Knowledge construction process in online learning

One of applications in online learning environment is the use of forum or discussion through online communication facilities as a learning activity. This paper focuses on the process of knowledge construction in online discussion designed to be used with mobile technology. The research participants comprised 45 postgraduate students enrolled in a research methodology course. These participants were involved in the online discussion as one of the mode of delivery for the course. Data were collected through open ended questionnaire to tap into their perceptions about online learning activity through online discussion. They were also asked to do metacognitive reflections to explain step by step on how do they make conclusion on the meaning of a specific concept from the online discussion. Data were analysed using content analysis as the means of analysis. Result of the study shows majority of respondents agreed that online discussion helps the knowledge construction process through critical examinations of other peoples idea in the discussion. Overcoming psychological barriers is one of the important aspects offered by online environment that facilitate students involvement in constructing knowledge as compared to face to face discussion. Further analysis on the learning process revealed pattern of steps used by the students in constructing the meaning through the discussion process

The Development Of Expert Learners In The Classroom

The term ‘expert learner’ refers to students who are actively engaged with the materials learned and take responsibility for their own learning. Literature reviews suggested the use of metacognitive approach to help develop students to become expert learners. Research on development of expert learners can be traced from movements that focused on the importance of learning strategies and “learning how to learn” approach. Some researchers combined the role of teachers and students in formulating a framework on how to develop expert learners. This study aimed to identify issues related to the development of expert learners in the classroom. Data were collected from focus group with students and teachers in Malaysia.  Findings were reduced into thematic categories representing students’ and teachers’ perceptions on the issues. Results of the study showed that the use of metacognitive strategies among students is very minimal and many teachers did not aware the benefit of making the learning process visible to students. The implementation of “learning to learn” approach in the teaching and learning process remain one of the key problem need to be address in order to help students learn effectively in the classroom

Validation of the communication skills attitude scale (CSAS) questionnaire in a cohort of Malaysian medical students / Noorhida Baharudin … [et al.]

The Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) assesses medical students’ attitudes towards learning communication skills and had been widely utilised all over the world. This questionnaire has 26 items framed within two subscales. This study aimed to examine the validity and reliability of the CSAS among medical students in Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM). Methods: This was a cross sectional questionnaire validation study among 171 first year medical students from UiTM. The CSAS had undergone content and face validation, followed by psychometric analysis using principal component analysis to assess construct validity. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach alpha. Results: Factor analysis confirmed the original two-subscale structure of the CSAS (positive attitude scale, PAS and negative attitude scale, NAS). A total of 4 items were removed due to poor factor loading (1 item from PAS and 3 items from NAS). The final validated CSAS consisted of 22 items, 14 and 8 items for the PAS and NAS respectively. Cronbach alphas calculated were 0.862 for the PAS and 0.565 for the NAS. Conclusion: This study produced a validated and reliable CSAS to measure the attitude of UiTM medical students towards learning communication skills. Given the low internal reliability of the NAS in this study, future studies should include translating and validating the CSAS into the Malay language to improve its psychometric properties. Future studies should also include medical students from the three major ethnic groups and other medical schools in Malaysia to improve the generalisability of the CSAS

Kemahiran mengakses dan mempelajari bahan hiperteks dalam kalangan guru pelatih

Accessing hypertext learning materials from the internet is one of key features in current learning environment. Thus, one of the important skills in this learning environment is the ability to access and study hypertext materials online. This paper discusses the result of a study done to identify student teachers’ skills in accessing and studying hypertext materials online. Respondents of the study consist of 40 first year student teachers at the Faculty of Education in one public university in Malaysia. The respondents were asked to study hypertext materials online. Subsequently, they were asked to answer questions related to hypertext materials and the learning process they had undergone. They were also asked to do metacognitive reflection explaining the steps they used in learning the materials online. Descriptive data were analysed using percentages. Document analysis technique was also employed on the metacognitive reflection report. In addition, analysis was also done on screen interaction of 10 student teachers while accessing and studying the hypertext materials online. Results of the study showed that as a whole, the respondents acknowledged the importance of hypertext materials in their learning process. However, results of the study showed that the respondents still lack of study skills needed in hypermedia learning environment. Majority of the respondents showed very minimal application of metacogitive strategies in accessing and studying the hypertext materials online. The general approach adopted by the respondents is a “cut and paste” approach without an attempt to process or understand the information retrieved. One important implication of this study is the need to train student teachers to use metacognitive strategies to help them learn effectively and consequently able to play their role as a teacher to guide their students learning in hypermedia learning environment

Strategi pembelajaran projek pembangunan produk multimedia kreatif secara kolaboratif

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meneroka pengembangan kreativiti pelajar secara interaksi sosial melalui projek pembangunan produk multimedia kreatif (PMK) di kelas literasi komputer (LK). Subjek kajian ialah seramai 103 pelajar tingkatan satu dan dua di sebuah sekolah luar bandar. Pengkaji berperanan sebagai instrumen utama kajian, peserta aktif, guru komputer dan pereka bentuk pengajaran. Teknik-teknik triangulasi pelbagai teori, kaedah dan data digunakan untuk mengukuhkan kebolehpercayaan dan kesahan kajian kualitatif. Kajian kes pelbagai, pendekatan symbolic interactionism dan pendekatan grounded theory digabungjalinkan dalam reka bentuk triangulasi pelbagai kaedah bagi pengumpulan dan penganalisisan data. Data yang terdiri daripada pelbagai sumber dan teknik dianalisis sehingga teori dasar dan model projek pembangunan PMK dibentuk secara induktif. Potensi kreativiti semula jadi pelajar sebagai pereka bentuk dm pembangun PMK boleh dikembangkan melalui strategi pembelajaran projek pembangunan PMK secara kolaboratif di kelas LK. Model ini boleh direplikasi dengan pengubahsuaian mengikut konteks prasarana multimedia di kelas-kelas komputer yang lain

Penggunaan ICT dalam pembelajaran ICT

Literasi ICT dan ICT sebagai kurikulum merupakan dua dari tiga dasar utama yang digariskan oleh Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (KPM) (2001) dalam pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan 2001-2010. Usaha ini dilaksanakan bagi mencapai matlamat negara agar 100 peratus rakyat celik ICT (Mahathir, 2002) kerana kecelikan ini boleh menentukan taraf kejayaan hidup individu, masyarakat dan negara (Hairudin, 1999). Pelbagai program pendidikan ICT sama ada secara formal atau nonformal telah diadakan di pelbagai peringkat persekolahan. Dengan itu, KPM telah mengadakan program Komputer Dalam Pendidikan (KDP) yang terdiri daripada Literasi Komputer Peringkat Sekolah Rendah, Literasi Komputer Peringkat Sekolah Menengah dan Projek Pemasangan Sendiri Komputer. Di peringkat Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia, mata pelajaran ICT, Grafik Berkomputer dan Produksi Multimedia ditawarkan di beberapa buah sekolah menengah. Di sekolah menengah teknik Manakala di Maktab Rendah Sains MARA pula, sains komputer wajib diambil oleh semua pelajar dan mesti lulus sebagai memenuhi syarat graduasi. Perkomputeran pula ditawarkan pada peringkat Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia