The Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences (with the Centre for Instructional Technology) held its first Teaching Technology Fair on 16 April 2002. At the event, staff discussed the new discussion models that will be put in place in AY2002/2003. These models aim to make small-group discussion more meaningful and effective in light of limited spatial resources and growing class sizes. A/Prof Paulin Straughan described the first model: 2-hour alternate-week discussions that compliment 2-hour weekly lectures. During each session, the 25-member discussion group is divided into sub-groups of 5–6 students; each sub-group is given 1 of 2 topics (under which specific problems are highlighted) to argue for; after 15 minutes of preparation, the sub-groups are encouraged to ‘debate’ the issues with each other; the lecturer acts as a discussion facilitator and summarises key issues raised during the 2-hour discussion. Dr Ryan Bishop presented the second model: a 3-hour seminar style option, which allows smaller enrolment level-3000 modules to ease students into the honours seminar model. A/Prof Ian Gordon shared his experience on how he successfully used the Integrated Virtual Learning Environment (IVLE) within his own module and discussed the pros and cons of managing IVLE student discussions to compliment classroom interaction; he cautioned that the success of IVLE discussion groups depends on the type of module and managing an IVLE discussion forum is time consuming. Dr Pundarik Mukhopadhaya from Economics discussed the problems of teaching large classes comprised of cross-faculty students from various backgrounds.

Faculty of Engineering                                                                               
Customer-Oriented Education

Education in NUS is now considered a service industry and the students our customers. Consequently, if teaching is a form of customer service, then it must be student-centred, focusing on the student’s learning process instead of just delivering subject matter. To fulfil this aim and stimulate students to think and apply concepts and fundamentals learnt in class, typical engineering tutorial problems to which there are often multiple solutions (depending on starting assumptions, arguments and the choice of data) are set for the modules CN5172: Biochemical Engineering and CN5173: Downstream Processing of Biological and Pharmaceutical Products. The emphasis is not the solutions to the problems, but their implications. Students are probed with further questions based on their initial answers. Students are also encouraged to discuss among themselves (by forming sub-groups within the tutorial), compare and critique each other’s thoughts and arrive at a consensus solution. The students then present their solutions to the class and answer/rebut all relevant questions/criticisms posed. Through this process, students are more able to accept criticisms and uncertainty in solutions as well as become more resourceful and more willing to question established knowledge and controversial views.

Faculty of Science                                     
Why Read SCC3301?

SCC3301: Scientific Data Management, Evaluation and Communications is one of the nine modules within the Minor in Scientific Computation and Multimedia Communications (SCMC) programme in the Science Faculty. Since its inception in 2000, it has benefited many Cross Faculty Module students. The following feedback is from Jerel (an Arts & Social Sciences student majoring in Economics): “SCC3301 is the first SCMC module I took. This module comprises 2 parts: (1) Data Management; (2) Data Analysis. The value of this module lies in the opportunity to learn MS Access. This provides me an extremely useful foundation for database management. The module is relatively demanding but enriching. Students of little computing knowledge are always given the chance to catch up. The MS Excel part is practical. It trains students to make use of different presentation tools in data analysis which is central to almost all modules since students will need to make presentations of quantitative nature at some point in their studies. The hands-on assignments and projects are of a different dimension from the typical NUS written assignments. I would say that this module is a must for students who wish to acquire computing knowledge that is useful in both their studies and future careers.” For more information on the SCMC minor, please visit: http://www.physics.nus.edu.sg/~scmc.

MA2101 Lecture Quiz

If a lecturer throws a question to the floor of a lecture class of 100 or more students, there is usually no response or some responses from the same few persons (unless the question is a really trivial one) as most students feel too intimidated to speak up. Consequently, it is usually not easy for the lecturer to collect feedback on learning outcome from the students.

In the second semester of AY 2001/2002, the MA2101 course lecturer implemented a lecture quiz as a continual assessment (CA) component. 3–5 short questions in the form of multiple-choice, True/False or computation were asked in each lecture quiz. Students were allowed to discuss the questions and hand in the answers in small groups. A grader helped to mark the quiz. As long as a student has answered 50 questions correctly throughout the course, he/she was given full marks for this CA component. The main aim of the lecture quiz is to let the lecturer have a better gauge of whether the students have grasped the main concept taught in each lecture. It also promotes cooperative learning among the students as well as allows them to relate to and reflect instantly on what they have just learned.

Faculty of Medicine                                
Exploring Beyond Borders & Breaking Boundaries

The Faculty of Medicine introduced the Special Study Module (SSM) for Year 1 and 2 as part of the new curriculum in 1999 and 2000 respectively. SSMs are compulsory (for Year 1) and complementary to the core curriculum; topics range from the specialised to the non-specialised and may be related to medicine, the biomedical sciences and non-medical fields. As SSMs can be selected from a wide range of options, students are given the choice to study and experience areas of personal interest in greater depth. The SSMs also aim to enable students to: (a) learn through curiosity; (b) develop generic skills such as report writing and data handling; (c) develop familiarity with advances in scientific methodology; and (d) review current literature to develop a view on current controversies within a subject. By exploring beyond the confines of a traditional curriculum, SSMs not only bring depth to the medical course, but also provide a balance between scientific, clinical and non-medical aspects of medicine. Each year, students present their outstanding work in the forms of oral and poster presentations at the SSM Symposium to faculty and invited guests from other faculties and external organisations. Our feedback over the last three years show that the students and the staff who participated in SSM enjoyed it very much and thought it was a worthwhile exercise.

The Medical Education Unit

The Medical Education Unit The information explosion in medicine, the rapid introduction of new technology, and the rapidly changing demands and priorities in healthcare delivery to society, have led to major reforms being recently undertaken in both the NUS undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula. To ensure and enhance the quality of medical education that we provide to our students, the Faculty of Medicine must strategise, plan, coordinate and monitor our on-going educational programmes. Consequently for purposes of quality assurance, the Medical Education Unit (MEU) was established in December 2001 to continually appraise the effectiveness of our programmes through rigorous evaluation of the input, process and outcome of our chosen pedagogical strategies. The MEU aims to provide: (a) Faculty Development (training and education of medical teachers in medical pedagogy, problem-based learning and clinical teaching skills); (b) Medical Curriculum Development (providing consultation for curriculum design and innovation in medical education, assisting faculty curriculum committees in designing clinical teaching activities, evaluating on-going educational strategies); and (c) Research in Medical Education (research into curriculum models and new/innovative clinical teaching strategies, evaluating the performance of clinical skills). The MEU structure consists of a Director (A/Prof Rethy Chhem) who reports directly to the Dean, a Deputy Director (to be appointed), four Associates (Prof Matthew Gwee, A/Prof Khoo Hoon Eng, A/Prof Lee Szu Hee, A/Prof Tan Chay Hoon), an ex-officio member (A/Prof Koh Dow Rhoon) and an administrative officer (Ms Sarah Ng). With the setting of the MEU, the NUS Medical Faculty is now better equipped to further enhance excellence and professionalism in medical education.

NUS Business School                                  
Class Project with a Touch from the Market Place

Nothing stimulates a business student more than knowing his/her decisions result in measurable dollars and cents. In the continuous push towards the use of IT for teaching by the School of Business, Dr Ho Yew Kee, in collaboration with Ms Ivy Tan and Mr Loke Wai Yin from the Centre for Instructional Technology, came up with an Online Stock Trading System for the course in Corporate Finance (BZ3301). This software allows students to track the performance of their hypothetical portfolios of Singapore companies that were formed after students had learned how to apply the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) to assess the risk and return for companies. Students, working in 28 groups of 4–6 students, were given $100,000 in the Online Stock Trading System to invest in 10 companies over the duration of the course (beginning of February to end of April). The performance of their portfolios was tracked electronically daily through the Internet and the performance of each group was available to the whole class. A questionnaire survey of the 142 students who participated in the class project gave the following encouraging statistics: 72.5% of students agreed that they are more enthusiastic about their project when they use the system; 85.9% thought that such a system is necessary in the course; and 83.8% of students agreed that this system is a more convenient way of tracking portfolio performance. To view this Online Stock Trading System, please visit: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/bizhoyk/tradingsystem/.

School of Computing                               
An IVLE Mock-up of a GDSS

The Department of Information Systems has been offering CS3250 to introduce students to the various concepts of computerised management support systems. One lab session was spent learning about Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) that can support group meetings with tools such as Agenda, Brainstorming, Idea Categorizing and Vote. As students were already familiar with the Integrated Virtual Learning Environment (IVLE) that supports the course, features in IVLE were used to mock up a GDSS: the IVLE chatroom and discussion forum functions were used for Brainstorming and Idea Categorizing; space in the discussion forum was created to display the Agenda; and an assessment in IVLE was created to mimic Vote with the result again displayed in the discussion forum. In essence, the lab was turned into a War Room and the IVLE discussion forum was used as the Public Screen for the group meeting. Two student helpers were first appointed as ‘human’ categorisers, each representing a side of the debating motion and responsible for moving ideas across from the chatroom to an appropriate category in the discussion forum. However, during one debate, the discussion became so heated in the chatroom that the helpers were unfortunately not fast enough to move the ideas across to the forum. During another debate, the chatroom did not work due to a system fault and discussion could only be conducted in the forum. Before the lab session ended, students reviewed the shortcomings of IVLE features when used as a GDSS.

School of Design & Environment                  
The RECS Property Discussion Forum: Its Effectiveness

The Real Estate Case Studies (RECS) module is taken by final year B.Sc. (Real Estate) students before they go out into the working world. It aims to facilitate the application and integration of knowledge acquired by the students over the past four years through project proposals, feasibility studies, tutorial discussions and role-play based on actual real-world scenarios. To encourage the students to broaden their perspective and keep abreast with developments in the real estate industry, a RECS property forum was conducted during the first half of 2002 on the Integrated Virtual Learning Environment (IVLE). At the start, some pertinent questions on current issues were posed to encourage student discussion. The forum eventually evolved into having its own life as the students took their own initiative to post and debate various issues, with the moderator monitoring the site daily to keep updated with the discussions threads. In total, 107 topics, covering topical issues reported in daily newspapers, were posted and discussed in the IVLE forum over the semester. In the feedback gathered at the semester’s end, students said that the forum was useful in stimulating discussion and helping students to be aware of new developments and their implications. Judging from the comments offered, the intensity of the discussion and the high participation rate (the average posting per student was 5 and 92.2% of the students made at least one posting in the forum), the RECS property forum was a unique and effective learning experience.

University Scholars Programme                   
Learning Outside the Classroom

Many Scholars Programme modules offer students opportunities to learn outside the classroom, apply theoretical concepts learnt in class, and have these concepts challenged through practical application. During the second semester of Academic Year 2001/2002, students taking Cyberarts and Representing the Interface modules were introduced to immersive Virtual Reality and Cave^TM Technology (as part of their studio-based classes) at the Institute of High Performance Computing. At the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, Cyberarts students observed different biomaterials used by both scientists and artists in Singapore. Under the Programme’s Cyberarts Research Initiative, students could also work and learn with scientists and artists-in-residence. Brain and Cognition module students visited Singapore General Hospital, the Institute of Mental Health and Tan Tock Seng Hospital to learn more about functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, psychiatric conditions and neuroscience. Students in the compulsory Making a Nation module took a Battlefield Tour, looking at significant sites during the Japanese invasion of Singapore, while Culture and Contemporary Societies modules engaged students in visits to mosques, temples, museums and even boutiques, to study different ways of life and religions. External visits were developed into attachments in one module; for six weeks, students in the advanced module Civil Society in Singapore were attached to civil society organisations, undertaking a project to gain an insight into the organisation’s life, invaluable experience working in the organisation, and chances to apply and modify theoretical concepts learnt in the classroom.