts (including those brought by students and tutors as well as ones the students create as activities)
• Debates, discussions
• Field trips (Eg. Army Museum, Parliament, etc)
• Conferences, seminars and dialogues
• Games, quizzes
• Scenario planning

e-Learning: Various tools provided by the Mobile e-Learning platform (MeL, which uses Blackboard) are used extensively in the module to better ensure the intended learning outcomes. The tools we use include the discussion board, voice board (using Wimba), blogs, and wikis.

Teamwork: Teamwork and collaborative learning are also integral tenets of this module and are one of the desired outcomes in all the major assessments. The module is therefore designed to foster collaboration both in-class and outside the classroom.

Analysis: Aside from keeping our students abreast with current global situations and happenings, WISP challenges them to examine, analyze, think, formulate their own insights, thoughts and decisions through discussions, research, games, multi-media and tutor facilitation.

Empowerment: One of the strengths of the module is that students are given the flexibility and latitude to select information and integrate it in ways that are congruent with their interpersonal, intrapersonal and environmental experiences. The assignment questions invite students to do just that. There is no specified content to cover, only broad themes that guide students’ exploration of various concepts and issues within those themes.

A key "value-add" in the WISP module is that students are required to explore their own position and viewpoint with respect to the various issues raised. This helps learners to develop their own position as a thinking young adult.

Some of the topics students need to consider, discuss and analyse during the WISP module include:

• Studying and Working Overseas
• Cashless/careless
• Relationship-based Violence
• Foreign workers/foreign talents
• Househusbands
• Islamic Terrorism
• Old Fogies
• An Imagined Future (insights from the experiences of Russia, Thailand, USA, France, Rwanda)

(c) Assessment methods

In the WISP curriculum, students are continually assessed on their knowledge and understanding of world events and issues and their impact on Singapore in relation to the overarching themes considered. They are also assessed on their ability to apply this knowledge and understanding by articulating them either in written or oral formats. With its continuous assessment approach, both formative and summative assessments are conducted with the former having a greater weighting attached to it. The assessments are primarily designed to provide students with continuous feedback on their performance after they have completed the main components. The main modes of assessment are group presentations and individual assignments which are in keeping with the overall approach used for WISP.

5. Outcomes

Student feedback about the WISP module has been generally very positive. The following short video clip summarizes this feedback. It was screened at the first National Education sharing session organized by Ngee Ann Polytechnic on 9 Oct 2007.

Recent student feedback and comments include the following extracted from their individual self-reflection paper and responses to the Module Experience Survey (April 2008):

“Taking this module has been a fascinating look at the world from a Singaporean perspective, and I will continue learning by viewing the world from multiple perspectives.” (InfoComm Technology student)

“My perspective on things have been greatly widen because of this module.” (Accountancy student)

This module allows me to learn and realise the happenings around the world,  which is good as Singapore happens to be a small country. So it is really vital to think and see things from a wider perspective, so as not to be a frog in the well.” (Electronic and Computer Engineering student)

WISP is a very good module. It helps us to open our eyes to the surrounding and the world which we tend to ignore. And learn more in depth about the issues the world is facing.” (Facilities Management for Business student)

6. Future Developments

As global issues and trends are never static, we are motivated towards continuous improvement in content and delivery. Technology and the use of various online e-Learning tools and social media will continue to anchor many of the learning experiences. This will be complemented by off-campus learning in the form of field trips.

Greater depth of exploration & analysis and critique of issues will be achieved with the inclusion and adaptation of appropriate materials from inter-disciplinary areas such as Political Science, International Relations and Strategic Studies. WISP students will have a stimulating variety of learning experiences and resources which will not only add value to their course at NP but also to their personal lives.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank colleagues in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies for their support in the development and delivery of this module.

Authors

Article by Mark Lim Shan-Loong and Chan Keen Len (pictured left, above), lecturers in School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Introduction

One thing a journalist has in common with a cook is the unquenchable thirst for colour.

Spice. Detail. Flavour. Call it what you will, but it’s what gives your curry that kick and your story that compelling life-like quality. And cooks and writers worth their salt spend hours slaving for the detail that separates them from mere mortals.

As a journalism lecturer, one of the qualities I like to look for in my students’ work is how much risk they take. It’s those who venture beyond the usual questions that get the edgier, the more unusual stories. And to sense that hunger in my students is a joy.

Sadly it is a rare privilege.

It seems that right before they entered poly, my Mass Communication students had been conditioned to avoid risky composition questions in the O level English composition exam.

These “risky” questions, so I hear from a colleague who used to teach Secondary 4, are often the last two of five questions that require students to discuss or argue with respect to a point of view. An example is “Money is the root of all evil. Discuss.”

Bob Chua of Sun Microsystems said at a recent talk given at Ngee Ann Polytechnic:

Learning to take a risk is an increasingly important skill that is expected of the super grad these days.

Super grads are expected to not just be tech-savvy, but have high EQ, have the ability to deal with ambiguity and be entrepreneurial. It is only so that they can be the idea generators for the workplace of the new millennium.

The trouble with news-writing is that engaging news stories can only be achieved if a writer adopts a ground-up approach rather than the top-down approach.

The top-down approach is to quote extensively from an official press release – which is very safe and controllable – while the other approach is to quote extensively from people who are affected by an action announced in the press release.

This is trickier because you are not sure what people are going to say and you need to work the ground more thoroughly to get a good feel. Obviously the top-down approach is the least risky.

Risk: Finding Interviewees

For an assignment in our news-writing class in the Diploma of Mass Communication within the School of Film and Media Studies, I asked all 172 students to cover one event among a list of 10 for Arts on the Move, the fringe programme of the 2008 Singapore Arts Festival.

Their task was to attend more than one event, choose what they find interesting, research the event and the performers, attend the event and describe the audience reaction to the event. They had to figure out the angle they wanted, who to talk to and what colour to put into a specific inverted-pyramid structure.

[The inverted-pyramid is a format used by journalists traditionally to write about breaking news in a concise and succinct manner, with the facts in a logical sequence. Typically, the pyramid starts with a news point, followed by a paragraph stating the context, background and quotes.]

Risk: Stories Outside of the Students’ Norm

Despite a range of performances covering a capella singing and a dusk-to-dawn Hindu epic, the events the students chose were “safe”. They were either a feisty flamenco dance, an experimental dance, an Indonesian drum performance, or an interactive performance featuring three overdressed tai-tais and surprised MRT commuters.

Students came back tending to complain about reluctant interviewees, or having to brave crowds of competing reporters from the class. They also complained they had to think very fast on their feet and be prepared with research or see their interviewees walk away impatiently.

One of the more successful news stories was by Samanthan Chui, who covered a rather sombre and experimental dance performance portraying a rebellious relationship between a teenage girl and her parents in Clarke Quay. It was a difficult story as few spectators connected with the show generally. But with the right interviewees, she brought an emotional centre to her story.

She wrote of the performance by Frontier Danceland, “The heart of Clarke Quay took a sombre note as diners and partygoers took a step slower and walked through a story of an unshakeable tie – family love.”

She interviewed a teenage girl and two mothers, one of whom said, “The message was loud and clear even though no words were spoken … it reminded me of my own daughters who are always fighting despite their unspoken love.”

The authentic news-gathering approach was not always smooth-sailing. As a lecturer, I had to manage the risks involved.

Risk: Acceptance by Community

For starters, the organiser complained that some students interviewed tourists during a performance in an MRT train, which was deemed disruptive to the performers. I was asked to “vet” all questions to be posed by the students.

I used the organiser’s critical email as a teaching tool to remind students that the media industry is looking at them with the same standards as it would regard any rookie, and how they want to be perceived is up to how they conduct themselves in interviews.

The complaints stopped.

In another instance, a few students called from Toa Payoh’s HDB Hub in a panic as a few security guards asked them to leave the area. I instructed my students to stay polite always and ask politely why they had to leave and to note the names of the guards. In the meantime, I rushed down to HDB Hub so I could respond to whoever was accosting them. The security guards never bothered them again.

It was an early lesson on how students tend to stand accused of ineptitude until proven otherwise. It also taught me that if I cared about what and how they wrote, I needed to engage the community to help the student transition between academic and professional requirements, especially if they were enterprising (read: innovative) in getting interviews.

In a later assignment students were tasked to source for the own news stories and present them in an eight-page community newspaper devoted to youths.

Risk: Expectations and Responsibilities

A student, Jason Lee, managed to get a five-minute interview with the Minister of Community, Youth and Sports at an emergency preparedness exercise in a Northwest district event. Unfortunately, he did not make clear if it would be published and the press secretary had to ask for help in locating the student for clarification. The enquiry email was routed to me.

I located the student and said he needed to be clear in his communication with any interviewee, including whether it would be published and when. I added that if he were a freelance reporter on the scene, he might have to depend on word-of-mouth to get jobs. His reputation mattered. On the phone, Jason’s voice suddenly seemed to have a more affirmative ring as he uttered “Yes, ma’am.”

Happily, not all interviewees were as openly skeptical of students. The public relations firm in charge of SINGFest was an exception to the norm.

Student Nur Aqilah was thrilled to get an email response from SINGFest publicist Debbie Loo. She had feared that she would be ignored as a student reporter because of the prior experience with the Arts Festival.

“But it turned out that the PR person was a very nice lady and she answered my questions willingly,” said Aqilah. “I feel that going out there and really experiencing what journalists or reporters do can teach us some life values. Basically, if you never try, then you will never know the outcome.”

It is an attitude the most resilient writing students will adopt.

Outcomes

Example Student Article: Chui Yong Cheng reports on one of the dramas performed during the arts festival:

One Table Three Chairs strikes a chord [MS Word document, .docx format]
(Includes a personal reflection on her experience of this authentic assessment task.)

Another student, Joshua Tan, shared in his reflections that he learned how to approach interviewees and to be subtle in guiding the interview in the desired direction. He added:

Finally, I learned that it is important to be able to think on one’s feet to alter a question as and when is required. This is essential as different people perceive things differently, and will give different answers if prompted in different ways. This also aids a reporter in getting different points of view from the various interviewees.

Andrew, another participant in the news-writing class, said after the experience of going out to interview audience members:

I have learned to understand people much better. Also, I have started to learn to ask the question ‘WHY’ more often. It is true that students do not ask this question often, but it is very important as this is a follow-up question and this type of questions are the ones to lead you to a good quote.

Conclusion

Forget the A-graders who toe the line like the O-level exams expected them to. They will forever be the ones waiting for pat answers. I tell my students never to look at me for answers. It’s the risk-takers with the right details that score.

It is by making students venture beyond their comfort zone that we can create an intensive stretch for their ability to engage their environment and benefit from their learning.

Author

By Koh Joh Ting, lecturer in the School of Film and Media Studies, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

1. Overview

Engineering Materials is an essential module for students in the Business Process and Quality Engineering diploma at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

I remembered my days as a student when I found it difficult to study this module because it was mainly descriptive and required a great deal of memorizing work.

My interest in Engineering Materials eventually grew when I worked in the navy and a local shipyard, where I needed to learn how to select the most appropriate material for an engineering application. My past experiences and difficulties in this area motivated me to try to develop a pedagogy that uses today’s technology and knowledge in brain-based teaching methods to help students enjoy learning about materials and how to apply it in the real world.

2. Developing Interest Through Technology and Learner-centred Learning

My first task was to upgrade myself in learning how to apply the various new technologies or software that could be used as part of my teaching. I challenged myself to design a series of brain-based exercises and assignments that could intrigue and sustain the students’ interests.

Additional efforts must also be made to ensure that the element of fun is part of the work assignment.

Below is a brief explanation of the key learner-centred learning-based activities that make up the innovative learning methodology of the Engineering Materials module.

Seeding a Learner-centred Learning Mindset (1st Week)

To prepare the students for learning in a “Learner Centred” classroom, I prepared a mind-map of what the students can expect to learn and the methods of learning that this module would employ.  (See Figure 1)

Figure 1 – Learner-centred Learning Methodology (Click image to see full size.)

Through the 16 weeks, I employed a variety of learning tools to help students be more active in their own learning process.

As students began to be open to the learner-centred learning mindset, I would use a variety of teaching techniques throughout the semester to help students be more active in their own learning. These techniques require students to take more ownership of the learning process as they are often asked to discover, analyse, synthesise, and to make justifications for their own conclusions. These activities all come together to help develop the students’ knowledge & skills in this module.   Examples of these learning activities are listed below.

a. Innovative Use of Magnets as an Aid for Identifying Some Metals (1st  - 16th Week)

From my past industrial experience, I explained the value of using magnets as a means of broadly identifying metals as being either ferrous or non-ferrous and also to differentiate common stainless steels from other types of stainless steels. Common stainless steels are austenitic in nature (they have high tensile strength and low carbon content) and are generally non-magnetic as compared to other types of stainless steels.  

b. Experiential Learning Journey in Engineering Materials (5th and 6th Week)

Students were taken on an experiential learning journey exercise outside their classroom during the 5th and 6th weeks. They needed to use magnets to help them uncover the identity of some commonly used metals.

When students were told that they would be going out of the Materials Laboratory to learn more about materials, they were excited. To capitalize on this high level of interest and excitement, I required each student to fill up a simple worksheet of at least three other materials that they discovered during the outdoor session. They were also encouraged to ask questions and to use magnets to help them distinguish between ferrous and non-ferrous materials as well as to detect products that use austenitic stainless steel materials. Each student was required to explore Internet sources for relevant technical information regarding the engineering material chosen. In addition, a short quiz was conducted at the end of the “Learning Journey” to gauge the students’ interests and attention in the exercise.

I observed that most of the students liked the outdoor activity as they got to see and learn more about engineering materials in-situ rather than from textbooks. From the feedback obtained, students also found it exciting to learn more about the materials they were assigned during the “Learning Journey”, as they had to go beyond the textbooks to learn more about it.

c. Presentation for Mini-project 1 (Innovative Idea) (1st to 7th Week)

To kick start the assignment, I briefly explained that since the students would be graduating as engineers, they would have to learn how to select materials when making products.

Each student needed to come up with at least three innovative ideas which could solve certain problems. They would then brainstorm within the group for the best idea and solution to the problem. The project with the most innovative idea would then be selected to enter the Tan Kah Kee Young Inventor’s Award (TKKYIA).

Every student in the group was required to present their part of the project so that everyone would have an opportunity to communicate their ideas to others.

Figure 3: Photos showing students in action with their innovations.

Students were excited that the successful completion of their mini-project provided them with the opportunity to participate in the TKKYIA. They found the project challenging and they learned more about materials than what could be taught to them in a normal class lecture.

d. Using Multi-media as a tool for learning: Mini-project 2 (Movie)  (9th to 16th Week)

Another creative way to engage students in discovery and learning is to ask them to “create” a product based on their knowledge and skills. For this project, students were first assigned to an existing product such as an aluminium can, 7.62mm round ammunition, plastic bags, coins or a porcelain bowl. Their assignment was to research it from the point of view of the materials that are used to make it as well as the manufacturing production process. The goal was to produce a short, 5-min movie clip of the production process of the product. This assignment was done in groups of 4 or 5 students.

Some of the learning movies created by the students can be viewed from the following links:

1. Manufacturing Process of Plastic Bags
2. Making of Porcelain Bowl
3. Commentary on Tempered Glass

Feedback showed that students learned more than what the basic course could teach them as they had to explore the Internet for additional relevant materials. Some groups also found time to make their own arrangements to visit actual factories or museums on their own to see and film the production process or take photos of the product in various stages of manufacture. Attached photos show some factory visits arranged by the students themselves.

Figure 4 – Joanne Chua Pui San,(in pink) interviewing the Factory Supervisor (in red) on the Manufacture of Tempered Glass. Other students in the picture are Dayna Lam Man Ning and Fu Yong Huang (in black T-shirt).

All groups concurred that although the process was long, they enjoyed doing the mini-project. They also learnt to work as a team and to some, became “more curious to discover the world of materials”.

3. Analysis and Summary of Student Feedback

The results of six survey groups conducted between August 2007 and August 2008 is summarised in Appendix 1. The initial learner-centred learning studies started off with only Groups A and B, while the surveys on Groups C to F were conducted in subsequent semesters so as to validate the design model. A total of 91 students were involved in the actual implementation and subsequent validation process of the learner-centred learning design methodology. The “Strongly Agree” and “Agree” responses are grouped together as a single data point for each group of students and are tabulated.

Sample written responses to the open-ended questions in the surveys are included (see Appendix 2) to give an overall picture of the feedback obtained.

4. Conclusion and Future Development

The successful implementation of the learner-centred learning approach to the teaching of Engineering Materials has greatly encouraged me to embark on further learner-centred learning-designed modules that would benefit students of the new age. I am definitely excited by the highly positive learning results and would like to share with colleagues how to implement this teaching methodology into the classroom environment.

For future development, I am currently conducting preliminary studies and a pilot-run on another module, “Chemical Logistics” that I am teaching with other colleagues. Preliminary indications are that the teaching and learning pedagogy as developed for the Engineering Materials module is effective in the classroom, because it is brain-based and learner-centred.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank colleagues in the School of Multidiscipline Engineering, iMedia Centre and the Teaching and Learning Centre for their support in the development of this project.

Author

Lim Choon Boo, Multidiscipline Engineering (MDE) Division, School of Engineering

We first introduced Second Life to Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2007.

At first, students were given simple tasks so that they could learn how to build items in the virtual space. They needed to go to common areas (called sandboxes) to carry out their activities but a problem we faced was the sandbox would get cleared from time to time and the students’ work would be lost. We subsequently bought our own island with the aim of providing an opportunity for staff and students to investigate the potential of 3-D virtual spaces for learning.

The first activities in Second Life were undertaken by students from the Building and Mechanical Engineering diplomas. The objective was for them to learn how to communicate, collaborate and construct buildings and other objects in a virtual space.

1. Activity by Aerospace Technology Students

The Aerospace Technology students created models of aircraft and hangars as illustrated below.

As the facilitator for this activity, it was an interesting experience for me as it was the first time I needed to meet students in a virtual space to help them with their tasks. In this image, I am discussing the requirements for the activity with the students.

As virtual worlds become more commonplace, I think “in-world” facilitation skills will become more important in the educational context. As companies will make more use of virtual worlds to meet with clients and to hold in-company meetings, our students need to be prepared by having experiences in such spaces.

Self-Directed Learning

The students were required to research how to build objects in Second Life, since no formal training was provided. I also encouraged them to look for help online both “in-world” where they would hop on to other islands and consult builders and on YouTube which has hundreds of videos on building and scripting on Second Life.

For example, in this video an avatar is seen using a set of architectural plans to create a building in Second Life.

2. Second Life Activity by Real Estate Business Students

Our second project was with Mr. Keow Yeong Ming and his 3rd-year Real Estate Business students, who were enrolled in the Business Information Technology module. We could only work with 3rd-year students as Second Life does not allow people younger than 18 on the main islands. (There is a separate section in Second Life for those younger than 18).

The objective for this activity were to expose the students to the experience of collaborating in an online space to design and create a building of their own choosing.

The students were divided into about a dozen teams of three each.

The first task the students needed to complete was to create their avatar and then visit certain islands to learn more about what Second Life has to offer.

The students needed to build something of their own choice in Second Life. It could have been an apartment block, a bungalow, or perhaps a restaurant or shopping centre. They needed to build it from scratch or they could explore Second Life to find components that they could use (like staircases, furniture, cars, and even helicopters). The students had access to a building fund of 1000 Linden dollars per team. (Linden dollars is the virtual currency that is used in Second Life. It can be exchanged for real currency.)

The students were given broad guidelines to encourage creativity. One of the choices that the students had was to build their “dream home”.

We were quite impressed by what the students were able to build in such a short period of time.

Assessment in Second Life Projects
The assessment for this project was quite interesting. The lecturer visited each group’s Second Life site at a pre-determined time and the students were required to be there to show him around. He asked them questions on what they had done, why they did it the way they did and what had they learned. The aesthetics of the construction and the use of space were also considered as part of the assessment.

Student Feedback
We surveyed the students after this experience. Most of the students were positive about the experience in Second Life, while around 15% were ‘neutral’ and only a small number did not believe it was a useful experience. They reported that Second Life was “fun and easy to use” and that they “were now more comfortable to communicate with people in Second Life”.

One student reflected on how it had changed his view about the module:

It’s fun and an innovative way to make our module more interesting.

Several students indicated their disappointment with the “lagginess” of Second Life, presumably because of wireless bandwidth issues:

I feel that it is a rather fun and unique way by using Second Life in doing part of our assignments. It is like students can have fun learning and playing at the same time. However, it can take up a lot of time too as i get logged out rather often and slows down everything. Can’t really multi-task using my laptop.

Another reported on student engagement:

I feel that it is a good way to engage students to have a feel of how to build digitally. Even though it was lagging, the project interested me and I enjoyed doing it.

When asked about the future potential of Second Life, we were encouraged when one student responded:

Perhaps there should be a project whereby students are required to hold meetings with their individual groups in Second Life.

Unexpected Lessons Learned

The lecturer in charge of this project reported that after allowing the students to build whatever they liked, wherever they liked, the virtual “town” became very messy. For future runs, there will be more town planning on the island. This was also a good learning point for the real estate students who were involved.

Future Directions for 3-D Worlds at Ngee Ann Polytechnic

1. Next semester we will get a larger group of students to participate in a more involved exercise where the Second Life activity will be more focused on the learning objectives of the students’ core subjects.
2. We are now using a virtual 3D environment originally developed by Sun Microsystems. In this 3D world, employees can “accomplish their real work, share documents, and meet with colleagues using natural voice communication.” In the educational arena, students can use MPK20 to share computer applications with each other and with their lecturers; collaborate on projects; and communicate with each other in the 3-D space. See Using a Virtual World to Teach Stock-Taking Concepts and Techniques

and

I believe that learning takes place best when learners take responsibly for their own learning. Competitions are an ideal environment for promoting such increased learner responsibility.

…As a result they are highly motivated.

Students join a competition with the desire to win. As a result they are highly motivated and prepared to spend time outside their regular school hours to train for the competition. Fortunately, students who are interested in competitions tend to manage their time well. Preparing for the competition helps them to develop their time management skills even further.

Learning Beyond the Curriculum

Competitions provide the opportunity for students to learn beyond their normal curriculum and thus widen their knowledge base. Very often the scope of any competition is far from what students need to learn in class. Whether it is a competition involving programming or debating, participants will learn a great deal beyond their regular curriculum during the process of preparation.

The Microsoft Office Specialist Program

Over the last five years I have been involved in preparing students for the Microsoft® Office Specialist program, which is:

“… a globally recognized standard for demonstrating desktop skills with the Microsoft Office suite of desktop applications.”

This competition tests software skills in Microsoft Office at Specialist level in the Preliminary round and at Expert level in the National Finals. Students from across Ngee Ann Polytechnic are encouraged to enter this annual competition.

There are 15 questions in the 50-minute examination. The result is known to the competitors as soon as the test is submitted.

I was thrilled that participants from Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s School of InfoComm Technology, (ICT) won the Word Championship twice, in 2004 and 2006 respectively.

2006 World Champion in Microsoft Word, Lay Yong Shun Edward

Training for the Competition

I take a learner-centred approach to training students for this competition. There are no formal classes and students need to learn the materials independently and in their own time. The participants are provided with:

1. A clear statement of the syllabus for the competition;
2. Online study materials; and
3. A desktop application that allows them to practice for the competition in a simulated test environment. This application includes Microsoft Office skill questions that are similar to previous years’ examination questions.

Fulu (in blue shirt) with competition participants

During the one-month training period, students can consult with me via email, phone or in person. So the students are learning but there is limited input from me. The clear learning goals for the competition help students to focus and take responsibility for their own learning.

Observed Learning Outcomes

During the training for the competitions over the last 5 years I observed the following learning outcomes.

The students had a sense of ownership for their own learning.

Students took responsibility for their own learning: The students had a sense of ownership for their own learning and as a consequence, they took it more seriously. I did not need to chase them all the time to learn the skills. Instead, they were motivated and took responsibility for developing the skills.

They became more skilled at managing their time commitments, having to juggle between regular school work and learning the new skills required for the competition.

I found them to be very enthusiastic in learning these new skills through the hands-on practice tests. The online assessment was helpful in boosting the students’ confidence and it encouraged them to close any skill gaps that they found.

Increased responsibility for learning was a valuable outcome of the learner-centred approach taken to this training.

Students developed a cooperative learning approach: Another interesting observation was that the trainees formed a “learning community” among themselves and naturally adopted cooperative learning during the training period.

Johnson and Johnson in An Overview of Cooperative Learning [link no longer available] maintain that in cooperative situations, students perceive they can reach their goals only if other students in the learning group reach their goals, while in competitive situations students perceive they can reach their goals only if other students in the group fail to achieve their goals.

Cooperative learning is a learning strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve all team members’ understanding of a subject. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping team-mates learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement.

… the students shared their knowledge and helped each other to prepare for the competition.

I observed that the students shared their knowledge and helped each other to prepare for the competition, even though they were going to compete as individuals. There was a sense that they wanted fellow Ngee Ann Polytechnic students to be in the top 10 rankings for this competition, so they naturally formed self-help groups.

Collaboration in the learning process was another positive outcome of the learner-centred approach taken.

Teaching Others Promotes Better Learning

On reflection, I believe that in the process of helping each other to acquire the necessary skills, the students consolidated their own learning. They needed to think through the vocabulary used, the steps required and the correct order of those steps. They then needed to share that knowledge, and as a consequence, they learned the knowledge more thoroughly.

Competition Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the competition are awarded a Competency Certificate in Word and/or Excel issued by Microsoft. This certificate can be included in their portfolios and used in job applications.

From Overview of the Office Specialist:

“The results of an independent research study of participants in the Office Specialist program indicate Office Specialist certification improves employee competence, productivity, and credibility, including the following:

• Up to 87 percent of employers observe increased competency in their Office Specialist-certified employees.
• Up to 83 percent of employers feel their Office Specialist-certified employees are more productive.”

Conclusion

By taking a learner-centred approach to training students for the Singapore Microsoft Office Academic Skills Challenge, I believe that the particpants became more passionate about what they were learning. As a result, they became more responsible for the outcome and they naturally adopted a cooperative approach to their fellow competitors.

I am enthusiastic about the positive outcomes that can be obtained when we involve students in external competitions. The students achieve:

• Recognition of their learning by an authentic external body
• Motivation, engagement and responsibility for their own learning
• Skills in cooperative learning
• Self esteem (there was great jubilation when students scored full marks in this competition)

… The students have gained many important skills that would not be possible if I had conducted conventional classes…

I believe that in particular, the Microsoft Office competition has positive learning outcomes because:

• The competition has an obvious “value add” for the students, since they will all use Microsoft Office products in their working lives
• The skills learned have a broad application
• The competition fosters the view that there is more to learning than studying for school exams
• The students begin to build skills for life-long learning

In conclusion, I believe that by conducting the training for this competition in a learner-centred manner, the students have gained many important skills that would not be possible if I had conducted conventional classes in Microsoft Office.

Author

Ismail Fulu, School of ICT, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

References

Johnson, D. and Johnson, R. An Overview of Cooperative Learning, (online). Retrieved 29 Oct 2007 from clearspecs.com [link no longer available].

1. Introduction

Assessment of student achievement is changing, largely because today’s students face a world that will demand new knowledge and abilities. In the global economy of the 21st century, students will not only need to understand the basics, but also to think critically, to analyse, and to make inferences. Helping students develop these skills will require changes in assessment at the NgeeAnn and department level.

Many of us believe that what gets assessed is what gets taught and that the format of assessment influences the format of instruction. Contrary to our understanding of how students learn, many assessments test facts and skills in isolation, seldom requiring students to apply what they know and can do in real-life situations. Standardised tests do not match the emerging content standards, and over-reliance on this type of assessment often leads to instruction that stresses basic knowledge and skills. Rather than encouraging changes in instruction toward the engaged learning that will prepare students for the 21st century, these tests encourage instruction of less important skills and passive learning. Although basic skills may be important goals of education, they are often over-emphasised in an effort to raise standardised test scores.

However, many of us are beginning to recognise that basics are no longer sufficient and are calling for a closer match between the skills students learn in the polytechnic and the skills they will need upon leaving the polytechnic. Shouldn’t we be expected to help students develop skills and competencies in real-life, “authentic” situations, and graduate students who can demonstrate these abilities? If this be the case, then shouldn’t we consider alternative forms of assessment, in addition to the traditional examination?

Last year, I attended the 4th Conference on Assessment at the University of Northumbria, Newcastle (31 August – 3 September 99). I would like to share some knowledge I gathered from Professor Phil Race, who conducted a workshop in the conference. It is hoped that this will help you explore further methods of assessment in your modules.

(Phil Race is Emeritus Professor of Glamorgan University. He is currently working part-time at Durham University as Programme Director of the ‘Durham Certificate in Teaching in Higher Education’. He has worked in Canada, Ireland, Sweden, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand and has co-authored many books on assessment.)

2. Traditional Examinations

Traditional, unseen, written exams still make up a major share of assessment in higher education. It causes students to be engage deliberately with the subject matter being covered by the exams, and these exams are demonstrably fair in that students have all the same tasks to do in the same way and within the same timescale.

However, much has been written about the weaknesses of such exams:

1. Students get little or no feedback about their performance in the exams. Some may argue that the purpose of such exams is measurement rather than feedback, but the counter-argument is that most exams represent lost learning opportunities because of this lack of feedback.
2. Exams do not do much to increase students’ motivation in terms of their desire to learn. Exams tend to measure how good students are at answering exam questions, rather than how well they have learned.
3. Exams usually force students into surface learning, with students clearing their minds of one subject as they prepare for exams in the next subject.
4. How students perform in traditional exams depends on so many factors other than their grasp of the subject being tested. Students’ state of mind on the day, their luck or otherwise in tackling a good question first, their state of health and many other irrelevant factors creep in. Also, exams tend to favour candidates who happen to be skilled at doing exams rather than at anything more important. If we look at exactly what skills are measured by unseen exams, the most important of these from a students’ point of view turns out unsurprisingly to be the techniques needed to do unseen written exams! Unseen examinations are limited and useless for measuring teamwork, leadership and are rarely a suitable vehicle for measuring creativity and lateral thinking.
5. Finally, examination scripts are usually marked far too quickly. Most staff who mark exams agree that the task usually has to be completed in haste, in preparation for timetabled examination meetings. This leads to increased danger that the assessment is not reliable.

3. Other Forms Of Assessment

Below are other forms of assessment that are available to us other than the unseen written exams. While a lot more can be said about each type of assessment, I have shortened it to a brief description with one advantage and one disadvantage.

Open-book exams

Open-book exams are similar to traditional exams, but with the major difference the students are allowed to take in with them sources of reference material. Sometimes, in addition, the ‘timed’ element is relaxed or abandoned, allowing students to answer questions with the aid of their chosen materials and at their own pace.

Advantage – measures retrieval skills – it is possible to set questions which measure how well students can use and apply information, and how well they can find their way round the contents of books and even databases.
Disadvantage – It is hard to ensure that all students are equally equipped regarding the books they bring into the exam with them.

Structured exams

These include multiple-choice exams and several other types of formats where students are not required to write ‘full’ answers, but are involved in making true/false decisions, or identifying reasons to support assertions, or fill in blanks or complete statements, and so on.

Advantage – It is possible, in a limited time, to test students’ understanding of a much greater cross-section of a syllabus than could be done in the same time by getting students to write in detail about a few parts of the syllabus.
Disadvantage – It is harder to design good multiple-choice questions than it is to write traditional open-ended questions.

Essays

Traditional (and open-book) exams often require students to write essays.

Advantage – Writing freely about a topic is a process which demonstrates understanding and grasp of the material involved.
Disadvantage – students from some backgrounds are disadvantaged regarding essay writing skills as they have never been coached in how to write essays well.

Reviews

Getting students to write reviews is a logical way of causing them to interact in depth with the information they review.

Advantage – Reviewing material gives students a task to do which focuses their thinking, and helps them avoid reading passively
Disadvantage – With large numbers of students and limited library resources, students may find it difficult or impossible to get adequate access to the materials we want them to review. However, the Internet may now be an alternate source.

Reports

These make up at least part of the coursework component of many courses.

Advantage – In many careers and professions, the ability to put together a convincing and precise report is useful.
Disadvantage – Collaboration can be difficult to detect. It is not always easy to devise new and different tasks for students to do, so there may be a black market in old reports.

Practical work

Many areas of study involve practical work, but often much more difficult to assess such work in its own right.
Advantage – Practical work is learning by doing.
Disadvantage – It is usually much easier to assess the end point of practical work, rather than the processes and skills involved in their own right.

Portfolios

These are compilations of evidence of students’ achievements, including major pieces of their work, feedback comments from tutors, and reflective analyses by the students themselves.

Advantage – Most other forms of assessment are more like snapshots of particular levels of development, whereas portfolios can demonstrate progression.
Disadvantage – It can take a long time to assess a set of portfolios.

Presentations

This requires substantially different skills from writing answers to exam questions.

Advantage – Presentations can allow you to assess students’ Key Skills. These include oral communication, the ability to plan and structure material, and perhaps working as a member of the team.
Disadvantage – Presentations cannot be anonymous and so it can prove difficult to eliminate subjective bias.

Vivas

These normally take the form of interviews or oral examinations, where students are interrogated about selected parts of work they have had assessed in other ways.

Advantage – They can be useful as a means of allowing students to clarify issues in their work that the examiner finds problematic.
Disadvantage – Cultural and individual differences can result in some candidates underperforming when asked questions by experts and figures of authority.

4. Peer Assessment

Students learn a great deal from each other, and with large student numbers, the importance of student feedback increases as the availability of tutor feedback decreases. Setting up and facilitating student peer-assessment can provide students with deep learning experiences as well as a wealth of feedback to evaluate. Such assessment also equips the students for the rest of the career with well-developed self-evaluation and self-appraisal skills.

Some Reasons for Using Peer Assessment

1. Students are already doing it by comparing their performances and coursework with others.
2. Students find out more about assessment cultures and students gain a better idea of exactly what will be expected of them in their efforts to demonstrate their achievement of the intended learning outcomes.
3. We cannot do as much assessing as we used to do, and so, peer-assessment, when facilitated well, can be a vehicle for getting much more feedback to students.
4. Students learn more deeply when they have a sense of ownership of the agenda.
5. Applying criteria to someone else’s work is one of the most productive ways of developing and deepening understanding of the subject matter involved in the process.
6. Peer-assessment allows students to learn from each other’s successes.
7. Peer-assessment allows students to learn from each other’s weaknesses.

The following are some of the many areas where peer-assessment can produce excellent benefits:

• student presentations,
• reports,
• essay-plans,
• calculations,
• interviews, etc.

5. Conclusion

None of the forms of assessment explored is without merits or limitations. The challenges caused by greater numbers of students and increased assessment workloads provide an opportunity to make a radical review of the ways we assess our students. Probably the best way to do our students justice is to use as wide as possible a mixture of the assessment methods outlined above, allowing students a range of processes through which to demonstrate their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Moreover, we need to ensure that learning is not simply assessment-driven. So, when planning for a greater weightage in continuous assessment, ensure that the assessment practices you choose point to ways of balancing assessment so that it enhances and enriches students’ learning experience, as well as leading to qualifications that are valid and appropriate for their future lives and careers. Zero defects in education can become a reality, if only we assess innovatively.

6. Suggested Reading

The suggestions for further reading below refer to a range of books on assessment, but the list is not meant to be exhaustive.

• Brown, S and Knight, P (1994) Assessing Learners in Higher Education Kogan Page, London.
• Brown, S Race, P and Smith, B (1996) 500 Tips on Assessment Kogan Page, London.
• Rust, R and Wallace, J (1994) Helping Students to Learn From Each Other SEDA Paper 86, Birmingham, UK.
• Brown, S, Rust, C and Gibbs, G (1994) Strategies for Diversifying Assessment in Higher Education Oxford Centre for Staff Development, Oxford Brookes University, UK.
• Race, P Brown, S (1998) The Lecturer’s Toolkit Kogan Page, London.

Author

Andrew Sabaratnam is Deputy Head of Electronic and Computer Engineering Department and was previously the Head of the Academic Quality Section, Institutional Planning & Development Directorate at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.