Month: July 2022

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Self-Reflection of Teaching Development over Time 2022

When I was a kid, I always want to be a lecturer. For me, education can change the world and with that, I can create a better future not only mine but also the next generation that will lead the world.

As time goes by, after one year of Ph.D. thesis submission, praise to Allah the almighty, I was offered by First City University College (FCUC) to be a lecturer for teaching several subjects including Computer Architecture and Organization (CAO), System on Silicon (SOS) and also Programming for Engineers (PFE).

As a newbie in academia, I thought teaching is only a lecturer-centered approach. In other words, a lecturer directs students to learn through memorization and recitation techniques thereby not emphasizing enhancing their motivation, and developing their critical thinking problem solving and decision-making skills, especially in online class settings during the Covid’19 pandemic. Every day, I planned everything for my students to enhance their understanding of the topics thought without implementing a variety of teaching methods. As you can see in the next photo, this is an example of my teaching planning. Everything is all about the lecture notes 🙁

I would say, it was very rare for me to allocate some period of time for my students to actively engage in the class; no gamification and or video-based learning during the teaching and learning session.

I was eager to ensure my students understand the topic without realizing that I have to engage with the students to enhance their motivation to study. This is because learning is most effective when students are intrinsically motivated. Not to mention that at the end of the class, I asked the students to give me some feedback on my teaching. Nevertheless, the performance of my students was not hit my expectation. At that time, I realized I have to change the teaching approach to grab my students’ attention.

After serving FCUC for several months, I was offered as a part of the UTM academic staff as a permanent position. The reporting day as a Senior Lecturer (DS51) was the first day of the 2nd Semester for the 2021-2022 session which was 20th March 2022.

During the first semester teaching at UTM, I reflect on all my strengths and weakness in teaching in order to improve myself and learn the art of teaching methods. I joined teaching and learning sharing sessions and training organized by UTM during my free time as much as I could. For instance, Online Assessment Using New Technology (Quizizz) course, Engaging Students Through Class Cooperative Learning Activities, Empowering Students in Large Online Classes, Creating Online Alternative Assessment course, Alternative and Authentic Assessment Course, and many more as shown in Figure below.

After the session, I implemented all the knowledge in my class. Some examples can be referred to in the following links:

https://youtu.be/udH4UzPtaG0

https://quizizz.com/admin/quiz/62e9fccfc34a4d001d147e44?source=quiz_page

As a result, almost half of my students in SEEU2012 got A’s and I also got this Feedback and Testimony in e-PPP.

All in all, I do not expect any praise from my students, but for me, at the end of the day, the knowledge from my teaching could prepare my students to be change-makers in their professional workforces after graduation besides encouraging them to be open minds and creative thinkers who will meet the challenges of their generation.

In the Name of God for Mankind

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Belief and Practices of Assessment 2022

In the semester 20212022-2, I have been assigned to teach SEEU2012/SKEU2012 Electronic course as a service course to non-major students with a Mechanical Engineering background. I found that my students face some difficulties to cope with the topic thought in the class due to their deficiency in theories and fundamentals of Electrical circuits. As a result, it was very challenging for them to implement the basic law, theorems, and methods of analysis of electronic devices such as diodes and Bipolar Junction transistors (BJT) to solve complex problems related to the circuitry. Therefore, I help my students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work through the formative assessment.

For this course, there were two formative assessment practices that I applied in the SEEU2012/SKEU2012 Electronic course. As a first step, I use no hands-up strategies to identify where students are in their learning, other than to promote student thinking, elicit evidence of student learning, and point out errors and misconceptions. Using this formative assessment, I asked several questions and then allocate thinking time. Then, calls the student’s name by using randomize dice app on the website. It is crucial that students engage in the lesson. I believe this practice allows me as a lecturer to better meet my student’s learning needs at the moment.

Using Quizziz or Kahoot on top of the eLearning quiz is another formative assessment practice I have used in class. I researched the handouts online and figured out how to do it by trial and error (googled it and figured it out myself). I did it in several courses. Like quizzes in eLearning, I found that Quizziz or Kahoot is easier and more attractive and interactive for the students to engage with.

For the quiz, I have prepared several sets of quizzes with multiple and variety of questions that focus more on the theories and fundamentals of this subject with multiple attempts to improve their performance and understanding. Then, I also implemented it in different platforms and tools such as Quizziz, Kahoot, and eLearning. In the final exam, I could say that the students who were done all the quizzes manage to score flying colors for the CLO1. Among the students, several did not take the quiz with multiple attempts. Students were reminded in class and via WhatsApp group to repeat the attempt of all especially in the eLearning. The reminder does not even matter to them. As a lecturer, I have tried my best to give them the chance and opportunity to improve their knowledge and performance. Hopefully, they can realize their mistakes and purify their intention to come to university.

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Personal Teaching Philosophy 2022

As a lecturer, I am not only emphasizing the transfer of information and knowledge alone, in fact, I will give my priority to educating my students to be balanced and holistic as excellent human beings that can be change-makers in their professional workforces after graduation besides encourage them to be open minds and creative thinkers who will meet the challenges of their generation. I do believe that learning is most effective when students are intrinsically motivated and inspired. Therefore, I aim to create dynamic learning lessons that are engaging, and relevant to my students’ real lives, and encourage active discovery according to cooperative learning so they can grow to reach much higher levels of maturity, affective, cognitive, psychomotor, and social. Besides that, I work hard to motivate students by modeling an inspired, positive outlook on education every day for lifelong learning. I would like to diverge their perspective from “I want to learn” rather than “I have to learn”. Hence, I encourage them by sharing my own experiences during my undergraduate studies at UTM. For me, while it is wise to learn from experience, it is wiser to learn from the experiences of others.

My goal as a lecturer is I always want to see my students succeed even more than I did. As someone who comes from a low-income family where my late father worked as a rubber tapper and my mother was a housewife, I can sum up that education teaches me the value of hard work, helps us gain a better job, lets us develop, and makes our parents proud of us. Poverty may be a disadvantage but is not really an obstacle to our success. I can say that coming from a poor family has contributed a big part to my success and was an advantage to me to become the person I am today. Today, most of my students bring their own iPad or tablet to take notes, especially those born with a silver spoon. Because of this, I motivate to my students, especially from underprivileged families that the amount of effort they put in will directly affect the knowledge and gains they will achieve no matter where they come from. On the other hand, as an educator, I am committed to assisting my students acquire a wide range of general skills on top of the knowledge of specific subjects they have learned in the class. It is very important for students to be balanced between technical skills, soft skills, and knowledge. For this reason, I provide a forum platform in eLearning where students can share their ideas and take risks. In addition to improving their ability to explain and provide reasons, this activity can also encourage them to listen to opinions and suggestions from others. On top of that, I will embrace the different students’ learning preferences. I will create dynamic active learning to attract the student’s interest in the class.

As a lecturer, I cannot deny the fact that every student is unique, and have different learning preferences and different level of understanding. As we all know, learning takes various forms. Some prefer watching educational videos, listening, or hands-on, while others prefer reading the lecture notes and also recommending textbooks or asking questions during the lecture session. Hence, as a lecturer, I will try to embrace their differences. I apply various methods in the classroom to engage with my students. Sometimes, I implement different teaching and learning delivery methods such as gamification using Quiziz, Kahoot, Padlet, and so on to attract their interest in the topic. Other than that, I also will create video-based learning through YouTube so that my students could watch the content according to their own pace. Then, there will be time that I will write the content on my Blog on examples and summarize the topic of certain subjects.

Besides that, I will schedule for consultation session after each class session. I am always available for discussion with students. Taking this approach, I can get to know my students better and this allows me to reflect on my teaching method so that I can improve it from time to time besides improving my knowledge by attending several teachings and learning training organized by UTM and outside organizations.

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

“When a person dies, his deeds are cut off except for three: A continuing charity, the knowledge that others benefited from, and a righteous son who supplicates for him”.

— Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1376

In the Name of God for Mankind

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Goal of Student Learning 2022

As a lecturer, it is my goal to ensure that my students can be better-quality intellectuals, professionals, and scholars by integrating the qualities of faith, knowledge, and good character to serve as agents of comprehensive and balanced progress as well as sustainable development in Malaysia and the world. Therefore, I believe knowledge and education are the foundation for them to meet the challenges of their generation. Hence, in order to achieve this goal, there are several elements and values that I want to inculcate and impart to them including (1) Think positive to stay focused and (2) Build good study habits.

  • Think positively to stay focused

To maintain a positive mindset toward learning while striving for excellence, it is important to focus on tasks that need to be done and learn new information. Therefore, as a lecturer, I always encourage my students to manage time their properly to avoid any stress by setting and tracking their own goals. Even though I really want my students to excel in their examinations, I also prioritize their mental health. I motivate them not to fear mistakes so that they can learn and that’s how they grow. In fact, I will schedule 20 minutes for consultation sessions after each class session every day. I am always available for discussion with my students and always available to communicate with them effectively. Taking this approach, I can get to know my students better, and at the end of the day, I believe the chemistry between lecturer and students can benefit students’ performance.

  • Build good study habits

As a lecturer, I am committed to helping my students express themselves and accept themselves as they are as well as embrace the differences of others. The student in my class is first divided into groups of six to eight learners for group learning. For me, group learning is important because I believe it helps students express, challenge, and refine their thoughts. Students can also gain insight from their peers by listening to new perspectives and discussing to improve their knowledge. This can help expand their horizons and enrich their own knowledge. At the same time, I want to inspire my students to think outside the box, challenge their everyday assumptions, and leave them with more questions than answers. Within their group learning, my students are required to solve the complex tutorial questions that have been assigned in the lecture notes. Concurrently, I asked my students to produce a video presentation to show the calculation and solution BRIEFLY. Then, they have to upload it to YouTube. At this point, the other groups could learn a different variety of questions through YouTube in an effective way without spending a lot of time on all tutorial questions.

Overall, as a lecturer, my success is the success of my students. I will always have high expectations for my students. While teaching, I believe in their potential to succeed, and I will make sure I push them to their limits. Even when they fail, I will keep motivating them to try again and to work harder. This goal of students’ learning will help me to pull them out of their comfort zones. They can pursue success knowing that I am there to pick them up each time they fail.

In the Name of God for Mankind