TEACHING FROM THE HEART AND SOUL (12 September 2023, Tuesday)

This talk was by Prof Dr Abdul Karim Alias.

These are some of the questions that he posed at the beginning of his talk: “Are you passionate about research but finding teaching to be just another box to check? Do you wonder if there is more to being an educator than just delivering lectures and grading papers?”

The emphasis is on inspiring students who would carry the torch in the future to be “inspired, curious, and passion-driven scholars”. How can we not only embrace our roles as researchers but also “be change-marks, nurturing a new generation of brilliant minds and solidifying out institution’s legacy of academic excellence”?.

UNESCO’s four pillars of education: 1) Learning to know, 2) Learning to do, 3) Learning to be, and 4) Learning to live together.

Tips:

  • Project positive vibes to students regardless of what we experience at the moment.
    • “You are rainbow in clouds”. We can bring meaningful experience to our students’ lives. We can make difference in their lives. Refer to Maya Angelou’s poem “Rainbow in the clouds”. The analogy of rainbow symbolizes hope and renewal. Rainbow also symbolizes inclusivity, diversity and all embracing image of love and friendship.
    • Concern about the well-being of students beyond the compliance to OBE.
    • Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan is the beacon. It should be the guiding principle as it also includes the spiritual parts especially about the belief in God. Based on the Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan, the key message is “Learning is about being – not having”. It is not about having good results (CGPA) etc., but being human beings in its truest essence. “The quality of life is invariably related to the spiritual being first rather than the material being” – Tan Sri Dzulkifli Abdul Razak.
    • The focus should be about building character and values, not just focus on intellectual capacity and competency.
  • VUCA world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity). It presents so many challenges that make us as the academics to feel overwhelmed, distracted and extremely busy.
  • Know your own self-worth as an individual who hold so many positions and responsibilities. Do not let yourself to be defined by figures and numbers of KPI etc. What matters most? Finding balance is not about 50-50 of things that we do but knowing our priorities without jeopardising our health (physical etc.)
  • Do personal SWOT analysis from time to time.

Pit-stop questions (Take a moment to think about these crucial soul-searching questions):

  • What is the purpose of education?
  • What does it mean to be a “good teacher”?
  • Who is your model? Can you recall a teacher who made a lasting impact on you? What made them special?
  • What does professionalism in teaching mean, and what does it entail?
  • What does it mean to teach from heart and soul?
  • How can I assist my students to find their own passion for learning?
  • Does the culture of academia influence your teaching style?
  • What is your best investment so far for your personal and professional growth?
  • How can I avoid burnout?
  • How do I achieve work-life balance?

Three qualities: Integrity, Intelligence and Energy. Without the first, the other two are meaningless.

Teaching is hard work because it is “heart” work.

When u make time for Allah, Allah will give you time that you need. When you practice calmness and peace in solah, Allah will give you calmness and peace that you need. – Hussain Yee –

List of books to read

  • Unraveling Faculty Burnout: Pathways to Reckoning and Renewal
  • The courage to teach

Note: For more details, you may refer to the notes by Prof Abdul Karim.

E content 2023

The experiment that I conducted last year with regards to how the e content evaluators evaluate my e content materials, I put in a content under the category “collaboration tools.” using Wakelet. It has a lot of things, like a class note, an article, a formative assessment, a discussion platform, etc. All of it is on ONE platform (i.e. Wakelet), which brings together different materials from other places. With just ONE platform, students can get to their class notes, take quizzes, and even talk to each other. So, what were the marks that I got for this? I got 3 marks.

But, for gamification material, it was not approved. The comment from the evaluator was “Intercative content (sic)”. Since it was not approved, there were no marks for this. I submitted similar material using Genially in 2021 but for different topic, I got 1 marks. The inconsistency of evaluation is not my fault. The similar material using the same platform does not necessarily will be evaluated the same. Did I submit the same thing more than once? Nope. I have double checked it.

The material also can be rejected or not approved if you put the start date develop as 2022, not 2023. For example, if you are teaching the course in semester 1 2022/23 which started last year in October 2022 and ended this year in February 2023, DO NOT PUT the start date develop as 2 October 2022 and the end date develop this year even though IT IS THE FACT that you develop and use the material on that particular semester. ALWAYS put the start and end date develop of the same year regardless of the semester that you teach.

So, for those who feel sad that they do not get the marks for their e content as they expect, do not worry. It is not your fault. It does not mean that your teaching materials are not good. It is just that the evaluators might overlook some parts.

Note to the evaluators: Can you please give more constructive comments for rejection (not approved)? Thank you.

Penilaian baru ELPPT 2023

Terdapat perubahan bagi penilaian prestasi Staf Akademik (LPPT) tahun 2023 dalam beberapa aspek seperti pindaan Kaedah Penilaian Kualiti Pengajaran di bawah Komponen Pengajaran bagi menggantikan penggunaan Teaching Excellent System (TES) yang dimansuhkan. Bagi komponen Bonus, ianya dimansuhkan dan komponen CPD diwujudkan.

Oleh yang demikian, wajaran terkini LPPT mengikut pilihan Major LPPT adalah seperti berikut:

Nota: Bagi maklumat lanjut berkaitan perubahan ini boleh disemak melalui Slaid Penambahbaikan LPPT 2023. Maklumat Penambahbaikan LPPT juga terdapat di laman web Jabatan Pendaftar. 

Majlis Apresiasi FSSH 2023

Ini adalah kali kedua Majlis Apresiasi FSSH dilaksanakan secara bersemuka sejak pandemik. Alhamdulillah ini adalah kali pertama aku menghadiri Majlis Apresiasi FSSH secara bersemuka. Aku tidak menghadiri majlis ini tahun lepas kerana ada urusan yang tidak dapat dielakkan. Antara mesej yang disampaikan oleh Prof Arief hari ini yang dapat aku ambil:

  1. Niatkan apa jua usaha yang kita lakukan sebagai ibadah. Oleh yang demikian, lakukan dengan bersungguh-sungguh terhadap apa juga tugasan yang diamanahkan.
  2. Anugerah yang diberikan kepada lebih dari 100 warga FSSH pada majlis ini bukanlah bermakna tiada penghargaan kepada yang lain yang tidak menerima apa-apa anugerah. Tetapi perlu kita mengingatkan diri sendiri tentang anugerah dan ganjaran yang paling utama iaitu pada yang Allah akan kurniakan pada hari kiamat.
  3. Kejayaan yang di akhirat adalah lebih utama dari apa jua kejayaan di dunia ini. Ini adalah sesuatu yang sering didengari dan diucapkan tetapi bukan mudah untuk dihayati dan diambil ikhtibar dari contoh yang sedia ada. Sebagai contoh, kejayaan seperti yang telah dicapai oleh firaun meskipun merupakan satu kejayaan yang nampak gah dengan adanya piramid yang dikatakan sebagai salah satu keajaiban di dunia, kejayaannya bukanlah satu kejayaan yang patut dibanggakan. Ini adalah kerana pembinaan piramid melibatkan penganiyaan dan kezaliman kepada ramai orang dan piramid itu juga boleh dilihat sebagai satu bukti dirinya menganggap dirinya sebagai tuhan. Dengan pelbagai barang yang ditemui di tempat dirinya dimakamkan, kita boleh mengambil ikhtibar akan apa jua yang dimiliki di dunia ini adalah bersifat sementara sahaja.
  4. “Model keluarga FSSH Berjaya” berdasarkan prinsip yang tidak menggadaikan kesejahteraan warganya. Menyumbang yang terbaik mengikut kemampuan, tetapi bukanlah sampai menghasilkan tekanan yang mendatangkan kesan pada kesihatan fizikal dan mental. Dalam hal ini, kita merencanakan kecemerlangan dengan keikhlasan tanpa mengorbankan kesejahteraan.

Anugerah Webometrics 2022: Again?

Someone casually asked if I wish to submit the application for Citra Karisma this year under the Teaching category. I told her that I am not interested to do so. But then she posed this question “What if there is no one from our faculty submitted the application?” I looked at her in disbelief. There will always be someone who will submit his or her application.

For the Webometrics category, I decided to submit my application this year. Someone said “Hantar je la. Bukan nak menang kan?” My intention is, I just want to be one of the representatives of the faculty even though I know we are never short of applicants. I do not think too much after that. Let it be! After all, I would never dream to be a finalist again second time around.

I was contacted by the PIC to give a brief biography about myself on 11 July 2023 (Tuesday). It was nearly 5pm at that time. I was preparing myself to go back. The last thing I want is to write something about myself which people can read from the programme book.

I know that writing something about myself is good for letting others to know about me. But my stance has remained largely unchanged. I don’t take pleasure in being well-known. After discussing with few more people (you know who you are), they gave me lots of suggestions of writing a biography. One even volunteered to proofread my biography. “Oh come on! They have better things to do at this moment than to proofread my biography” I told myself.

I came a bit early the next day (12 July 2023, Wednesday). So, this is what I wrote.

Dr Hadijah Jaffri adalah pensyarah kanan di Sekolah Pendidikan, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan.  Berlatar belakangkan psikologi pendidikan, minatnya terhadap penulisan secara santai adalah salah satu cara terapi kendiri.   Dengan sokongan berterusan dan padu dari rakan-rakan khasnya Dr Norah Md Noor yang tanpa jemu dan tidak lokek berkongsi tips dan pandangan dalam penulisan blog di pautan platform https://people.utm.my/hadijahjaffri, Dr Hadijah giat menulis dengan niat berkongsi ilmu, pandangan dan maklumat yang mungkin bermanfaat kepada pembaca.

I told Norah. I can imagine her reaction when she replied to my Whatsapp message “Oit, jangan masuk nama aku dalam biografi yang kau nak bagi kat Citra Karisma tu. Rakan-rakan sudah“. Well, it is too late, Norah. I gave her two choices of wording: seperti atau khasnya. I know she does not favor either one. But it seems I leave her with no option at all (tongue in cheek!).

I asked Norah for her opinion as I was contemplating withdrawing from the nomination. She advised me to stay put. I told her that there is another finalist who is also from FSSH. So, FSSH has a representative already. I am just an extra. She told me that she is the OTHER person who is also the finalist! What a joy to hear that! She told me “Nanti kita dok meja sama ye. Kali ni sure ada makan. hahahaha Baru best experience kau masuk Citra Karisma“. This is her hint to make sure that I come to the event, not withdrawing (as I wish).

It is done. I already submitted it to the PIC. I want to express my joy and appreciation for her unwavering support in the greatest way possible. So, I will attend Citra Karisma again this year to eat. Like Norah said long time ago “Bukan senang nak dapat UTM belanja makan sedap“.

Note: Norah and I were not seated at the same table. So, her wish to sit and eat at the same table as me did not come true. This post was prepared earlier as a draft but I nearly forgot about it to publish it.

Are you a lecturer or a tuition teacher?

One of the students that I teach tuition this year is the daughter of my primary school mate. So, I told him that his daughter made some silly mistakes (she was confused about grammar i.e. verb and noun). But somehow other friends who also have children who are taking SPM this year know about the tuition thingy. One of them asked me “Kau bukan mengajar kat UTM ke? Sejak bila buat kelas tuisyen? Ada pusat tuisyen ke?

The answer to the first question is YES. The answer to the second and third questions is NO. I am not trained to be an English teacher. But spending one year at school teaching English for Latihan Ikhtisas gives me the chance to conduct tuition class until now. I am still learning from my colleagues and former students who are senior English teachers. They are the ones who share ideas with me and teach the students on daily basis. I am clearly cannot compare myself with them on that level. My stance is simple. I teach courses such as pedagogy, and thus I need to remain abreast of school-related stuff. One way is to be at school as regularly as possible. That’s it. It is that simple.

What is the difference between being a teacher and me as a tuition instructor (I cringe to use the word “teacher” at this moment)? If I can use an analogy, the teachers are the gardeners, I am just a lawn-cutter. I just come once a while to spruce up things a bit here and there. The plants cannot thrive well without the care of a gardener.