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This study is based on a group of students studying Radiography at School of Health Sciences in Nanyang Polytechnic. The objectives of this study are:

(i) to create a conducive environment for active learning,
(ii) to implement a new procedure to improve the validity and reliability of the. competency assessments in clinical practice.
(iii)to introduce self-assessment in clinical practice,
(iv) to evaluate these strategies with the aim of making recommendation for improvement of clinical practice.

The course is part of a three-year Health Science Diploma programmme established in 1992 with the consultancy from University of Sydney, Australia. Despite the fact that this is only a diploma course, it is very similar to the degree course in Australia, it consists of mainly three modes of learning through lectures, laboratory sessions or tutorials and clinical practice. The students have to spend approximately a third of the year on full-time clinical fieldwork placements.

In the weekly schedule , the students have to attend up to 27 hours of lectures, laboratory sessions or tutorials. The students have to attach to the hospitals for clinical practice during the semester and end of each semester. Their competencies in clinical practice are assessed by the practitioners in the work place. This clinical competency assessment is relatively new in Singapore . Prior to this , the training was done in the hospital with no specific clinical assessment component. It is more of on-the-job training whereby three-days for lectures and another three-days for working at the department which was recommended by the College of Radiographers (United Kingdom). In United Kingdom and Australia, clinical assessment is also a recent event. The College of Radiographers of United Kingdom is disbanding by the end of 1993 as they are shifting from hospital-based training to college-based training.

The investigation reported here explores students' learning characteristics and the nature of active learning in tutorials.

The report starts with a review of the current tutorial practice in the School of Civil and Structural Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, followed by personal reflection on tutorial teaching. Next, the conduct of three different surveys is reported, aimed at assessing the students' learning characteristics, their motivation in learning, and their experience of tutorials.

This presentation of the instructional context is followed by a detailed description of action research carried out to promote active learning in tutorials.

The objective of the action research was to try some new ideas in the tutorials, in order to enable more interaction among students in the tutorials. The design of the action research was based on reflection about the current tutorial teaching experience and an understanding of the students' learning characteristics.

The report concludes with personal reflection on the Diploma course and the project.

The aim of this study is to promote deep learning in tertiary institutions in Singapore within the context of enhancement of its economic goals. Deep learning involves self-motivation and reflective thinking of students in the learning process which is expected to lead to more innovative graduates with higher level of problem-solving abilities.

The strategy used in this study to promote deep learning was devised in consideration of the students' background, learning features and their primary concerns. The examination interest of the students was used as the motivator to arouse the students to participate actively in tutorial discussions which were directly linked to examination questions. Thus, this strategy which emphasises understanding rather than recall of knowledge became more acceptable to the students in their learning process.

Students of three geography modules were tested with the deep learning approach at the weekly tutorials in the academic year 1993/94. Tutorial participants were encouraged to be prepared and think about the proposed discussion topic. They were given opportunities to respond and express freely in the tutorials. Reinforcements were also used to build up students' confidence and responsibility, making discussions more effective.

The results of the questionnaire survey and observations were encouraging. Of the two geography classes (Dip Ed Year 2 and BA Year 2) under comparison, it was found that both classes shared generally the passive learning attitude, though most students were unaware of it. Both classes had indicated that, on average, they had become more interested in the newly introduced understanding approach. The survey shows that, given the examination focus on higher order questions, students' interest in deep learning can be enhanced if their examination interest is directly linked with tutorial discussions. Students' passive learning attitude can be modified and active participation can be promoted when the learning environment guides them to be so. Although high reliability of the results cannot be claimed in light of the relatively short survey and observation period, the study has significance in that the success in producing more thinking-oriented graduates is fundamental in generating more innovative and effective workforce in future.

This is the report of a study undertaken by the faculty using the Engineering student; in Nanyang Technological University as subjects for the fulfillment of the course "The Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching in Higher Education Program, 1993194." The aims of this study are to understand the motivations, learning habits, preferred tutorial styles of these tertiary students and their expectations of an effective lecturer/tutor. With a better understanding of the students, it is hoped that lecturers and tutors will be able to review and reflect on their teaching style accordingly, in order to improve the students' learning.

It is well known that one of the most important facets of university education is the acquiring of problem solving skills. Students are also expected to develop higher order thinking skills and to take the initiative in their learning process. But, unfortunately, studies in local tertiary institutions seem to suggest that many of our tertiary students are inclined towards surface learning or strategic learning with the primary objective of only getting good grades in the examinations. In fact, many faculty staff perceive the students to be result and grade oriented.

This report begins with an introduction on the structure and organization of the Local Education System and those of the Engineering course in the Nanyang Technological University. This is followed b y a brief literature review on active learning, cooperative learning, learning styles and study approaches, motivations of students to learn and some results of survey on student's learning . It then analyses the results of a survey conducted on 376 first, second and third year Engineering students in the Nanyang Technological University. The questionnaire is designed to ascertain students' learning styles, motivations, referred tutorial approach and their criteria of an effective tutor and lecturer.

The results of the survey indicate that the students become more dependent and examination oriented as the years go by. Comparisons of survey results are also made between the students in terms of years, and educational background. (Diploma vs. GCE 'A' Level). The report concludes with a discussion on the implications of the students' motivations, learning styles, and expectations for teaching, curriculum design and assessments.

The objective of this project is to study ways to promote active learning in NTU.

This report introduces the notion of active learning and related it to the current teaching and learning practice in NTU's Engineering Schools. It outlines the problems of the current system and proposes ways in which teaching can provide greater encouragement for active learning. This report then relates active learning to the assessment practise in NTU's Engineering Schools. It outlines the problems of the current system and proposes ways in which assessment practice can provide greater encouragement for active learning. The scope of assessment includes practical and project works.

A case study and two surveys are also included to evaluate the use of active learning in teaching.

Education is generally regarded as the formal means of acquiring knowledge, skills as well as moral values. There are essentially two elements in education -- the teacher and the learner. The human factors in this relationship are so important that almost every topic educationists addressed centred around them. The ultimate aim is twofold -- the teacher "teaches" well and the learner learns effectively.

Various tools have been made available to assist in the teaching and learning process, notably the recent use of multimedia. The impact of which has become greater and greater as computer and associated electronic technologies advance. It may replace most of the conventional tools being used currently. An example of using multimedia for teaching is presented and its implications on some aspects of teaching discussed. These include topics like active learning, motivation, assessment, and group teaching. The results of a survey on motivation for engineering students were interpreted and inference was drawn ca their study behaviour towards the use of multimedia technology.

A popular application software, Microsoft's Powerpoint@, is employed to design a few slides for use with a lecture on mechantronics. The ASSURE model is discussed, its use enables the product to match the students' learning style and help in accomplishing the instructional objectives. Elements considered to be important to enhance motivation, such as exemplary moving pictures, are included in the presentation. In this report, the terms computer presentation and electronic multimedia are used interchangeably.

Apart from discussing the use of multimedia for higher education, some philosophical and practical views, pertained to higher education, are highlighted in the chapter on discussion. Such views were gathered throughout the entire time span of the course, they represent thoughts resulting from many sessions of brain storming and discussions. It is hoped that these views will capture the attention of not only the interested individual, but, more importantly, also the interest of the key administrative personnel.

The project report attempts to reveal and discuss the factors of effective teaching in higher education, especially in the contexts of Singaporean engineering students.

By briefly discussing the learning styles, the report shows that teaching and learning is an inseparable process and successful higher education is the combination of active learning by students and effective teaching from teachers.

The main emphasis of this report is to study factors of effective teaching in higher education. Combining overseas and local research results, factors of effective teaching in higher education are grouped into such four categories as enthusiasm, relevance, academic skills, and non-academic skills. The discussion can be used as general guides or references of teaching improvement.

This report will also discuss the aspects of Kolb's four-stage problem-solving model and how to use it as a development spiral for teaching development.

This project deals with teaching and learning, motivating students to learn actively and assessment of student performance in engineering laboratory classes. Teaching and learning in laboratory classes have similarities and differences to classroom teaching. In this particular case, the knowledge required to carry out the experiments is not usually covered in the lectures before the laboratory class. As such, for the students to do the experiments with good understanding, they must be given a brief background information before they actually do the experiment. This is a very difficult task. The main objective of this project is to develop effective teaching methods to facilitate the students to assimilate very necessary information to carry out experiment with good understanding within the limited allocated time.

Prior studies by the author on student learning, were undertaken using established standardized techniques (Study Process Questionnaire, Learning Study Index, learning and Study Strategy Inventory, and Course Experience Questionnaire) with first year common engineering students and, second year and third year civil engineering students of the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The studies revealed that the students have a heavy workload and have insufficient time to retrieve information and engage in deep learning. They also feel that the lecturers do not interact enough to facilitate deep learning. Based on the studies of student learning behaviours and course experiences which indicated that they need time to assimilate information and more interaction to facilitate learning, the following strategy for promoting deep learning in relation to laboratory classes was derived.

Currently most laboratory classes are conducted in three parts. The first part is similar to a lecture in a classroom. Students are delivered a lecture for about 45 minutes briefly explaining the engineering principles involved in the experiment and the procedure to carry out the experiment. In the second part students do laboratory experiments on their own and collect necessary information required for the third part, which is an assessment of the their learning in the laboratory classes. This is achieved by assessing thelaboratory reports produced by the students. These reports are also produced within the time allocated for the laboratory class. Each of these stages are intended to facilitate active learning. In addition it was proposed to conduct a multiple-choice question (MCQ) tests after the 45 minutes lecture. The multiple-choice questions indicated the degree of understanding expected, and were carefully designed to help the students grasp the essence of the lecture and relevant information necessary to do the experiment and the laboratory assignment.

The new delivery mode was proposed to facilitate student learning through improved retrieval and processing of information. The proposed method was practiced in teaching first year and second year students. Experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of the methods with different groups of first year and second year engineering students. Some samples of students were administered MCQ tests and their performances were compared with groups which were not administered the tests. Student learning were assessed through multiple-choice questions and laboratory reports, and students verbal responses were gathered. The study proved that assessment of learning is a good tool to facilitate the students retrieval and processing relevant information and store them in long-term memory. The new technique not only facilitated the students self-assessment and promotion of learning but also assisted the lecturer identify the concepts to be reinforced. It enabled the lecturer to assess individual students. First and second year students performances were compared.

The new delivery mode not only facilitated deep learning of the lecture material but also motivated students to actively learn in the experiment situation. The method demanded lot of preparation and involvement of the lecturer, as such it cannot be practiced with large group of students. The method was only tested with eight small groups of students and the rest were used for investigations. This should be tested with several other groups and with large samples to validate the method.

This reports presents on the project carried out to enhance active student learning through curriculum redesign and assessment on the engineering design module taught in the third year of the four-year engineering degree programme at the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University.

The students felt that this design module was not useful to them and they did not know where they can apply the learnt principles and methodologies in the microelectronics industry. They also did not know what types of engineers use them. A class-wide survey (Ramsden & Dodds evaluation approach) was first conducted. It was discovered that the students were not clear about the objective and expectation of the module. The findings also confirmed that they do not have the confidence in doing design project using the approach taught.

The problems are analysed by first reflecting on the current instructional strategies and analysing the curriculum content of the design module with regards to student learning. Some redesigns are then made to the curriculum using the project-based approach for the teaching of the entire design module. Using the Buttressed Building Model for active learning as the base, some modifications are made to reflect on the hierarchical learning that accumulates to the achieving of the design module objectives. The focus is on the goals and objectives of the course, the social context, and on the use of the Instructional Systems Development (ISD) process based on R. Gagne's Theory on conditions of learning to enhance active student learning. It is also felt that the current situation renders the part of assessment on the student understanding during lessons very difficult if not impossible. Therefore, the multiple-choice question (MCQ) test is also incorporated in assessing student learning in this project.

A class-wide questionnaire survey is designed and conducted to evaluate the impact of the changes that are included in the instructional strategies for the lecture part of the design module on student learning. The survey findings show clearly that students do prefer the teaching strategies that promote active learning in lecture. The project-based approach with an eclectic and interactive teaching method was implemented for four of the tutorial groups. In order to evaluate the impact of the changes on the student learning, a control group which consists of another four tutorial groups was incorporated. This second group was subjected to the current practice without the changes made. All the students in the two groups sat for the same MCQ test. Evidence presented suggests that student learning can be improved through redesign in the curriculum and assessment with a project-based approach in the teaching of engineering design module.

This paper reports on an Action Research project undertaken with aims to facilitate deep learning, develop students' communication, presentation and inter-personal skills, and enhance students' academic achievement or, in other words, to promote and encourage active learning, through the use of a collaborative learning strategy.

It was observed that the students in an applied mathematics course (Operational Research) tend to be rather passive at tutorials and it was felt that the students also lacked deep understanding of the subject material. A questionnaire (Biggs' Study Process Questionnaire) was then administered to determine the students' approaches to learning and studying, and it was found that most of the students in the course preferred or are inclined toward surface approaches to learning and studying. This finding confirmed the earlier observation, and suggests that we need to be re-evaluated our conceptual and attitudinal perceptions of the learning process and seriously consider changes in our teaching and examining functions.

As the teacher of the course, the author reflected on the situation, identified and then analyzed the problem in terms of the nature of the subject, students' background, current teaching practices and the course curriculum, including the conduct of tutorials and the assessment methods used. It was felt that current teaching practices may have encouraged the students' surface approaches to studying and passive learning styles.

To overcome the problem of students' passivity and surface tendency in learning approach, a collaborative learning strategy was introduced to encourage active student -participation and interaction and help enhance student learning. The strategy is essentially to use organised cooperative or team-based study groups, where students attempt and discuss solutions to tutorial problems before attending tutorial classes.

After a few weeks, there were some observable positive results in terms of improved student participation levels, greater enthusiasm and relatively good scores in a quiz. However, it was also apparent that some students were not benefitting much because some groups were not working well together. Consequently, a survey was designed and carried out to determine which type or types of students will benefit most from collaborative learning and which type or types will not. The result of the survey shows clearly that collaborative learning will benefit most those who can work well with others and it will not be so beneficial to those who are more individualistic; those who preferred to do things their own way, at their own time.

Reflecting on the findings, it was felt necessary to redesign the curriculum for the course. The redesigned curriculum incorporates a collaborative learning strategy and includes an assessment scheme, that places more emphasis on continuous assessment, to discourage passive learning styles and encourage active learning.

It is known that student learning is affected by teacher- and student-related factors. This project inquires into how the following factors: students' learning styles and strategies, motivation to learn and teaching techniques, may have influenced the learning of a six-lecture course in systemic pharmacology by medical and pharmacy students. The pharmacy students had lower grades in their A-level Science subjects than the medical students and had also performed less well than the latter in the mid-year examination and first term test in pharmacology. This situation thus provided an opportunity for the author to inquire into the use of two enhancing elements in the teaching of the course to the pharmacy students. The research question is whether the two enhancing elements: planned class revision and a computer assisted learning programme can raise the performance of the pharmacy students in a test that is based on the six lectures in systemic pharmacology.

The author delivered two of the lectures in the early part of the course, and the remaining four towards the end of the academic year. Surveys were done to determine the students' learning styles and strategies as well as the factors motivating their learning. The teaching techniques used for the two groups of students were deliberately different in that more review and rehearsal of the six lectures was provided for the pharmacy students. In addition, these students also had a one and a half hour computer-based revision session. The medical and pharmacy students were assessed by R common multiple choice objective test with true-false items at the end of the course.

The surveys showed that nearly half of the medical students and slightly more than two thirds of the pharmacy students were assimilators in their learning style. Both groups of students participated equally in activities related to deep learning. The majority of the medical students were motivated by the utility value of the course while the majority of the pharmacy students were motivated by a personal interest in the subject. Studying to pass examinations was another motivating factor among a higher percentage of medical than pharmacy students.

The results of the test showed that the percentage of passes was similar between the medical and pharmacy students. The mean class score and pass score of the pharmacy students were however higher than the scores obtained by the medical students. The pass students in both groups were mainly assimilators in their learning style. Including the additional time spent in computer-based revision sessions, the pharmacy students spent more time in preparing for the test than the medical students and found these sessions helpful. Planned class revision, in the form of lecture review, and self-study were learning activities that a great majority of both groups of students also found to be helpful in their preparation for the test. All the pharmacy students who had discussions with their classmates found these helpful, compared to the medical students, half of whom found that these discussions were not helpful. While a large majority of the medical students were in the course of their choice, less than half of the pharmacy students were in their course by choice. Both medical and pharmacy students were mainly motivated to study for the test by the long-term goal of wanting to rehearse for the final examination in pharmacology.

The results gathered from this preliminary inquiry into the effects of teacher- and student-related factors on students' learning in a course of lectures on systemic pharmacology suggest that lecture review and computer-based revision sessions have a part to play in enhancing the learning of the course by pharmacy students. While the students' learning style also seems to have contributed to their improved performance, other learning activities that were investigated in this inquiry, namely self-study and discussions with classmates, as well as the desire to pass examinations may also have contributed to the students' enhanced performance.

The learning of biology requires both knowledge acquisition and knowledge integration. While existing teaching methods can encourage knowledge acquisition on the part of the students, they are found to be not effective in encouraging higher order cognitive strategies and in enabling students to integrate the knowledge such that they can apply it in a new situation. This was clearly shown by the performance of the the first year students in the class of 1992, who were taught by the traditional lecture and practical modes. The incorporation of active learning strategies in the biology courses for first year and third year undergraduates in 1993, showed that biology undergraduates can be encouraged to integrate the knowledge more effectively and adopt higher order cognitive strategies. Higher order questions posed to first year students during the lectures encouraged them to reflect deeply on the topic hence enabling them to integrate the knowledge more effectively. They were able to better answer the "why" and "how" types of questions during the lectures and in their practical reports as compared to the class in the previous year, who were taught by the traditional lecture mode. Similarly, active learning strategies incorporated into a laboratory practical for the third year students encouraged them not only to acquire and integrate the knowledge effectively, but also to gain greater confidence in handling other tasks independently. Students' performance in their practical reports and students' survey response confirmed that active learning strategies can be incorporated as early as in the first year courses. They were positive towards adopting active learning strategies.

In the academic year 1993-94, the Pre-clinical course for the Undergraduate Medical course was reduced from one-and-a-half to one academic year. It was suggested that only core or essential material be taught in these courses. The Pre-clinical course of Anatomy, Biochemistry and Physiology has also been renamed as Human Biology, and would include an introductory course on Computer usage. All these courses are to be taught in the first year of the Medical curriculum. Other blocks in the modified curriculum include the Human Disease Block, Health and Disease in the Community Block, Clinical Topics Block and Clinical Practice Block. A more detailed breakdown of the components of these blocks is found in Appendix I. A new overall aim of the Undergraduate Medical Course was also established (see Appendix 11).

The aims/objectives of the Physiology component would be the understanding of the normal functions and the inter-relationship between different organ systems of the human body, the ability to analyze and evaluate its component parts, the ability to relate concepts and procedures encountered in this course with the future practice of Medicine, the ability to synthesize knowledge, and the ability to solve problems, how diseases encountered is related to disturbances of normal Physiology. The Physiology course with lectures, practical classes and tutorials will contribute to the realization of some of the educational objectives of the Undergraduate Medical Course (see Appendix 111). These objectives are mainly concerned with the normal functioning of the body, scientific investigation of abnormal or disordered function using both laboratory and practical tests, as well as location of biomedical information.

The aim of this study is to critically review the modules taught in the Department of Physiology: first, to identify any problem areas; second, to see how they fit into the new aims of the Medical curriculum; and third, how to promote more active independent learning by the students of the Human Biology course. It also investigates the possibility of training these students to solve problems earlier in the Medical course.

This research project attempts to highlight some of the concepts and methods I learned from the programme, mainly on teaching & learning and its evaluation, and its application to a course that I taught. The application part includes a description of my course, its problems, changes made and effects observed. Besides, the learning attitudes of students and the views of fellow lecturers/tutors who shared the same course with me this year were also gathered and discussed in this paper in order to better evaluate the teaching and learning process in this finance course. Students' learning styles, in general, and their motivation were also examined in order to understand their learning process better for the sake of improving my teaching.

A Graphics, Animation and Multimedia Environment System (or GAMES) is described It outlines the type of equipment and software that an institution, organisation, school or establishment can establish to facilitate the operation of a multimedia facility for presentation, training and education The critical components of text, audio, images, graphics, animation and video is described. Supporting software tools and enabling hardware equipment are also discussed.

Design of multimedia courseware is an important part in multimedia computing. Guidelines that will enable a developer to design a multimedia package for instruction, training or presentation is outlined.

Teaching methodology is subservient to the fundamental and ultimate aims of education. A lecturer must therefore settle in his/her mind the objectives of university education and of specific courses of instruction - in broad, strategic terms as well as 'tactical', measurable goals.

The whole educational process involves both teaching and learning, and personto-person communication. There is no "perfect" model or method of academic instruction. However, there is a spectrum of more or less effective ways and means of communication in the classes. It is well known that the active teaching and active learning are of particular significance in tertiary education (L. Elton, 1987; P.Ramsden, 1992).

In this project report, I will discuss what and how can one do to facilitate active learning in general, and how I applied those principles to improve the first year tutorials of electrical engineering in particular.