The commercialisation of knowledge management practices to k-based development in Malaysia

This paper studies the connection between the commercialization of knowledge management practices and its contributions toward the knowledge-based development in Malaysia. Theoretical relations in this paper were tested through an empirical study carried out among public-listed organisations in the industrial products, consumer products, and service industries in Malaysia. The findings of this paper revealed that it is important for corporations to focus on knowledge management in the development of the organisation’s corporate strategy. Empirical evidence supported the view that firms with knowledge management capabilities and understanding will utilise these capabilities to drive their quality strategy, thus performing better than those that do not. In addition, the finding serves as an initial move among private sector business toward a knowledge-based country. This paper concludes that these practices have a positive incidence not only on the performance of the firm but it also gives some initial contributions toward the development of Malaysia as a knowledge-based country

A learning tool to develop sustainable projects

This paper presents a tool developed to help engineers to design and develop sustainable projects. The tool has been designed to introduce and evaluate the sustainability of engineering projects in general, but here we show its application to assess the final project of an engineering degree. This tool is a guide for students to introduce and estimate the sustainability of their projects, but it also helps teachers to assess them. The tool is based on the Socratic Methodology and consists of a matrix where each cell contains several questions that students must consider during the project development and which they must answer in their project report. A positive or negative mark is assigned to every cell, and the sum of all marks states the project sustainability. However, the result is not as simplistic as a final number, but a descriptive sustainability analysis where questions are answered and every mark justified. A pilot test with some students has obtained good results, but the first Final Degree Project using this methodology will be read in July 2016.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

The abstraction transition taxonomy: developing desired learning outcomes through the lens of situated cognition

We report on a post-hoc analysis of introductory programming lecture materials. The purpose of this analysis is to identify what knowledge and skills we are asking students to acquire, as situated in the activity, tools, and culture of what programmers do and how they think. The specific materials analyzed are the 133 Peer Instruction questions used in lecture to support cognitive apprenticeship -- honoring the situated nature of knowledge. We propose an Abstraction Transition Taxonomy for classifying the kinds of knowing and practices we engage students in as we seek to apprentice them into the programming world. We find students are asked to answer questions expressed using three levels of abstraction: English, CS Speak, and Code. Moreover, many questions involve asking students to transition between levels of abstraction within the context of a computational problem. Finally, by applying our taxonomy in classifying a range of introductory programming exams, we find that summative assessments (including our own) tend to emphasize a small range of the skills fostered in students during the formative/apprenticeship phase

Public Debate Format for the Development of Soft Skill Competency in Computer Science Curricula

We present a method for incorporating soft skill development into a traditional computer science curriculum through the use of a public debate format. The debate format forces participants to practice public speaking, active listening, teamwork, research and preparation, and critical thinking, as well as having the less obvious benefit of contextualizing the material taught in the classroom by introducing contemporary, real-world debate topics. This work presents an example of the incorporation of public debates in an upper-level human-computer interaction class, including a discussion of student feedback, and suggestions for adopting the debate format to other upper-level courses and its perceived benefits

Going on-line on a shoestring: An experiment in concurrent development of requirements and architecture

A number of on-line applications were built for a small university using a micro-sized development team. Four ideas were tested during the project: the Twin Peaks development model, using fully functional prototypes in the requirements elicitation process, some core practices of Extreme Programming, and the use of open-source software in a production environment. Certain project management techniques and their application to a micro-sized development effort were also explored. These ideas and techniques proved effective in developing many significant Internet and networked applications in a short time and at very low cost

PUBLIC DEBATE FORMAT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOFT SKILL COMPETENCY IN COMPUTER SCIENCE CURRICULA

We present a method for incorporating soft skill development into a traditional computer science curriculum through the use of a public debate format. The debate format forces participants to practice public speaking, active listening, teamwork, research and preparation, and critical thinking, as well as having the less obvious benefit of contextualizing the material taught in the classroom by introducing contemporary, real-world debate topics. This work presents an example of the incorporation of public debates in an upper-level human-computer interaction class, including a discussion of student feedback, and suggestions for adopting the debate format to other upper-level courses and its perceived benefits

A Curriculum Development for 21st Century Learners: Using Project Based Learning to Teach the Four Cs Required for Today and Tomorrow\u27s Workforce

The purpose of this study is to present a 21st century curriculum designed specifically for fourth grade students. The curriculum utilizes the Four Cs of learning and Project Based Learning frameworks, in order to provide best practices for all students to achieve academic success and 21st century skill development. The following question framed the literature research that was conducted to develop this curriculum: How can we create a curriculum that covers required academic content standards while incorporating 21st century skills in order to prepare our students to be successful in their future endeavors? The question was answered through literature research regarding best practices for incorporating 21st century learning within the classroom. The research was combined with culturally relevant pedagogy criteria to develop a cross curricular curriculum that teaches, English language arts, social studies, science, social emotional standards, as well as, 21st century skills. The sample unit plan is a guide for other educators interested in incorporating this curriculum into their own classrooms