By Joyce Tang Wai Ching and Tan Yew Kong, School of Humanities
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:
- 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
- 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.]
Example of PBL Activity – Introduction to SociologyIntroduction to Sociology: Experiential Problem-based Learning Activity Brief
Your group has just completed a visit to a community partner. As part of that experience, you have had an orientation about the organizational mission, objectives, beneficiary demographics and nature of services. You will now undertake a series of related Experiential Learning and Problem-based
Learning activities which will develop your:
- Ability to observe happenings in the real world of community services
- Understanding of sociological aspects and perspectives
- Ability to analyse and explain what you observe occurring in a real community in sociological terms
- Ability to apply these sociological aspects and perspectives to a community-related problem
Activity 1: Post-visit Follow-up for Individuals — Journal Writing
Each of you is required to submit a 500 word journal about your experience and observations, especially from the point of view of the sociological imagination of that community, highlighting social issues and problems that you could identify.
Activity 2: Post-visit Follow-up for Group – Problem Scenario Writing
Drawing from your individual observations and reflections in your journal entries, your group would then need to
- Select two key sociological aspects from a list of 10 key aspects covered in this module (the full list is in Appendix A) that your group feels should be further examined and discussed in relation to the needs and profile of the community partner you visited.
- Craft a suitable problem scenario/statement (in your own words) that your group will then proceed to examine, investigate, and work on.
Suggested good practice for working through this activity:
- Always craft problem statements and scenarios in your own words.
- Work on the problem statement individually first.
Bring your individual efforts to the group for the group to review and deliberate on. As in real life, the information given is never quite complete or immediately clear. You may therefore need to clarify terms, concepts and assumptions especially so that all in the group have a similar understanding and focus. The group should review all problem statements for their clarity and how real and relevant they appear to be to what you have seen and observed during your visit. Useful questions to ask each other at this stage are:
- What is the situation in need of improvement in the problem statement?
- What is the nature of the problem?
- What 2 key sociological aspects present themselves in this problem scenario?
- How does the group intend to go about finding the solutions to this problem?
Your group should reach a consensus about the final problem scenario your group will submit.
Activity 3: Problem Scenario Inquiry and Analysis
Your group will now work through your problem scenario.
The first thing you will need to do is to analyse the scenario by asking key questions as well as key observations and assumptions you have about the situation. Your group should at this stage be
suggesting possible hypotheses for your further investigation.
You are to submit your group inquiries and analyses. You may list them as pointers and questions. You may use tabulation and various templates, such as listing of situation and hypotheses. Do not be
judgmental when the group is coming up with ideas.
Suggested good practice for working through this activity:
- At this stage, you would be activating any prior knowledge or experience you have regarding this issue, and addressing possible explanations and hypotheses.
- Allow a free flow of ideas. Do not be judgemental when your group members are coming up with
ideas and suggestions. - Only prioritize and select at a later stage.
- If possible, you could also come up with a map (e.g. mind map, concept map, block diagram) as a
conceptual framework for generating your “solutions”.
Activity 4: Learning Issues and Goals
Following your inquiry and analysis, you would want to confirm or reject explanations and hypotheses and address learning gaps. At this stage, the group will list learning needs and identify learning issues. This crucial stage of the problem-based learning process is when you state key learning issues and objectives (i.e. what is important for you to know). The group should formulate a list of learning objectives and issues. These may be stated in the form of questions. When that is done, the group will assign learning tasks for self-directed learning and peer teaching. This is where in-depth reading and research into the learning issues will take place. Task assignment and group management becomes very important to facilitate the group learning.
Activity 5: Presentation of your Sociological Insights
Each group is given 30 minutes for the presentation. Every member must present.
The following format is required for both the presentation and the report:
- The Issue — Background of the problem that you are addressing. This covers the more macro and objective perspective.
- The Setting — Describe the actual scenario which triggered your identification of the problem Sociological Insights — The theoretical perspectives, sociological definitions and insights from the sociological point of view
- Policy Initiatives — Research into policy initiatives, including both global and local initiatives affecting this problem
- Recommendations — This would contain 2 parts:
- General Recommendations — Your suggestions on what could be done to address the problem on a macro level
- Your group’s recommendations — Your group’s suggestions that you could follow-up with after this semester.
Activity 6: Problem-Investigation and Interpretation Report
Word Count — between 2,500 and 3,000 words. Needs to comply with APA referencing Standard.
Problem adapted from: Oon-Seng, T. (2003). Problem-based Learning Innovation: Using problems to power learning in the 21st century. Singapore: Thomson Learning, p108.
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.
For some student perspectives, see PCS Internships.
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.
Diploma in Psychology and Community Services
Level 1.2 Integrated Project Brief
This semester’s integrated learning approach culminates in the integrated celebration event in Week 15.
The integrated celebration event and its required submissions comprise 10% of your assessment in each of the 5 modules:
- Introduction to Sociology
- Lifespan Psychology
- Introduction to Statistics & Research Methods
- Family & Relationship Studies
- Behaviour In Organisations
The following are the assessment components:
1. Newsletter
Each group will be submitting a one-page (A4-sized) write-up of your learning experiences in all 5 modules. The write-up should include some photos, and style of writing should be interesting.
Coverage of the newsletter:
- Reflections on your orientation visit.
- Reflections on how the community exposure has impacted on your learning experience in each of the 5 modules. This aspect should include some module-related highlights.
All four groups’ submission will be collated into an A3-sized newsletter for each class and sent for printing. The newsletter will be distributed during the integrated celebration event.
2. Poster Presentation
Each group will be designing a poster that helps to communicate your integrated learning experience in a conference setting. There should be a group photo included in the poster, preferably taken with the signboard of the community partner, and if possible, with the community partner liaison person.
The poster will be printed in A1 size (592x841mm), so ensure your photo and image resolutions are high enough. A standard footer with the school logo and diploma name will be given to you later.
Poster will be judged on:
- Idea
- Innovative design
- Effort
- Overall Presentation
All the posters will be displayed as exhibits at the integrated celebration event.
3. 10-minute presentation
Each group is required to give a 10-minute presentation of your integrated learning experience this semester. Your presentation should highlight how your involvement with the respective community partners has impacted on your learning for all 5 modules. You should also include learning points from each module as well as some personal reflections.
Presentation will be judged on its:
- Creativity
- Clarity
- Content
- Impact
Number of presenters: 2
Audience:
- Panel of judges – representatives from the community partners and Dir/HMS (Total:5)
- PCS/HMS lectures
- Fellow classmates
- Media
Summary of Assessment
| Component | Marks |
|---|---|
| Newsletter Submission | 10% |
| Judging – Newsletter | 10% |
| Poster Submission | 10% |
| Judging – Poster | 10% |
| Presentation | 20% |
| Total | 60% |
Final allocation to each module = 10%
We guarantee this will be a memorable experience you will not forget!
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.
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