The development of generic competences in Malaysian civil engineering programmes: a case study

This study focuses on generic competences that have been considered to be lacking in graduates from Malaysian polytechnics specifically their problem solving, critical thinking, communication skills, and team building. The argument concerning generic competences has focused upon teachers' pedagogical approaches and their relation to students' learning. There is therefore a need to explore innovative learning environments which will help students to improve their attitudes and skills as well as their learning achievements, with regard to these generic competences. The creation of a hybrid teaching approach was proposed in order to consider whether this would enhance students’ generic competences, as well as to enhance their academic achievements. This study is significant and original in that it aimed to establish an alternative pedagogical approach in teaching engineering subjects at polytechnics and assesses its validity. The approach was based on the combination and integration of collaborative learning and metacognitive strategies to produce a hybrid system (HybCoMet Strategy). A central objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the instructional module using the HybCoMet Strategy compared to the more traditional approaches. The study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches in order to obtain the data including: questionnaires distributed to students, pre and post-test quasi-experiments design, diary methods and semi structured interviews with lecturers. The quantitative data was used to support the qualitative data in order to triangulate the study. The First Semester Students in Civil Engineering Courses from three polytechnics and lecturers who were teaching the selected engineering subject were selected as a sample. Findings from this study show that the pattern of teaching and learning processes in the majority of polytechnics under investigation were more traditionally focused with an emphasis on teacher-centred approaches. By introducing the HybCoMet Strategy, students considered that the hybrid classroom helped to establish an atmosphere in which they felt more valued and more comfortable. Above all, it helped students to think critically; solve complex problems; write and speak effectively; have respect for others; be able to adapt to change and be ready to engage in lifelong learning. The HybCoMet Strategy, it is considered, can challenge students in their learning so that, in employment, they will be able to transfer this learning to workplace environments

The Development Of Instructional Module Of Hybrid Approach Using Collaborative And Metacognitive (HybCoMet) Strategy As An Alternative Approach To Help Improving Generic Skills Among Students In Malaysian Polytechnics

This paper presents the development and design of a new alternative approach to teaching, which is referred to as a hybrid teaching approach. This teaching approach is developed to meet the challenges and academic needs of students learning technical subjects at polytechnic level in Malaysia. It is intended to help students improve their learning and deepen their understanding in learning the subjects matters. It is also to help students to emphasize positive attitudes in a wide range of skills that are critically needed in a workplace such as communication, thinking and interpersonal skills (Yusof, 2004). Accordingly, this paper describes a “hybrid” educational system which integrates collaborative and metacognitive strategies, involving the development, design and implementation of an instructional module which is entitled “ A Hybrid Approach Using Collaborative and Metacognitive (HybCoMet) Strategy : An Instructional Module for Polytechnics Lecturers”. The HybCoMet Instructional Module is designed as an alternative to the current teaching approaches which are hereinafter referred as ‘traditional approaches’. The strategy is intended to help students to learn in a meaningful way, by facilitating the assimilation of their knowledge prior to transfer it into real world situation. The purpose of the teaching module of HybCoMet Strategy is to encourage teachers to move away from the current teaching approach by which students are ‘fed’ facts and information (Wee, 2004). Even where there are some activities in a classroom, the teacher retains control over the procedure and learning process. Introducing HybCoMet strategy may allow teachers to experience a new role, as a facilitator who provides support and assistance and interferes only when necessary. The strategy could be beneficial for teachers preparing a lesson and was more effective at pointing teachers toward individual learning objectives. Therefore, it is expected that students could take control of the learning process and become more motivated and responsible for their own learning, and then will be able to prepare them for their future life. It was hoped to inculcate this learning mode into students’ educational environment to prepare them for real-life situations and provide opportunities for the optimal intellectual and academic development as well as their generic skills. The designed instructional module is hoping will contribute as a new pedagogical approach to the representation of hybrid system for technical education needs at the polytechnics level and supply as a comprehensive academic references and guidelines to the academician and will be beneficial to those who are interested

THE FEEDBACK ELABORATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS TOWARDS INDONESIAN SUBJECT

Learning Indonesian as a school subject can be intended as an effort to develop Indonesian language functions for Senior High School students to obtain information, control behavior, interact with others, express personal feelings or intentions, develop learning skills, and use language to convey information. To achieve this purpose, the teacher must do learning optimally. This paper aims to elaborate on the various phenomena of learning Indonesian in Senior High school and various references as the basis of language and conclusions. The elaboration feedback strategy is the focus of this paper and intended as a discourse and input for the teacher as the person in charge of learning process in the classroom

The effect of rubric on rater’s severity and bias in TVET laboratory practice assessment: analysis using many-facet rasch measurement

Performance assessments such as laboratory practice in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) are difficult to measure because they are subjective in their characteristics, which can cause bias. The use of a rubric scoring scale is suitable for measuring students’ practical competency as it could translate the qualitative criteria into quantitative forms on a grading scale. The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of rater severity for the performance of component installation of an electronic circuit project using Many-Facet Rasch Measurement (MFRM). Nine raters have examined the competency performance of 68 students using a four-point rating scale rubric consisting of 16 items. This study was conducted at three vocational colleges. The results showed that all raters measured with different severities but very high consistency. The effect of rater severity did not exist at the group level but exhibited at the individual level. It can also be examined that all raters were biased on the item and also towards students, either by being severe or lenient. Thus, the rubric cannot eliminate the effect of bias during the assessment. However, it can help raters to be consistent so that they have the same understanding when translating the rubric. These findings have implications for the psychometric quality of the electronic circuit project performance assessment

Competencies Needed for Improving Teaching Among Lecturers of Polytechnics in North-Western Nigeria

The study was carried out to determine the competencies needed for improving teaching among lecturers of polytechnics in North-western Nigeria. A polytechnic was established in Nigeria to train individuals to learn a specific skill using competent lecturers for employment or self-reliance after graduation. These lecturers are very essential to the quality of students of electrical/ electronic technology in the polytechnics. However, technology dynamism has become a serious challenge for the lecturers to perform their teaching tasks. Hence the need for lecturers to continually improved on their competence and knowledge of the subject matter content they teach. The study is also to identify any difference of competency needed among the institutions. 122 electrical/electronic lecturers from nine universities were purposely selected as respondents for the study whose consisted of 55 lecturers from five state polytechnics and 67 lecturers from four federal polytechnics. The study adopted survey research design and used structured questionnaire as the main instrument for the data collection. The questionnaires were developed and distributed to respondents. Mean and improvement needed index analysis were used for data analysis to achieve the research objective whilst t-test was used to test the significance difference between the institutions. It was found that electrical/electronic lecturers in polytechnics need improvement of their competencies related to knowledge and skills in the subject matter. However, there was no significant difference of competency needed between the lecturers in state and federal polytechnics on the teaching subject matter. The implication of the finding is that the location of the lecturers did not significantly affect their opinion in the competencies. In conclusion, lecturers of electrical/electronic technology from the polytechnics has low competency in executing technical task assigned to them within the study area which required adequate investigation by determining the competencies of lecturers who happen to be the main implementers of the electrical/electronic programme. Therefore, it is recommended that the schools administrators should continually organized workshop and training for lecturers to build their capacity in order for the lecturers to always develop their competencies to effectively teach the contents of the subject assigned to them

Implementation of Vocational College Lecturers Teaching Practice in Construction Technology Program

The research was conducted to identify practical teaching practices among lecturers of Construction Technology in Vocational College Malaysia. This research uses quantitative methods (questionnaires) and is supported by interview methods and observations for data collection and subsequently determines the answers to the identified research problems. There are three teaching practice components, namely pre-teaching practice, practice during teaching, and post-practice practice. The elements contained in the pre-teaching component of the lesson are the preparation of lesson plans, the provision of teaching aids and the preparation of lesson content. The current practice element of teaching is the teaching method and the element of post-practice practice is training and evaluation. The respondents involved were 46 Construction Technology lecturers at six Vocational College. The data obtained through pilot studies have been tested and demonstrated the reliability of Alpha Cronbach which is 0.819 high. An overview of the differences in pre-teaching practice, during teaching and post-lessons according to the experience and expertise category uses the T test with a significant level of 0.05. In overall, the findings show that all three components of pre-teaching practice, during teaching and post-teaching are at a high level. The findings also showed that there were no significant differences in pre-teaching practices, teaching and post-lectures based on the experience and expertise categories of lecturers.   &nbsp

Peranan sektor pelancongan dalam meningkatkan pendapatan golongan wanita Orang Asli

Masalah kemiskinan merupakan masalah utama yang membelenggu komuniti Orang Asli sejak dahulu lagi. Sektor pelancongan merupakan satu sektor yang dapat menyumbangkan pendapatan kepada golongan ini tanpa perlu mengeluarkan modal yang besar. Peranan golongan wanita di dalam proses pembangunan masyarakat dilihat sebagai satu jalan penyelesaian yang holistik di mana mereka dilihat mampu menyumbang kepada kemajuan dan pembangunan masyarakat dan negara. Melalui sektor pelancongan, wanita dalam kalangan orang asli mampu memasarkan produk, kemahiran dan kebolehan mereka melalui penghasilan kraftangan dan persembahan kebudayaan.. Kajian dilakukan secara kualitatif dengan memberi tumpuan kepada wanita dari suku kaum Mah Meri di Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Pulau Carey, Selangor. Lokasi ini dipilih kerana pengembangan, penyediaan kemudahan dan pemusatan aktiviti pelancongan banyak dilaksanakan di sini. Responden yang dipilih telah terlibat secara aktif dalam penghasilan kraftangan dan aktiviti kebudayaan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan sektor pelancongan mampu membawa perubahan yang besar di mana golongan wanita suku kaum orang asli Mah Meri dapat meningkatkan pendapatan mereka berbanding sebelum menyertai sektor ini. Melalui kajian ini, diharapkan dapat memberi gambaran yang jelas berkaitan peranan sektor pelancongan dalam meningkatkan pendapatan golongan wanita Orang Asli

Pembangunan profil standard kebangsaan bagi kemahiran informal orang asli malaysia demi kelestarian warisan etnik

Kemahiran informal orang Asli merupakan potensi semulajadi yang telah menghasilkan banyak produk seni dan kraf yang telah berjaya menarik perhatian pelancong tempatan dan asing. Sebahagiannya telah berjaya memperolehi anugerah di peringkat antarabangsa. Namun begitu, mereka tidak memperolehi sebarang pengiktirafan yang mampu dijadikan satu standard dalam kemahiran vokasional Orang Asli. Bidang seni kraf ini telah banyak dipelopori oleh ramai kelompok etnik, namun tiada satu standard yang seragam dalam aktiviti kemahiran ini. Oleh itu, satu profil standard yang selaras dengan kemahiran kebangsaan perlu dibangunkan sebagai panduan dalam pembentukan silibus kemahiran hasil dari kemahiran informal golongan ini. Pendekatan kajian ialah rekabentuk kajian kes secara penerokaan. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan kaedah temubual, pemerhatian dan pengumpulan dokumen. Kajian akan dilakukan di penempatan Mah Meri (Selangor), Jakun (Pahang) dan Semai (Johor). Profil ini diharapkan merupakan satu usaha ke arah memelihara dan memuliharan khazanah warisan etnik, disamping membantu orang asli memajukan diri dan mendapatkan pengiktirafan yang sewajarnya

Investigating Students` Cognitive Style and Problem Solving Skills in Conducting Undergraduate Final Year Project

Cognitive style was found to be related to problem solving skills including final year project in the majority of studies, field-independent students were found to be superior to field-dependent students. The present study investigated the students` cognitive style and problem-solving skills among final year students. Student’s cognitive style and problem solving in fundamentally different ways, particularly problems requiring conceptual understanding and complicated strategies such as final year project problems. The objectives of this research are to identify students’ cognitive styles and problem solving skills also to investigate the relationship of both variables related to students’ conducting undergraduate final year project. 347 final year students involved in this research. The GEFT questionnaires and problem solving based on IDEAL Model are research instruments used. The result showed that students are more independent of cognitive style and be able to identify the problem in problem skills context. There is no relationship between cognitive style and problem solving skill found even though the importance of both factors being discussed in previous research. Furthermore, researcher is indebted to make some possible suggestions that will enhance and connect student cognitive styles and problem-solving skills, this are; educational focus should not necessarily be on who has/does not have a particular ability, but on how to capitalize on individual strengths, and how to develop learning potential, a better understanding of cultural, social or experiential factors that affect students’ research activities are, thus, critical for enhancement of their active learning through undergraduate research

PENERAPAN KEMAHIRAN EMPLOYABILITY DALAM PENGAJARAN DAN PEMBELAJARAN DI KOLEJ KOMUNITI DI NEGERI JOHOR

Employability skills are the skills required by students to prepare them for the employment. However, there is limited study conducted in the training institution such as community colleges. Therefore, this study is conducted to identify the application of the 'employability' skills that frequently implemented by lecturers at community colleges in Johor. This study is also to understand the skill that is mastered the most by the students, and the problems faced by the lecturers in inculcating this skill. The skills elements studied included the seven key elements of employability skills which are; communication, leadership, teamwork, problem solving, ethical and professional and business skills. The study is a survey study using a questionnaire as the main instrument. Questionnaire was distributed to 140 students and 44 lecturers from three community colleges in Johor. The data were collected and analyzed using the Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 21.0 to obtain mean score and standard deviation. The findings indicated that the frequent skill employed by lecturers in teaching and learning process is bussiness skill. The most mastered skill by students is also the business skill. Among challenges that need to be faced by lectures are lack of computer skills as well as lacking skills in using technology. It is important for lecturers to emphasize employability skills equally in their teaching. Whereas, students need to work to master the employability skill as a platform to prepare them for the workplace. This study is hoped to help lecturers and students prepare to enhance their employability skills