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

Decision Support with Spreadsheets (DSS) is a 1st year module offered by the School of Business and Accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. One of the main objectives of this module is for the students to develop a working knowledge of spreadsheets for use within a business environment. Students are expected to develop spreadsheet skills that can be used for data analysis to enhance business intelligence.

The original module format

The original teaching and learning model for this module was designed around a conventional 1-hr lecture, 1-hour tutorial and a 2-hour workshop each week during the semester.

A spreadsheet chart. [Image source.]

The purpose of the large-group lectures was for the lecturer to explain Microsoft Excel concepts, while the tutorials offered opportunities for students to practice these concepts in a smaller class. In the workshops, students undertook small group problem-solving activities.

A review of student learning outcomes indicated that students felt they were learning about Excel functions as a theoretical exercise and the main purpose appeared to be learning for a test, rather than being able to apply the concepts.

The review highlighted an apparent mismatch between 50% of the curriculum time (the teacher-led, content-centered relatively large-class lecture/tutorial) and the applied knowledge that the students actually needed to develop.

Moving towards more learner-centered learning…

In reviewing how students learn, the teaching team felt that learning would be more effective if curriculum space could be created for students to handle more realistic business problems in a learner-centered manner. Opportunities had to be created to involve students in the capture, manipulation and analysis of data and in the construction of possible solutions.

Instead of asking students to do text-book assignments during tutorials, the students experience a Problem Based Learning (PBL) approach so that they are better able to apply their understanding of the topic to real world issues. Working in small teams, students now encounter real-world problems, identify the key issues, conduct reviews and information search, suggest ways to handle and resolve the problems, select the best solution/method, and present their findings for review and critique by their classmates and tutors.

Scaffolding learning – with PBL

In the course of the semester, students are given two PBL assignments which aim to develop the students’ thinking from that of a novice to a “professional”. The first assignment is designed with more guidance and scaffolding as students are still new to this method of learning. In working through the problem, students are expected to learn Excel functions, learn how to apply these functions and concepts to real-world problems, capture and manipulate the necessary data, analyse the data and posit solutions to the problem using Excel decision support features.

Students working on their PBL assignments

The second PBL assignment further develops the student’s ability to integrate classroom knowledge and real world issues as they are required to develop their own “problems” and to solve them. In order to identify real world problems, students would need to demonstrate good understanding of the concepts in the module as well as the problems arising from the use of these concepts in the workplace. Students would be challenged to synthesize their knowledge of the module, analyse the workplace environment and evaluate the various options for the most appropriate solution. This would take the students from novice to a more expert level.

Further enhancement to create more learning spaces

To further create the space for applied learning, the weekly large-group lecture of 250 students was removed. The revised model now includes a weekly 2-hr seminar and a 2-hr workshop with a class-size of 40 & 20 respectively.

The seminar sessions are used to highlight specific features of the Excel software and for students to complete in-class assignments which are more “text-book” based. A longer workshop allows the students more time to discuss and collaborate with their group on their PBL tasks. The smaller class size also meant that the tutor could spend more time with each group.

In order to ensure the validity of the assessment, the module team changed the assessment to emphasise the applied nature of the module. Theoretical assessment now covers only 25%, with the rest of the 75% being PBL assignments, class assignments and quiz.

Summary of Changes

Original Module Design Lectures were conducted where concepts were explained. Concepts are reinforced during tutorials where students practice. Workshop sessions were for students to work on small-group problem solving.

Revised Module Design The first hour of the tutorial is used by lecturers to explain concepts. The second hour is meant for students to practice.   Workshop sessions are meant for students to work on their PBL projects.

Original Module structure 1-Hour Lecture (250 students) 1-hour Seminar (40 students) 2-hour Workshop (40 students)

Revised Module Structure 2-hour Seminar (40 students) 2-hour Workshop (20 students)

Original Assessment Class & e-learning Participation (20%) Common Test & Final Test (40%) PBL Project (40%)

Revised Assessment Class Participation & assignments (20%) PBL Project (50%) Practical Test (25%) Quiz (5%)

Alignment with graduate outcomes

In this revised approach to learning how to use Excel to make informed business decisions, students develop the following repertoire of attributes, skills and knowledge:

Attributes

• Being responsible for self-directed activity
• Being confident about self-learning

Skills

• How to create, capture and manipulate data in Excel
• Data analysis
• Real-world Problem handling skills
• Critical thinking business and data-driven decision making
• Collaboration and team work

Knowledge:

• Excel decision support functions

Student Feedback on their PBL experience

Students have reported that while they find the learning experience to be meaningful and more effective than learning the concepts through the lecture mode, the module is challenging in that the problems are now larger and the workload is also heavier given that the PBL approach places a large amount of responsibility for the learning in the hands of the students. This is perhaps the most critical discomfort that students have registered about this new approach. Without the security of the ‘authorised content’ of the lecture, they feel a little lost and insecure about what they know and what they know to be ‘correct’.

Conclusion

Some students, especially since these are first year students, may find the PBL approach to Decision Support with Spreadsheets a little too challenging. They will probably need more scaffolding to develop the skills and attributes necessary for them to experience satisfaction from such a learning design. However, most students have also demonstrated that they are able to draw more meaning, relevance, and demonstrate the intended applied knowledge and skills, making this learning method more effective in achieving the learning objectives of this module.

Author

By Leong Kwok Keong, lecturer in the School of Business and Accountancy, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.
Benjamin Franklin

When I was asked to take up teaching of an Ecology module using a problem-based learning approach, I was truly looking forward to the experience. The Ecology module is part of the Diploma in Civil & Environmental Engineering at Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

As a student, I remember how I really enjoyed reading my Ecology textbook. But what registered most was the fact that theory alone can be drab. There was something about the examples in the book that really grabbed my attention − those examples were written from a West African point of view.

This gave me an idea of what my own students will enjoy and at the same time, learn from – something that is not too theory-oriented but rather case-based.

Initial Concerns about Using PBL

There were three key issues that I needed to address before using a PBL (problem-based learning) approach:

• How will I handle time pressures? I was only given 2 hours per week for the module;
• How do I switch from lecturer role to facilitator role? How do I resist the urge to just dish out the answers to questions that my students ask? After all, this is what I have been doing all these years as a teacher.
• How will I maximize learning from the student presentations? Thinking about previous experiences of group presentations brought back unpleasant memories of straining to listen as each group of students presented their results while the other students chattered their heads off. This was not something I was looking forward to with this class. How will I get through two doses of this every other week over an entire semester?

Managing the concerns

- Stretch the problem

I felt that using short, simple problems that students would be able to complete within two hours per week would not have a good learning outcome. Instead, I decided that each problem would have to run over a number of weeks in order for each problem to stretch students’ breadth of investigation and depth of thinking and analysis. The problems I eventually used were designed to run over 2 or 3 weeks.

- Switch to philosopher mode

For the second concern where I needed to adopt the “facilitator” role, I made a mental note to hold my tongue and keep reminding myself to answer every question with another question. Would I succeed at that? Frankly, I was not too sure! I was glad to find out from their reflections that I did OK!

- Showtime!

To address the third concern of getting students to listen to the presenters, I decided to tell them that I would encourage each group to ask questions of the presenting groups, to keep the monotony out.

I told them that since there would be a great deal of information in the presentations, I would be learning from it and would be noting things down. The same would apply to all of them, and since neither lectures nor lecture notes would be provided, they were responsible for extracting all the information.

They saw the logic in that.

The outcome was that the presentation sessions tended to be very lively and good fun, compared to the monotonous presentations I have seen in my other modules where the reflective process was not enforced and I left the class with a splitting headache and my spirits flagging!

Formulation of the PBL Problems

After attending a series of courses and discussions at the Teaching and Learning Centre, I felt more confident in my knowledge of the key requirements and methodologies for facilitating learning using PBL.

I asked myself what the purpose of the module would be. I decided that at the end of the semester, the students should go away with:

• An awareness of ecological disasters,
• The reasons why ecological disasters occur,
• The current state of the environment,
• The role of Ecology as a measure of the health of the environment, and
• How science and technology can be applied to solving or correcting these problems.

For almost all the problems, there was an abundance of “new” and “real” ecological disaster topics. This allowed me to formulate new problems every semester, as each species and each habitat is unique. Every group was given the freedom to choose a solution that they (as a group) agreed upon as appropriate.

There was the added bonus that such an approach reduces the chance of plagiarism.

Outline of the PBL Problems Used

Students solving a
PBL problem

1. Koala Overpopulation

There is a koala population explosion on an island off Australia. Koalas are an introduced species on this island, a nuisance there, yet an endangered species in the rest of the country − and a national icon. The choice of population control had to keep the delicate issues of tourism and animal rights in sight.

I still recall with amusement a debate in the class during a presentation in the first semester when one group suggested opening a “hunting season” for koalas to encourage tourism: the koala lovers and animal rights activists took the bait and argued, while the skeptics sniggered, and as the debate rolled on, one well-read student came up with a statement that put a stop to it all:

Who would want to shoot koalas – they are animals that move so slowly that they take half a day to move down or up a tree – what’s the thrill to a hunter – shooting slow animals and easy target is no fun.

I was really impressed with this group – I did not have to say anything else to them!

2. European Rabbits in New Zealand

In the second semester, the problem revolved around the thriving population of European rabbits, an introduced species to New Zealand.

3. Cane Toads

In the third semester, the problem statement concerned cane toads, an introduced species that became a nuisance in Australia.

In two out of the three cases mentioned above, the introduced species were brought in from elsewhere as a predator to control population of some agricultural pest, and ended up becoming a pest – this was the “catch” when introduction of predators was considered as an option.

The choice of such a topic covered a host of related topics in ecology, and helped to link these topics together in a neat manner:

• Population ecology,
• Food chain,
• Food web,
• Introduction of foreign species,
• Population control methods (the plus and the minus points of each),
• Competition,
• Extinction of species,
• Animal rights,
• Connection to economics and tourism

4. Global Warming

This topic also spanned across several topics.

A controversial solution to global warming was given. The concept was to add nutrients to parts of the oceans to encourage algae growth (the equivalent of pollution with nutrients, which elsewhere, the industry is trying to avoid!) – which would reduce carbon dioxide gas in the air during photosynthesis and in turn, feed fish (thus encourage a profitable aquaculture business as well, and feed the world’s hungry).

Students were given 3 weeks: In the first week, they would have to work on the topic of global warming and greenhouse effect, photosynthesis and geochemical cycles. In the second week, they would have to establish the efficacy of this proposed solution – to decide whether or not to support this idea. In the third week, they would present their findings and arguments.

5. Pesticides

The sub-topics that students needed to examine were:

• Pesticides – to ban or not to ban;
• Integrated Pest Management for control of Dengue fever or
• Develop a mosquito trap specific to Aedes mosquito.

The aim of a problem on these lines was to demonstrate the effectiveness and long-term effects of pesticides; holistic approaches to preventing an epidemic and application of information gathered on a particular species.

The Importance of Good Problem Writing

My conclusion from the experience was that the choice of topic and careful formulation of the problem statement played a key role in keeping their interest and increasing learning outcomes.

Workload Issues

On reflection, I decided that I would need to change and improve some of the processes so that students’ workload would be reduced. In part, this was achieved by getting the students to complete more of the tasks during class, rather than outside school time.

Also, not every lesson was devoted to solving problems. Towards the end of the semester I made use of a video on eco-tourism in class and I believe this had positive learning outcomes while reducing workload.

Using e-Learning Tools to Facilitate PBL

The PBL approach is certainly enhanced by the use of e-tools, since they help students to investigate, discuss, collaborate and present their results. Some of the e-tools that the students used were:

a. Discussion Forums

As soon as the groups were formed I would open group discussion forums on Blackboard. These forums were accessible only to the students belonging to the respective group and me, so that they can:

• Discuss the problem in private;
• Exchange information, files and pictures that they gather or prepare during their background research.

As time went by, the students tended to use various other IT tools such as MSN messenger — depending on their comfort level.

Most of the research was done online and when reflecting, they were asked to critique their sources.

b. Student-prepared Websites

One particular cohort of students had two interested groups preparing web-sites on “How Engineering can be used to Address the Challenge of Global Warming” for the Sterling Website Competition organized by the British Council (Eco-Manifesto and Green Earth). Both of these were short-listed into the final round. Students used Adobe Dreamweaver to develop the Websites.

In that particular semester, the students were asked to discuss using a Lotus Notes-based ‘green-room forum’ that was linked to the two websites.

Participants in the Sterling Website Competition

c. Use of External Forums

Later on, I used the “green-room forum” to update the class on the latest happenings in the environmental field and interesting topics. Topics discussed were: “Whimsical Solutions to reduce global warming’ and ‘Engineering Solutions to reduce global warming”.

d. Use of MS Office Tools

As a class, all groups made good use of Microsoft office tools especially Powerpoint, Excel and Word.

There were instances where the students were not using the most appropriate tool. In the very first semester, one of the students was not fully aware of MS Excel’s capabilities and he actually plotted his concept of a population model as a graph using Word’s drawing tools! While I felt it was a laudable attempt, I made sure he knew how to draw graphs using Excel…

e. Using the Library’s e-Databases

The students also got to use the e-library facilities in the Ecotourism problem. This increased their awareness of the availability of this resource.

Student Reflections

Reflection played a vital role in developing a greater awareness by the students of:

• Their learning;
• The areas that need further development;
• Their strengths; and
• Their weaknesses.

On the final day of semester, students submitted reflection forms. Included was a requirement for peer groups to comment on their degree of satisfaction with answers to the questions they posed to each of the presenting groups.

I realized that one of the key aspects to success is to convince students that the whole process of thinking, exploring, finding and presenting those solutions, and then justifying those solutions is important – even if the choice of the “solution” to the problem was not the “most appropriate”. This realization usually only dawned on them while participating in the critique of their presentation and as they reflected on their own learning journey.

One of the students wrote:

She said that the only way one could learn something is when that person is participating in the whole learning process

Feedback

Giving Feedback to Students

My observation is that the students value feedback – both from the facilitator as well as from their peers. Feedback is important especially for first-year students who might be presenting for the first time and grappling with a new method of teaching.

Once feedback is peppered with the good aspects as well as – room for improvement, no feelings are hurt, and they reflect on what they have been told, and work on the flaws for the next presentation. Normally, the earnest ones do show a marked improvement.

The PBL approach gives students much more developmental feedback on a range of learning issues, including problem analysis, quality of solution, presentation and also content learned. Feedback is also obtained from multiple sources and perspectives during the execution of a PBL learning event.

Getting Feedback from Students

Some of the feedback written by students:

“The tutor asks us questions that make us think harder, gives feedbacks on some groups presentation which make me more aware what I should do or not in future presentations”

“The feedback that she given help to point out the mistakes’”

“Telling us how to improve on the presentation – The feedbacks given”

Looking back

In retrospect, if I were to do this module again, I would ask the students to do their reflection using blogs. From recent experiences with students in another module, I find that some students who pass up mediocre submissions with pen and paper tend to do an impressive job especially when reflecting on a blog!

I also strongly feel that the use of such a module in the very first semester does play a vital role in class bonding.

By going through the problems and the process, I was confident that the students achieved the learning objectives, which were to ignite their interest in the environment, identify the role of science and technology in it, and to link the various environmental issues to ecology in an engaging manner. I also felt that the students gained by dabbling with the basic e-tools.

More importantly, by going through the reflection process, the students gained a deeper understanding of their own learning as well as gaining more insights into the ecology content that they had discovered.

By Mariam Mathew
Division of Building and Environment, School of Engineering,
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

[Koala image source (used on the home page story summary).]

The APD module spans over one semester. Students spend close to 140 hours working on three different projects related to:

• aircraft avionics,
• electrical instruments, and
• mechanical and control systems.

The module commences one week before the start of the semester, so as to provide students more time to plan and develop their solutions.

The three problem-based projects are provided to the students in the form of problem statements which depict the real-world situations.

Problem #1: Familiarization of Airplane Electrical Instruments, Radio Navigation and Communication Systems through Flight Simulation

The first assignment requires the students to configure the Microsoft Flight Simulator software to fly a Cessna airplane from Singapore Paya Lebar Airport, en-route Johor Bahru and turn back to land at Singapore Changi Airport. Throughout the flight, students are expected to familiarise themselves with the cockpit instruments onboard the Cessna so as to fly the airplane properly, monitor the airplane performance and at the same time, utilize the navigation systems to guide the airplane along an assigned flight path. Finally, they are also expected to land the airplane safely without crashing it.

The problem description is given as follows:

“The Youth Flying Club operates a fleet of Cessna airplanes for instruction and rental. As a senior flight instructor with the club, you are about to take a trainee pilot on his maiden flight over a charted course in the Cessna 182S airplane.

During the flight, you will demonstrate to the trainee how to take-off, climb, bank and descent. You will also execute VFR (Visual Flight Rule) and IFR (Instrument Flight Rule) flying using the cockpit gauges to control the airplane.”

Learning outcomes: Through the flight simulation, students learn:

1. The fundamental operations of aircraft flight control mechanisms such as aileron, elevators and rudders;
2. The operations of various types of electrical flight instruments such as Altimeter, Air Speed Indicator, and Vertical Climb Indicator; and
3. The operations of various types of navigation systems such as Automatic Direction Finder (ADF), VHF Omni-range (VOR), Global Positioning System (GPS) and Instrument Landing Systems.

Students are also expected to carry out a detailed analysis of their flight profiles and explain in their formal reports the workings of various onboard systems at different phases of their flights.

Problem #2: Design a virtual cockpit instrument panel comprising an Altimeter, Attitude indicator, Turn Coordinator and Heading Indicator

The second challenge requires the students to design and develop a virtual cockpit instrument panel consisting of electrical instruments such as Altimeter, Attitude indicator, Turn Coordinator and Heading Indicator to respond correctly to real-time, varying input signals injected from the 89C52 Microcontroller card.

The problem description is given as follows:

“You are a Software Engineer with L3 Aircraft Simulation & Training Corp. based in Singapore. You are currently assigned as the program engineer to develop a partial virtual Cessna 182s instrument panel.”

The simulated instruments consisting of Attitude indicator, Altimeter, Turn Coordinator and Heading indicator are used to demonstrate to aerospace technology students how airplane can be flown remarkably accurately with these 4 basic flight instruments.

To carry out the task effectively, students need to learn Visual Basic 6 & Keil C programming with the 89C52 Microcontroller card. They are expected to explore beyond the hardware and software basics provided in the guided workshop and use their creativity and resourcefulness to implement their own solutions.

Problem #3: Design a mock-up airplane with 4 axes of motion, i.e. Roll, Pitch, Yaw and Heave. Integrate the virtual instrument panel to display the airplane position as it maneuvers.

The third and possibly the most challenging task for the students is to design a mock-up airplane with four axes of motion, i.e. Roll, Pitch, Yaw and Heave. The airplane is required to be mounted on a mechanical structure and the movement about each axis is moved by servo-motors which are controlled by Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) Controllers. To top it all, the mock-up airplane is to be integrated with the virtual instrument panel designed in Problem 2 such that when the airplane maneuvers, the virtual instrument panel displays the airplane roll, pitch and yaw movements correctly.

The problem description is given as follows:

“Design a model airplane with 4 axes of motions (i.e. roll, pitch, yaw and heave). The modeled airplane is to be integrated with the virtual instrument panel, allowing the instructor to demonstrate and display airplane motions using the Attitude indicator, Altimeter, Turn Coordinator and Heading indicator mentioned.”

The students are expected to work in groups of four to design and develop their solution. They are technically challenged in the fields of mechanics, electronic and control. During the final phase of the module, they learn to work together to plan, delegate responsibilities, design hardware, procure mechanical and electronic components, fabricate mounting structure in the mechanical workshop, software programming and system integration.

Authors

Avionics Project Design team members:

Ong Teck Soon
(module leader)

Tang Kim Seng

Yeo Chor Lee

Yee Kan Leong

Before July 2000, Electronic & Computer Engineering (ECE) students in Ngee Ann Polytechnic were expected to conduct experiments in the campus labs only.

Since then, however, ECE students can do their lab work anytime anywhere — thanks to the mobile Electronic Workbench (mEWB), a SGD$50 portable electronics lab kit designed and developed by lecturer Hang Kim Yam and his team of technical support officers.

As a result, Mr Hang’s team was one of the three group winners of the Dr Hiew Siew Nam’s Distinguished Academic Award in the year 2002. Mr Hang recalled:

“Before mEWB, the only times students could conduct experiments or projects were during scheduled lab times. If they needed more time to work with lab equipment, for example, for more practice, trying out ideas, or catching up on unfinished work, they have look for available lab slots. This often may not be possible, as the times when the lab is available and when the students do not have lessons do not always match.”

The Project

Mr Hang recalls:

The idea of the mEWB was conceived around the same time that the Mobile Computing Initiative was started. We recognized that the notebook was a valuable tool for students in their quest for knowledge. And we thought, ‘Why not enhance this so that our students can use it to conduct experiments anytime anywhere?’

So, in December 1999, Mr Hang and technical support officers Esther Lim, Woon Shang Tian, Kou Lip Hong, Shong Chor Hua and Lim Bee Peng set out to create a portable electronic device which, when connected to a notebook computer, can replace frequently used bench-top equipment such as an oscilloscope, a signal generator and a power supply

The development work turned out to be challenging. The team had to integrate hardware and software to produce a portable self-powered device that functions like an oscilloscope, but costs so little that every ECE student can own one. Yet such equipment usually costs several hundred or thousand dollars, for example, a dongle-like device in the market with the same performance as mEWB costs about US$300 each.

After six months of perspiration and inspiration, a successful prototype of mEWB was finally produced. Powered by two standard 9V batteries and using common electronics components such as analog-digital (A-D) and digital-analog (D-A) converters, the compact kit enables users to perform experiments anywhere and any time. The best news was: each unit costs less than S$50!

In 2000, Mr Hang and his team did a pilot run on mEWB – version 1 among 40 students who are taking the Electronic Devices and Circuits module. In July 2001, they rolled out mEWB – version 2 among all ECE freshmen with the help of more than 30 lecturers and technical support officers (TSOs).

Positive Feedback & Professional Results

The effectiveness of mEWB was confirmed by very positive feedback from separate surveys conducted in January 2001 among 27 staff and 586 students.

Experiments and projects performed using mEWBs have also yielded results identical to those obtained using expensive laboratory facilities. By 2002, two groups of final-year students have used mEWBs in their Project Design module. Two lecturers have also presented a paper in an international conference in Australia on how mEWBs can be used to support mini-projects. A TSO has used mEWB for a final-year project under an Open University Degree Programme and was awarded a distinction grade.

Latest Developments

Since the July 2002 semester, mEWB – Version 3 has been made available to students. This new version has a USB port for easier connection to almost all notebook PCs. Its scope of applications is also widened — for example, it has a general-purpose micro-computer board which students can easily adapt for use in other computer system designs.

Source: Computers as Mindtools for Schools by David Jonassen, 2000.

Background

Mr Hang Kim Yam is a lecturer with the Electronic & Computer Engineering division of the Schoool of Engineering in Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

He received his Bachelor of Science (Electrical Engineering) from the National University of Singapore and his MSc degree (Communications and Signal Processing) from the Imperial College, University of London, U.K.

Prior to joining Ngee Ann Polytechnic, he worked in the Singapore Technologies and Defence Science Organisation. In NgeeAnn, he was also engaged in consultancy projects like Real-time data acquisition system projects (Sumitomo Corporation), Visual Card (a self-service photo-card kiosk project with Coses Marketing), TalkColor (a color calibration system, also with Coses Marketing) and RoadPilot for PDAs and Handheld PCs projects (with Geo-Millenium System).

Background

Industrial Automation (IA) was perceived to be a difficult technical module within the mechanical engineering diploma.

Increasingly the teaching team felt that students, on completing the module, failed to develop a level of understanding and competency that would serve them well in their future workplace. Many students displayed a lack of interest, motivation or confidence in applying the knowledge or skills. They perceived the module to be difficult and boring. In July 2001, the teaching team proposed a major revamp in the delivery of the module and considered a hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) approach.

A hybrid PBL approach was adopted, as students had absolutely no knowledge of industrial automation and had yet to develop their independent learning skills. They were unable to understand how the knowledge imparted to them may be applied in practice and especially in an industrial setting. Thus the team felt that a purist approach to PBL, whereby students had to find out what they needed to know and then learn on their own, might prove too arduous a task leading to potential disastrous results and ultimately rejection by both staff and students.

The Hybrid PBL Implementation

In this hybrid system, traditional lecture/tutorial/practical lessons would still be conducted at the beginning of the semester, but more emphasis would be placed on students’ understanding of the basics and developing their confidence to solve the PBL problem later on.

Teaching was moved from classroom to laboratory for topics which students normally had difficulty understanding, such as the hardware components and basic circuit design. Simulation software and video clips were also used to complement learning. The module culminated in students solving a PBL problem set in the real-world context to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired and promote deep learning.

The PBL problem given was a commonly found industrial application of a chemical cleaning line involving dipping parts into tanks of chemical solutions. It involved:

1. The design of a control circuit for the cleaning line which could include any forms of fringe conditions defined by the students. The control circuits that the students designed were much more complicated than those that they had learnt in the classroom as owing to time constraints, these classroom problems had to normally be confined to very narrow applications such as four-step sequences nominally. These narrow applications did not prepare them for real-life automation problems.
2. The sizing and selection of appropriate types of cylinder, switches, sensors and other control elements from the suppliers’ catalogs or websites. These were deliberately not taught so that students had to explore and search for information based on the basic knowledge they had acquired.
3. The testing of the control circuit. During the testing stage, students had to wire up the circuit, test and troubleshoot it systematically for faults and modify it, where necessary.

Experiences Gained

From the three semesters of hybrid PBL implementation for Diploma Courses in Mechanical (ME), Mechatronic (MTE) and Engineering Informatics (EI), the following factors are important for a successful implementation:

1. Sufficient time-tabled hours must be allocated for students to carry out the project.
2. Enough resources and equipment must be provided for students to implement their project.
3. Facilitators must be familiar and ready to impart the knowledge of the related computer resources used in the project, so students can handle the software in the shortest possible time.
4. Breaking the problem into phases so that students learn to manage their time and resources efficiently.
5. Students’ interest in the project must be sufficiently aroused and their confidence in solving the problem developed. If students are sufficiently motivated and confident, they are not likely to look for model answers or to copy from other groups.
6. Students are not to be given solutions but rather be guided to solve the problem.
7. Facilitators should not take ownership of the problem. Thus it is important that students are sufficiently prepared and confident to take on the task themselves.
8. Grouping of students is very important. Facilitators need to manage the groups and ensure that there are no free-riders.
9. Staff’s perception of the students must change so that they dare to stretch the students and help them develop the perseverance to go on trying till they solved the problem.
10. Support from the teaching staff, technical support staff and management are also important.

Results of the Implementation

Surveys were conducted after each semester of implementation to obtain feedback from students in order to fine-tune the hybrid PBL model. Results showed that the hybrid PBL approach provided a more active learning experience for the students. Some pertinent points obtained from the survey of second implementation are:

1. 89.6% of students felt that they understood the module better after going through the project.
2. 90.9% of students expressed that they learnt more using PBL method.
3. 86.8% of students preferred to learn the whole module in PBL way.
4. More than 90% of students were comfortable working in groups, sharing information and asking others for help.
5. Some useful comments given by students, such as
• good and effective method
• clear a lot of our doubt
• have an overview of how automation is implemented
• have sense of fulfillment at the end of project, etc.
6. Comments given by staff:
   • encourage thinking, improve learning and increase confidence
   • formal training of method and facilitating skills are required
   • better understanding of students’ learning problems and capabilities
   • provide opportunities for students to develop other skills
   • students are able to solve problems that are not clearly defined, complicated and open-ended
   • need more effort and time, etc.

Conclusion

For the students, IA is the first encounter with a PBL approach to learning. However, through the process of design, implementation, problem solving and evaluation of possible alternative solutions, students developed certain generic skills that would be relevant and useful to them in the future workplace:

• problem solving skills,
• communication skills,
• time management skills,
• research and IT skills,
• teamwork,
• self-directed learning, and
• life-long learning.

Authors

Tan Cheng Nee
Senior Lecturer,
School Of Mechanical Engineering
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Tay Mui Hua
Lecturer,
School Of Mechanical Engineering
Ngee Ann Polytechnic

Short Message Service (SMS) is the beginning of something new in blended learning. The sight of nimble-fingered teenagers bathed in the neon glow of their mobile phones as they drum out a message in SMS shorthand has become a pop-culture phenomenon. Text is a fun way to communicate. Embedded screens in mobile phones enhance both communication and interaction. With a camera attached to the mobile phone students will be able to point it at the lecturer and SMS their friend during the lecture with the picture and perhaps a message, “c I told u it was boring”.

More useful, perhaps, is that it can also be used to show projects at school to parents at work. However, when students introduce something new, the teacher has a tendency to remove it, prohibit it, or confiscate it. Who can remember the early introduction of the ballpoint pen and calculator?

Short Message Service is exactly what it sounds like it is, a text message sent to or received from a mobile phone. The text messages are short, up to 160 characters, and if a phone is out of coverage, in use or turned off, the service holds the message until the phone comes back into the area. Using SMS is easy. A person types a message on a phone, specifies who is going to get the message, and sends it.

Blended learning scores big in the mobile phone world. Blended learning can best be described as using whatever method is most suitable. The ability to send, read and respond to messages, reflect on responses, revise interpretations, and modify original assumptions and perceptions is a distinguishing characteristic of online teaching. Considered a hallmark of the online world, blended learning actually serves as a great example of a best teaching practice that spans both the conventional and digital worlds. Increasingly, instructors employ blended learning in the classroom. Blended learning translates well to the mobile phone world through the development of quizzes, treasure hunts and other imaginative uses. The BBC has recently introduced paid SMS text messages called ‘TXT Bites’ for GSCE revision.

General

SMS is also the beginning of a change in education. Wireless is a particularly attractive option for blended learning. Students can use SMS to receive exam results, to be encouraged and motivated by a friendly message from the teacher, or sent a SMS message in class to pay attention to avoid embarrassment in front of others. SMS can also be used to provide answers to multiple-choice questions, draft an agenda on the move, negotiate simple contracts and design promotional messages. Students can also participate in class sessions via text chat. Testing the limits of SMS for blended learning causes experimentation and invention.

Blended SMS Tutorial

A tutorial was given to a cohort of 197 students from the School of Business and Accountancy at Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Singapore. They were required to use SMS to carry out the following tasks:

• Design an SMS advertisement to promote a business service or product;
• Negotiate a contract to sell some goods with their tutor using SMS;
• Purchase a can of soft drink using SMS, and send a SMS message to their tutor concerning the steps taken to obtain the drink;
• Create an agenda for a meeting a business is having the next day and SMS it to their tutor as if he was a member of the company.

The survey results confirm the popularity of the mobile phone as a means of communication among students with 90% agreeing that they used their mobile phones more than 10 times per week. The objectives of the tutorial were met as 85% agreed that before the tutorial they did not realise that a mobile phone can be used for tutorials and 75% agreed that the tutorial enabled them to see the potential of SMS as an e-learning tool. 60% agreed that they would like more tutorials to be conducted through a mobile phone .

The other learning objective of making students aware of the use of SMS as a tool for conducting business was also accomplished as 70% agreed that the tutorial made them realise that SMS can be used to make contracts.

Overall, the SMS tutorial was positively received by the students as the majority of them found that the topics in the tutorial were interesting (75%), that they could complete the tutorial easily through their mobile phones (80%) and that the tutorial was pegged at a reasonable level of difficulty (80%).

The mobile phone has also been used in the lecture by presenting students with a legal problem then requiring them to answer the question posed, give a reason, state the name of the relevant case and SMS the answer to the lecturer in real time. Speed and accuracy were taken into consideration.

Conclusion

SMS should only be used if it augments the learning process as it is not the only blended learning solution. The type of platform and method of delivery that best suits the course material needs to be considered. A key driver of success in learning is motivation, and SMS can achieve this because of its everyday use by students. Interactive online tutorials can give the student more rapid feedback than when work is turned in on paper. Perhaps this is the single biggest advantage in SMS learning. Likewise having a live event, which promotes instant interactivity i.e. negotiating a contract in real time, is also important.

Team

The team of lecturers from the School of Business & Accounting, Ngee Ann Polytechnic working on this project:
Bernard Randall, Joseph Seet, Steven Lim and T. Elangovan

First published September 2002.

And learn they certainly do. Jeffrey Yang, who has led a number of such projects, describes how his students are transformed:

The development is very obvious, the timid become confident, and the confident feel that they can now take on the world.

Read the article:

More Than Construction Work
(PDF, 122kb, 6 pages)

The value add: Rather than just learning the IT skills, the students were introduced to local community organisations. The students’ task was to produce Flash animations that would help the organisations. The animations would be used for publicity or for giving information. In this way, there is a purpose to the students’ efforts – and a clearer learning focus.

The outcome: Students learned a lot about volunteering for welfare organisations. They learned negotiation and project planning skills. They learned how to develop Flash applications in a real-world context, with real clients’ demands.

Read the whole story by Joyce Tang, lecturer in the Business & Information Technology division, School of Business and Accountancy:

» Service Learning: from Curriculum to Volunteerism
(PDF, 780 kB, 6 pages)

Examples of student-produced Flash movies for community organisations (includes sound):

Alzheimer’s Association Singapore
Youth Guidance Singapore
Restroom Association Singapore