The 1st Instructor Training Event hosted by University of Malaya, took place on 13 September 2019, at the Department of Software Engineering. It was attended by thirteen (13) lecturers from the same department. The theme for this first training session was ‘Active Learning Course Design’ with the aim to strengthen lecturers understanding on the theory and practice of active learning. The session was purposely held in our Technology-Enhanced Active Learning Spaces (TEALs) lab funded through this project. This was intentionally done to create awareness on the advantage of using TEALS in creating the best learning environment conducive to teaching software engineering programmes actively.
The training content covers the basic theory of active learning which includes active, collaborative and cooperative learning. Lecturers were also shown how their role evolves from teacher-centred to facilitator when they are using active learning approach like the PBL. In addition, they were also made aware that their role will again evolve in future where active learning approaches will result in them being one of the partner in curating the learning experiences especially in the technology-enhanced environment. At that point, the lecturer may need to be ready to be the expert apart from being the facilitator.
The various active learning methods were also discussed which include the basic think–pair–share and up to the cooperative active learning types like the PBL, scenario-based, challenge-based and project-based. The various tools and documents available for them to use when implementing active learning methods were shown and made available. The team contract, Reflection Guidelines, Project Brief, Socratic Questioning, PBL Lesson Plan, the FILA form and Assessment Plan were amongst documents been discussed.
In the final part of the session, lecturers were shown how they may identify suitable active learning activities which they may embed in their courses for the current semester. This involved adjusting and redesigning their lesson plan using university’s official form as a guide. Those activities planned to be embedded in the course were assigned to use TEALS lab equipment and facilities. The session ended with discussion and demonstration on best practices in PBL by the facilitator – Dr. Aishah Abu Bakar from the Engineering Faculty.
