Author: cdtlsd

An Evaluation of the Baseline Trait Polymathy of Undergraduates from the NUS College of Humanities and Sciences

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Hui Ting CHNG1*, Ryan Ray Yen LEE1, and Maiya MURPHY2

1Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science (FOS)
2Department of English, Linguistics and Theatre Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

*phacht@nus.edu.sg

 

Chng, H. T., Lee, R. R. Y., & Murphy, M. (2023). An evaluation of the baseline trait polymathy of undergraduates from the NUS College of Humanities and Sciences [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/an-evaluation-of-the-baseline-trait-polymathy-of-undergraduates-from-the-nus-college-of-humanities-and-sciences/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Polymath, interdisciplinary

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world where problems are multifaceted, complex, and intertwined, interdisciplinary approaches are increasingly recognised as necessary to solve these challenges (Araki & Cotellessa, 2020). History has shown us that many innovations were developed by polymaths, individuals who rejected disciplinary boundaries, learnt deeply about diverse subjects, and could transit seamlessly among disciplines (Araki & Cotellessa, 2020, Burke, 2020, Root-Bernstein, 2003).

 

Recognising the importance of interdisciplinarity, recently NUS formed the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS), where students from the Faculty of Science (FOS) and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) learn several core courses including interdisciplinary courses together so that they will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to thrive in this fast-changing world. However, some questions remain to be answered: Do students value interdisciplinarity or polymathy? How interested are they to engage in disciplines other than their own major(s)?

 

As there is still a lack of consensus on the definition and conceptual domains of polymathy, Araki and Cotellessa (2020) proposed to adapt the 4Ps framework from creativity research to study polymathy. The framework can be used to analyse polymathy in four perspectives: person, process, product, and press. The “person” perspective relates to an individual’s abilities, traits, and fluctuating state characteristics. In terms of trait, Araki (2015, 2018) found that polymaths exhibited both disciplinary depth and breadth, along with the ability to integrate across disciplines. However, at present, there are no psychometric tools available to evaluate an individual’s trait polymathy as past works mainly used biological analyses or hermeneutic-phenomenological methods (Araki, 2018).

 

This study thus aims to evaluate the baseline trait polymathy of undergraduates from NUS CHS based on the constructs described by Araki and Cotellessa (2020). A self-developed survey comprising Likert-scale questions for students to rate their disposition towards and the extent of value they give towards the pursuit of depth, breadth, and integration of diverse disciplines will be used. In August of Academic Year (AY) 2023/24, students from NUS CHS will be invited to participate and respond to the survey. Data analysis will be conducted during Recess Week and data will be available to be presented at HECC 2023.

 

As research about polymathy is still in its infancy, our study will be the first to evaluate baseline trait polymathy using a self-developed survey. It will inform us on NUS CHS’ undergraduates’ disposition and valuation towards interdisciplinarity, which would aid educators in designing effective interdisciplinary courses.

 

REFERENCES

Araki, M. E. (2015). Polymathic leadership: Theoretical foundation and construct development [Master’s thesis, Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro]. https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3166622

Araki, M. E. (2018). Polymathy: a new outlook. J. Genius Eminence, 3, 66–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.18536//jge.2018.04.3.1.06

Araki, M. E., & Cotellessa, A. J. (2020). Creative polymathy and the COVID-19 crisis. Frontiers in Psychology, (2020), 3580. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.601508

Burke, P. (2020). The polymath: A cultural history from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag. Yale University Press. https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv15pjzh6

Root-Bernstein, R. S. (2003). The art of innovation: Polymaths and the universality of the creative process. In L. V. Shavinina (Ed.), International Handbook of Innovation (pp. 267-78). Elsevier.

 

Co-creating the Research League: Into the Multiverse of REx Workshops

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Losheini RAVINDRAN* and John Leo CAINES
Undergraduate Research Coordinating Team, Office of the Provost (PVO) 

*loshr1@nus.edu.sg

 

Ravindran, L., & Caines, J. L. (2023). Co-creating the research league: Into the multiverse of REx workshops [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/co-creating-the-research-league-into-the-multiverse-of-rex-workshops/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Undergraduate research, collaborative learning, Undergraduates Research Opportunity Programme, UROP, REx, course upgrade

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentations 

 

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on interdisciplinarity and education, and the role of the REx programme in building partnerships with the various departments and disciplines across the campus. Research Experience, known as REx is a course upgrade to the UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programme) course. The pertinence of research in undergraduate education has been underscored in the recent innovation and development efforts of today. Given the rising importance of the research and innovation sector, it is important for the institution to work towards providing quality research education for students in the very early stages of their undergraduate education. In pursuit of contributing to increase the number of undergraduate students engaged in research, the REx course upgrade programme was conceptualised to provide students with a strong foundation in research by introducing them to topics which include formulating good research questions, constructing good hypotheses, choosing optimal research methods, writing a research paper, and communicating research professionally.

List of REx workshops offered by the REx programme
Figure 1. List of REx workshops offered by the REx programme. 

 

The course upgrade design of the programme has been structured in a way that the running of each workshop provides an introductory interaction with the topics and caters to the general research foundational needs of students across the various disciplines. This ensures that there is sustainability and consistency associated with the learning of the REx workshops and programme at large (Hansen, 2000).

 

Workshops such as “Ethics in Research” focused on that idea that educational experience is interaction, particularly in the form of “free communication” (Garrison, 2015, p. 14), where students were given the task of analysing various case studies that posed an ethical dilemma in research. This enabled students to have more space in brainstorming the thought processing of ethical factors without any inhibitions. This interaction facilitated greater critical thinking in developing greater awareness about what were the considerations to be made when dealing with human participants, for instance.

 

It is pertinent to note that these workshops were collaborations with the various units in NUS. The workshop “Research Methodologies” was conceptualised with regular discussions with NUS Libraries, and the expertise of colleagues from the NUS Centre for Future-ready Graduates (CFG) was sought for the workshop “Career in Research”. We have also opened our discussion and collaborative efforts with external vendors that aim to explore effective ways in communicating data and also reached out to Kontinentalist to conduct the “Data Storytelling” workshop. This REx-branded workshop received much support from our faculty colleagues and students. The reason for our consistent pursuit in seeking partnering opportunities with the various units (and relevant research organisation/industries moving forward) stems from the sense of shared purpose and mutual interdependence in achieving intended learning outcomes in promoting research to undergraduates, given the benefits of collaborative approaches to higher-order learning (Garrison, 2015). We are focusing in moving towards a collaboration in forming a cohesive research ecosystem than a cooperative one, given that cooperation deals more with a common task than a common goal.

 

We have been cognisant of the importance in measuring the effectiveness of this collaborative pursuit in making research an enriching experience for students enrolled in the UROP+REx programme and collated students’ feedback. For example, in the feedback data for the seminar “Research with Visual Narratives”1, 61% of REx attendees liked the hands-on segment of learning how to design a comic. Most of the REx fellows shared that the seminar was well-facilitated and encouraged them to brainstorm the various illustrative dimensions to any research undertaking.

Quote highlighting feedback findings for Research with Visual Narratives seminar.
Figure 2. Quote highlighting feedback findings for “Research with Visual Narratives” seminar.

 

Although all the REx attendees found the seminar to very useful in communicating research to the general public, the REx attendees from the Faculty of Science felt that most of the time, unless their research is some large scaled scientific discovery, they will be communicating and presenting their work to other fellow peers in the same field as them. Hence, they felt that a formal presentation or something like a scientific poster would be expected in such cases rather than an informal presentation. While these considerations pose the question of the level of relevance of this approach across the disciplines, it is significant to note that more than half the number of attendees saw a visual narrative approach in presenting research as a tool of communication that connects audiences across various disciplines.

 

Hence, REx’s pilot efforts reinstate the possibility of venturing into a “multiverse” of research learning possibilities across various disciplines, with the common shared purpose in making research an insightful experience that propels undergraduate education towards a collaborative learning ecosystem.

 

ENDNOTE

  1. This seminar teaches students how to look closely at visual narratives. The main examples are comics/graphic novels, but including brief discussion of other types of narrative visual media, such as film, animation, and even memes. Looking at some recent publications that present complex theoretical concepts in comics format, students will learn how visual narratives direct our attention and create meaning.

 

REFERENCES

Garrison, D. R. (2015). Thinking collaboratively: Learning in a community of inquiry. Taylor and Francis.

Hansen, R. E. (2000). The role and experience in learning: Giving meaning and authenticity to the learning process in schools. Journal of Technology Education, 11(2), 23-33. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/8234

Kortz, K. M., & van der Hoeven Kraft, K. J. (2016). Geoscience education research project: Student benefits and effective design of a course-based undergraduate research experience. Journal of Geoscience Education, 64(1), 24-36. https://doi.org/10.5408/15-11.1

Semingson, P., Smith, P., & Anderson, H. I. (2018). The Community of Inquiry framework in contemporary education: Emerging research and opportunities. IGI Global

Undergraduate Research Coordinating Team, PVO. (2023). REx Programme Pilot Report.

 

Unessay—Gateway to Future Higher Education (HE) Assessments in an AI World?

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Chitra SABAPATHY
Centre for English Language Communication (CELC)

elccs@nus.edu.sg

 

Sabapathy, C. (2023). Unessay—Gateway to future higher education (HE) assessments in an AI world? [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/unessay-gateway-to-future-higher-education-he-assessments-in-an-ai-world/

SUB-THEME

AI and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Unessay, higher education, AI, student autonomy, multimedia, oral communication

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

The rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has caused educators to find that their assessments (e.g., Kung et al., 2022) and pedagogies are vulnerable to them. However, it is important to recognise that AI should not solely be viewed from the perspective of facilitating cheating, particularly since tools like ChatGPT have become integrated into students’ lives. Instead of focusing on prohibitions or strictly monitoring for academic dishonesty, it would be beneficial to explore ways to embrace and utilise these technologies in education (Dawson, 2020) and design assessments that could represent “future realities” of respective disciplines. This presentation highlights the potential benefits of adopting “unessay” as an alternative pedagogical approach in higher education. Unessay offers students a degree of freedom, necessitates ownership, fuels passion (Jakopak et al.,2019), creativity, critical thinking, interdisciplinary understanding in which individuals articulate their ideas, beliefs, and identities. Students are afforded the autonomy to select their own topic within a specific subject area and determine their preferred method of presentation, provided that it is both captivating and impactful (O’Donnel, 2012). By granting students autonomy, fostering creativity, and encouraging critical thinking beyond conventional academic norms, unessay not only equips them with the essential skills required to navigate an AI-driven future but also offers them the freedom to explore alternative modes of expression (Nave, 2021). This approach engenders motivation and investment in their academic work. It also compels students to consider the intended audience, choose appropriate rhetorical strategies, and synthesise information effectively. This is evidenced in previous studies, such as how students used unessay in unique ways in history classes (Guiliano, 2022; Irwin, 2022; Neuhaus, 2022), histology of organ cells (Wood and Stringham, 2022), computer programming (Aycock et al., 2019), writing (Jakopak et al.,2019 and Sullivan, 2015), and applied cognitive psychology (Goodman, 2022). In CS2101 “Effective Communication for Computing Professionals”, the assignment task encouraged students to apply Gibb’s Reflective Cycle, involving describing unique experiences, reflecting on feelings, evaluating and analysing those experiences, and concluding with a future plan. This assignment departed from traditional written reflection essays, allowing students to use AI and innovative multimedia formats such as videos, podcasts, and infographics to express their insights and learning. Drawing from the implementation of the “unessay” strategy, its effectiveness as a teaching approach was assessed through an anonymous end-course survey. This survey incorporated both quantitative and qualitative feedback gathered from approximately 50 students who were enrolled in the course as well as tutors who taught on the course. The data provided insights as to how students engaged with the “unessay” strategy and what their perceptions of its effectiveness were, and the tutors’ perceptions of using this strategy in the course. This presentation aims to facilitate discussions and reflections on the unessay concept and how this could be integrated into higher education (HE) assessment, serving as a potential gateway to a more diverse and inclusive assessment framework.

 

REFERENCES

Aycock, J., Wright, H., Hildebrandt, J., Kenny, D., Lefebvre, N., Lin, M., Mamaclay, M., Sayson, S., Stewart, A., & Yuen, A. (2019). Adapting the “Unessay” for use in computer science. Proceedings of the 24th Western Canadian Conference on Computing Education, 1–6.

Dawson, P. (2020). Cognitive offloading and assessment. In M. Bearman, P. Dawson, R. Ajjawi, J. Tai, & D. Boud (Eds.), Re-imagining University Assessment in a Digital World (pp. 37-48). Springer International Publishing.

Goodman, S. G. (2022). Just as long as it’s not an essay: The unessay as a tool for engagement in a cognitive psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 0(0), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283221110542

Guiliano, J. (2022). The unessay as native-centered history and pedagogy. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 47(1), 6-12. https://doi.org/10.33043/TH.47.1.6-12

Irwin, R. (2022). The un-essay, and teaching in a time of monsters. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 47(1), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.33043/TH.47.1.13-25

Jakopak, R. P., Monteith, K. L., & Merkle, B. G. (2019). Writing science: Improving understanding and communication skills with the “unessay.” Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, 100(4), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/bes2.1610

O’Donnel, D. P. (2012, September 4). The unessay. Daniel Paul O’Donnell. http://people.uleth.ca/~daniel.odonnell/Teaching/the-unessay

Nave, L. (2021). Universal design for learning UDL in online environments: The HOW of learning. Journal of Developmental Education, 44(3), 34-35. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45381118

Neuhaus, J. (2022). Introduction to the Fall 2022 Special Issue: Using the unessay to teach history. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, 47(1), 2- 5. https://doi.org/10.33043/TH.47.1.2-5

Sullivan, P. (2015). The UnEssay: Making room for creativity in the composition classroom. College Composition and Communication, 67(1), 6-34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24633867

Wood, J. L., & Stringham, N. (2022). The UnEssay project as an enriching alternative to practical exams in pre-professional and graduate education. Journal of Biological Education. Informa UK Limited, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1080/00219266.2022.2047098

 

The Other Benefits of Making AI-resistant Assessments

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Olivier LEFEBVRE1,2
1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
2NUS Teaching Academy

ceelop@nus.edu.sg

 

Lefebvre, O. (2023). The other benefits of making AI-resistant assessments [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/the-other-benefits-of-making-ai-resistant-assessments/

SUB-THEME

AI and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

AI chatbots, AI-resistant assessments, authentic assessments

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

Over the past one year, the world has witnessed growing concerns in relation with the rise in performance of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots at a rate much faster than our own ability to comprehend all the implications, leading to questions on whether we should slow down or even halt the “race to god-like AI”1. In the academic world, concerns are mostly related about the way to assess students in this new day and age, where ChatGPT has been found to pass entry exams in fields as varied as medicine, law or business schools (Wilde, 2023). Such legitimate concerns have resulted in diverse responses from many universities over the world, from banning AI chatbots altogether, such as in French University Sciences Po (Sciences Po, 2023), to providing guidelines and recommendations for staff and for students, such as the choice made by NUS in our interim policy guidelines (NUS Libraries, n. d.).

 

The plagiarism issues and risks of other acts of academic dishonesty are real, but this is not the first time that we have to face such issues. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, students were asked to take their exams from home, and in many cases, the simple conversion of a pen-and-paper exam into a digital one, without rethinking the entire assessment, had led to a rising number of plagiarism and other cheating cases. Similarly, as with the COVID-19 pandemic, can we once again rethink our assessments and not only proof them against abuse from AI but also take this opportunity to deliver more meaningful assessments, in better adequation with the skills that our students need in this day and age (Mimirinis, 2019)? Instead of banning ChatGPT and the like, should we just acknowledge that AI is here to stay, and design assessments that question higher-order thinking skills, allowing at the same to distinguish between students who engage in surface learning and those who have achieved a real deep understanding of the topic? Such exams would constitute a form of authentic assessment, by recreating the conditions that students will apply their knowledge in their professional environment (Shand, 2020).

 

In this talk, I will present some general guidelines on what kind of exam can at the same time test students for higher-order thinking skills and resist AI chatbots. Real examples will be provided, where students are asked to:

  • Deliver a critical analysis of a scientific paper
  • Interpret graphs or images
  • Solve ill-defined and complex problems

 

I will show how well (or not) these exams resist ChatGPT and compare the AI output to that of real (anonymised) students over a range of performance (excellent, average, marginal). I will conclude with the limitations, e.g., the risk to increase the difficulty of the exam by a too large margin, making it difficult for the weaker students to perform reasonably well.

 

ENDNOTE

  1. Refer to https://www.ft.com/content/03895dc4-a3b7-481e-95cc-336a524f2ac2 for details.

 

REFERENCES

Mimirinis, M. (2019). Qualitative differences in academics’ conceptions of e-assessment. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44(2), 233-48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2018.1493087

NUS Libraries (n. d.). Academic integrity essentials. https://libguides.nus.edu.sg/new2nus/acadintegrity

Sciences Po (2023, January 27). Sciences Po bans the use of ChatGPT without transparent referencing. https://newsroom.sciencespo.fr/sciences-po-bans-the-use-of-chatgpt/

Shand, G. (2020). Bringing OSCEs into the 21st century: Why internet access is a requirement for assessment validity. Medical Teacher, 42(4), 469-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2019.1693527

Wilde, J. (2023, January 27). ChatGPT passes medical, law, and business exams. Morning Brew. https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2023/01/26/chatgpt-passes-medical-law-business-exams

 

Opening up the Classroom: Student-led Learning in a Law and Society Course

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George Baylon RADICS
Deparment of Sociology and Anthropology, NUS and NUS College

socrgb@nus.edu.sg

 

Radics, G. B. (2023). Opening up the classroom: Student-led learning in a law and society course [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/opening-up-the-classroom-student-led-learning-in-a-law-and-society-course/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Student-led learning, project-based work, active learning, interdisciplinary, independent thinking

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

Upon graduation, students are expected to lead as opposed to follow, collaborate as opposed to compete, and think broadly as opposed to narrowly. Thus, university education is changing in response to evolving student needs and the realities of workplace. Traditional lectures, heavily weighted final exams, and research papers on narrow topics do not build the skills students need to survive the increasingly competitive job market. Student-led learning provides an opportunity for students to take ownership over their education through leading class discussions and collaborative project-based work. This presentation will explore a student-led learning course at NUS College entitled “Law in the Making”, where students led discussions on legal issues, set up meetings with lawmakers, and drafted a law that they debated at the end of the course.

 

Student-led teaching involves students teaching to their peers, whilst their peers participate actively in the process to facilitate student-led learning (Marvell et al., 2013). Here, educators seek to empower their students by giving them control of and responsibility for their learning (McKeachie, 1990; Candy, 1991). Business schools experimented with case studies to develop more dynamic, well-rounded problem solvers (Christenson, 1987), while the fields of accountancy (Adler et al., 2007), geography (Marvell et al., 2013), and pharmacy (Po, 1994) have also attempted to create student-led teaching approaches to do the same. “When asked what student skills needed improving there was remarkable agreement across a wide range of employers. All felt that non-technical skills needed further development…namely interpersonal skills, team working, presentation, report writing, CV design, project management, time management” (Sneddon et al., 1995, p. 84). At the same time, there has been a growing recognition that traditional methods of teaching (primarily tutorials and lectures) may perpetuate the opposite, namely dependency and passivity (Kremer & McGuiness, 1998).

 

While NUS has gained international recognition for its research, further efforts can be made to re-envision the classroom and move further away from traditional “chalk and talk” lectures and tutorials. NUS College, the university’s new honours college aims to “break open the classroom” and to provide “rigorous and stimulating interdisciplinary education designed to help students cultivate the necessary skills to work effectively across boundaries, so that they are able to respond to the challenges of the 21st century.” In the NUS College course NHS2059 entitled “Law in the Making,” students were each assigned a reading to discuss in class, worked in groups to set up meetings with lawmakers, and formed teams to draft a law that they debated at the end of the course. While the course attempted to place more control in the hands of the students, certain challenges emerged, such as complaints of being overworked, underdeveloped professional communication skills, and an overreliance on technology to support public speaking.

 

This paper will begin with a review of the literature on student-lead learning, then discuss how it was applied to the course NHS2059 “Law in the Making”. The presentation will then explore some of the challenges encountered in the course, as well as some strategies employed to address them. It will provide a glimpse into how student-led learning has the potential to empower students to become more engaged and interested in learning so long as the right balance of student-led and traditional teacher-led methods are employed. Additionally, it asserts that the right incentives can encourage prompt and professional communication, and teaching students how to become better teachers can reduce their overreliance on technology.

 

REFERENCES

Adler, R. W., Whiting, R. H., Wynn-Williams, K. (2004). Student-led and teacher-led case presentations: empirical evidence about learning styles in an accounting course. Accounting Education, 13(2), 213-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/09639280410001676620

Candy, P. C. (1991). Self-direction for the lifelong learner. Jossey-Bass.

Christensen, C. R. (1987). Teaching and the case method. Harvard Business School.

Kremer, J., & McGuinness, C. (1998). Cutting the cord: student‐led discussion groups in higher education. Education + Training, 40(2), 44-49. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400919810206848

Marvell, A., Simm, D., Schaaf, R., & Harper, R. (2013). Students as scholars: evaluating student-led learning and teaching during fieldwork. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37(4), 547-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/03098265.2013.811638

McKeachie, W. J. (1990). Research on college teaching: the historical background. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82(2), 189–200. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-0663.82.2.189

Po, L. A. (1994), Brainstorming a pharmacy syllabus: involving employers in curriculum design, in I. Sneddon, & J. Kremer (eds), An Enterprising Curriculum: Teaching Innovations in Higher Education, HMSO, Belfast.

Sneddon, I., Kremer, J., & Lindsay, B. (1995). Evaluating Enterprise at Queen’s, APAS, Belfast.

 

Teaching Augmentative Uses of ChatGPT and Other Generative AI Tools

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Jonathan Y. H. SIM
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

jyhsim@nus.edu.sg

 

Sim, J. Y. H. (2023). Teaching augmentative uses of ChatGPT and other generative AI tools [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/teaching-augmentative-uses-of-chatgpt-and-other-generative-ai-tools /

SUB-THEME

AI and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

ChatGPT, generative AI, philosophy of technology, AI augmentation

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

ABSTRACT

Since the rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) like ChatGPT, educators have expressed concerns that students may misuse these tools by growing too reliant on them or use it to take shortcuts in their learning, thus undermining important learning objectives that we set for them.

 

Such concerns are not new in the history of technology. Socrates was one of the first to voice concerns about how the invention of writing would be detrimental to people’s memories:

“[Writing] will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks.” (Phaedrus, 274b-277a)

 

Common to these complaints is the fear that new technologies will replace existing human processes—as a substitutive tool—leading to a deterioration or loss of certain human abilities. This is not the only approach to technology—we can also use these tools in an augmentative way to enhance existing human abilities and processes (Eors Szathmary et al, 2018). While we may not have memories as strong as the ancients did, writing has since augmented our thinking abilities, allowing us to easily record, recall, transmit, evaluate, analyse, and synthesise far more information than before.

 

This augmentative approach can also be applied to GenAI tools, like ChatGPT. 19.1% of my students (n=351) found ways to use ChatGPT as an augmentative tool rather than as a substitutive tool:

  • As an idea generator or a sounding board to help develop ideas before working on an assignment
  • As a learning resource to teach/explain concepts or clarify confusions
  • As a tool to improve their expression

 

Admittedly, it can be difficult for non-savvy users to think of augmentative uses. Students are commonly exposed to substitutive applications of ChatGPT in learning, and 65.5% of students did not think skills were required to use it well.

 

How can educators encourage effective augmentative uses of GenAI tools? I believe there are three learning objectives we should focus on:

 

(1) Cultivate a collaborative mindset working with GenAI. Knowing how to talk is not the same as knowing how to work well in a team. Learners must feel comfortable and empowered working with GenAI as a collaborative partner if they are to use it as an augmentative tool. One approach is to incorporate activities that involve collaborating with GenAI. In my course, students are to work alongside ChatGPT to develop an evaluation criterion for ride-sharing services, seeking feedback from it while also evaluating its feedback.

 

(2) Develop critical questioning skills. Learners need to learn how to scrutinise GenAI output as the content may be inaccurate or shallow. Throughout the same tutorial, students were challenged to find flaws with ChatGPT’s suggestions, and to find areas where they can improve the quality of ChatGPT’s output. The exercise helped them to recognise that an AI’s answer is far from perfect, and that they cannot take a seemingly well-written work as the final answer. Human intervention and scrutiny is still necessary as the AI’s work is, at best, a draft suggestion.

 

(3) Master the art of prompting. The quality of AI output is dependent on the quality and clarity of instructions given to it. Learners need to hone their ability to articulate their requirements well. Later in the same tutorial, students were given a prompt for ChatGPT to generate a pitch. They were then tasked with identifying shortcomings to the output and to produce better prompts to overcome those issues.

 

After the tutorial, many students reported newfound confidence and competency in utilising ChatGPT (n=351):

Table 1
Students’ perception of ChatGPT competency before and after tutorial

I considered myself very competent in using ChatGPT
Before Tutorial
(Average 2.76)		 After Tutorial
(Average 3.71)
5 – Strongly Agree  5.41% 15.67%
4 22.79% 47.29%
3 27.07% 29.91%
2 31.91% 6.84%
1–Strongly Disagree 12.82% 0.28%

 

Table 1
Students’ perception of ChatGPT competency before and after tutorial

The tutorial taught me how to effectively collaborate and work with an AI for work.
(Average 4.19)		 The tutorial taught me how to effectively critique and evaluate AI generated output so that I don’t take the answers for granted.
(Average 4.34)		 The tutorial taught me how to design better prompts to get better results.
(Average 4.38)		 I believe the skills taught in Tutorial 4 are useful for me when I go out to work.
(Average 4.28)
30.77% 40.46% 43.87% 38.46%
58.69% 53.56% 50.43% 52.71%
9.69% 5.70% 5.41% 7.41%
0.85% 0.28% 0.28% 1.42%
0% 0% 0% 0%

 

Overall, students had positive experiences learning this new approach to AI. They felt empowered and even an optimism about their future—knowledge of using AI in an augmentative way opens doors of opportunities that seemed too distant previously. In one case, a social science major shared how he felt so empowered by the tutorial that he took on a coding internship (despite being new to coding). He used ChatGPT to learn how to code which facilitated him to handle coding projects at work. This augmentative approach not only allowed him to produce solutions but also evaluate them much faster than if he did it on his own.

 

I firmly believe that teaching students how to augment their learning with GenAI tools holds immense potential in empowering our students for the future.

 

REFERENCES

Eors Szathmary et al. (2018). Artificial or augmented intelligence? the ethical and societal implications. In J. W. Vasbinder, B. Gulyas. & J. W. H Sim (Eds.), Grand Challenges for Science in the 21st Century. World Scientific.

Plato. (1952). Phaedrus. Trans. Reginald Hackforth. Cambridge University Press.

 

Teaching a Large-class Transdisciplinary Course—Challenges and Enablers

cdtlsd Paper Presentations , , , ,

Aaron Eng Seng CHIA
Department of Industrial Systems Engineering and Management,
College of Design and Engineering (CDE)

aaron_chia@nus.edu.sg

 

Chia, A. E. S. (2023). Teaching a large-class transdisciplinary course—Challenges and enablers [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/teaching-a-large-class-transdisciplinary-course-challenges-and-enablers/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education 

 

KEYWORDS

Transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, large-scale systems engineering, systems thinking

 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

 

INTRODUCTION

A master’s elective, IE5404 “Large Scale Systems Engineering (LSSE)” was converted into a core course this year. As such, the class size ballooned from about 30 students to 82 students. This requires rethinking on how to teach already challenging systems concepts to large classes. This paper describes the challenges and enablers of conducting such a course.

 

LSSE deals with the complexities of large-scale systems using systems approach and systems engineering to understand and conceptualise the planning, design, and management of large-scale systems. Large-scale systems are inherently transdisciplinary/interdisciplinary. For example, an economic system is not just about business, but politics, technology, people, environment, the legal system, and so on. In addition, students learn about interconnections between different parts of the system, stakeholder’s behaviours, ecosystems, decision making and unintended consequences, cost analysis, and so on.

 

CHALLENGES AND ENABLERS

A large part of an engineer’s education is often technical/analytical in nature, and this makes teaching systems concepts challenging (Azad & Moore, 2022). Moreover, systems concepts cover organisations, behaviours, and dynamics, topics that engineers are often not familiar. In previous courses, the pedagogy includes lectures, cases, stories, role play, videos, class discussions, e-forum, assignments, group projects, examinations, readings, and self-reflection. With smaller classes, lectures took up about 50% of the time, with cases, stories, role play, and discussions taking the remaining time. However, it will not be possible to engage students well, given the same amount of time and almost triple the class size. Hence, questions to myself were:

  1. Which pedagogy needs to be modified/ changed to engage large classes?
  2. How to use student and lecturer’s time more effectively in class and assessments?

 

Teach Less Learn More

The concept of teaching less is doing things differently (Blankenship, 2019). Hence, the lecture materials were reduced, giving more time for discussions and questions. This was supplemented by more reading materials for students to learn by themselves. For master’s courses, the amount of tutorial time is either reduced or non-existent. A 30-minute tutorial was introduced for each session. This allowed time to work on difficult problems or concepts. It also allowed students to work on their projects. The project was structured such that students could carry out one part after each session. Students applied immediately what they have learned and clarify any doubts they have. This would also reduce their time to meet up for discussions later—important for part-time students where time is a premium.

 

Assessment as Pedagogy

The use of assessments in promoting deep learning in higher institutions have been advocated by many (Masuku et al, 2021). In the past, students did an individual assignment and comments/ feedback were given to the students. In the large class, students carried out a group assignment by watching a video (e.g., poverty) before answering questions. They got to discuss and learn from one another. It was also found that feedback to the group assignments were less than the individual assignments. This also reduced the amount of marking required.

 

Another new element introduced was a peer review of each other’s interim group project. Previously, groups presented their projects at the end of the semester. Students were able to get more formative feedback on their learning through their peers (although this introduced more work for the lecturer).

 

With large classes, there would not be enough time for all the groups to present during class time. Here, students made a video of their group presentation. In this way, they could improve their presentations and the lecturer had more time to evaluate them. The drawback was that there was no question-and-answer (Q&A) from the lecturer and class. This was mitigated by the earlier peer reviews and lecturer feedback via the report.

 

Student Feedback

The students like the concepts learned and the case studies. The common feedback given (even in previous courses) was that while they understood the need to cover diverse topics, the scope was wide, and some topics (especially non-engineering ones) were difficult to understand. More than half of the feedback respondents (57) for the large class nominated the lecturer for teaching awards (first time this has occured).

 

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The axiom ‘Teach Less, Learn More” is often true. Students can obtain facts from the Internet and even answers from CHATGPT. Hence, class time is best spent teaching metacognitive thinking. Assessment as a pedagogy is even more important now.

 

REFERENCES

Azad, A., and Moore, E. (2022). Lessons learned from teaching systems thinking to engineering students. Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACEG22) Conference Proceedings.

Blankenship, S. (2019). Teach Less Learn More. Kreatif Beats. https://kreatifbeats.com/2019/03/16/teach-less-learn-more/

Masuku, M. M., Jili, N. N., & Sabela, P. T. (2021). Assessment as a pedagogy and measuring tool in promoting deep learning. International Journal of Higher Education, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v10n2p274

 

Scaffolding Team Dynamics for Team Effectiveness in Project-based Learning Courses

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , , , ,

Vinod VASNANI1*, Ameek KAUR2, and Randall SIE1

1Institute for Engineering Leadership, College of Design and Engineering
2NUS Business School

*vinod@nus.edu.sg

 

Vasnani, V., Kaur, A., & Sie, R. (2023). Scaffolding team dynamics for team effectiveness in project based learning courses [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/scaffolding-team-dynamics-for-team-effectiveness-in-project-based-learning-courses/
 

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Team dynamics, interdisciplinary, coaching, entrepreneurship, scaffolding

 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talks

 

ABSTRACT

Experiential learning, a process in which learning occurs through experience (Kolb, 1984) is increasingly being used in several domains of education, namely, engineering, medicine, business etc. (e.g. Conger et al., 2010; Yardley et al., 2012; Kosnik et al., 2013). Experiential learning can take many forms, such as case studies, simulations, and projects. The experience of working on real-life team projects provides a rich learning opportunity for students where real-life stakeholders offer students the opportunity to integrate and apply the knowledge they acquire. In the experiential learning course MT5920 “Enterprise Development” (National University of Singapore, n.d.), students work in teams to identify new market opportunities for real existing technologies from participating companies, ranging from multinational companies, small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) to growth startups. The class setting emulates a real industry environment and process for new product/solution design and validation. Students benefit from working with stakeholders from real organisations. At the same time, the course provides a safe and sheltered environment to experiment and take risks.

 

Team dynamics is a key component for the success of projects in the real world, and it is also a key component in this course. Student teams manage team dynamics throughout the course whilst working and completing their various project assignments and deliverables. This course follows a project-based learning pedagogical approach (De Graaf & Kolmos, 2003). Project-based learning enables a process in which the students can learn, experience, reflect and manage team dynamics. This is accompanied by a deliberate effort by the instructors to scaffold the process of managing team dynamics, which subsequently impacts the team effectiveness in carrying out its project with the actual companies.

The teams are typically multidisciplinary and multicultural. Along with the challenges of finding new market opportunities for these companies, a common challenge that arises for the students is team dynamics. The right team dynamics greatly impacts the success of the team and the intended outcomes (Delice et al, 2019; DiTullio, 2010 ). As mentioned in Kokotsaki et al. (2016), project-based learning is a student-centred form of instruction characterised by students’ autonomy, constructive investigations, goal setting, collaboration, communication, and reflection within real-world practices. The team dynamics scaffolding effort in MT5920 exhibits the above-mentioned characteristics.

 

In this course, these tools are applied to manage team dynamics:

  • GRPI [Beckhard, R. (1972)],
  • A self-assessment (National University of Singapore, n.d.)
  • Team reviews and interventions
  • Individual self-reflection

 

Please refer to the chart below for an overview of the course and the various tools that we apply.

MT5920: Course overview with team dynamics scaffold

 

The scaffolding on team dynamics takes students through a structured process. It begins with self-assessment and understanding of personal strengths and weaknesses followed by a Team Dynamics Workshop. This explores conflict management, communication styles using the self-assessment, and culminates in the creation of a team GRPI1. Data about the team dynamics is collected on a continuous informal basis through student mentors (alumni who act as mentors and join the teams), as well as on a formal basis through student self- and peer review evaluations and surveys. Mid-semester, based on evaluations and surveys completed, an individual team review takes place between all team members and faculty. This is a critical review to gauge and improve on team effectiveness. Any other team dynamics are dealt with on an ad hoc basis through team meetings with faculty or student mentors. All the while, teams reflect and update their GRPI. At the end of the course, students submit individual reflection papers that have specific questions regarding team dynamics, ensuring students gain practical insights and skills for effective teamwork in the future.

 

We have found that this scaffolding process helps teams to navigate the four stages of Tuckman’s (1965) group development, i.e. forming, norming, storming, and performing. The storming phase is critical for the team to emerge from, in order to work effectively towards the end of the course for the final presentation to all stakeholders. This paper will discuss the motivation for this scaffolding and the benefits for both the instructors and the teams. The approach and steps used will be shared as an approach that can be adapted for use by other such courses.

 

ENDNOTE

  1. GRPI is an acronym that stands for Goals, Roles, Processes, and Interpersonal relationships. The GRPI model is an approach to team development that was introduced in the early 1970s by Richard Beckard, an organizational development expert and professor at MIT.

 

REFERENCES

Beckhard, R. (1972). Optimizing team-building efforts. Journal of Contemporary Business, 1(3), 23-32.

Conger, A. J., Gilchrist, B., Holloway, J. P., Huang-Saad, A., Sick, V., & Zurbuchen, T. H. (2010, April). Experiential learning programs for the future of engineering education. In 2010 IEEE transforming engineering education: Creating interdisciplinary skills for complex global environments (pp. 1-14). IEEE.

Delice, F., Rousseau, M., & Feitosa, J. (2019). Advancing teams research: What, when, and how to measure team dynamics over time. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1324. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01324

De Graaf, E., & Kolmos, A. (2003). Characteristics of problem-based learning. International Journal of Engineering Education, 19(5), 657-62. Retrieved from https://www.ijee.ie/articles/Vol19-5/IJEE1450.pdf.

DiTullio, L. (2010). Project team dynamics: enhancing performance, improving results. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Kokotsaki, D., Menzies, V., & Wiggins, A. (2016). Project-based learning: A review of the literature. Improving Schools, 19(3), 267-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/1365480216659733

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Prentice Hall.

Kosnik, R. D., Tingle, J. K., & Blanton III, E. L. (2013). Transformational learning in business education: The pivotal role of experiential learning projects. American Journal of Business Education (AJBE), 6(6), 613-30. https://doi.org/10.19030/ajbe.v6i6.8166

National University of Singapore (n.d.). Enterprise Development. IEL website. Retrieved June 20, 2023, from https://cde.nus.edu.sg/iel/graduate/overview-of-graduate-modules/enterprise-development/

National University of Singapore (n.d.). Self Assessments -16 Personalities. Centre for Future-ready Graduates. Retrieved June 20, 2023, from https://nus.edu.sg/cfg/students/career-resources/self-assessments

Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-99. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/h0022100

Yardley, S., Teunissen, P. W., & Dornan, T. (2012). Experiential learning: Transforming theory into practice. 63. Medical Teacher, 34(2), e102-e115. https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2012.643264

 

Bringing Immersive Technology Closer to Education and Research in the NUS Community

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , , , ,

Lyndia CHEN*, Raudhah THONGKAM, Jie Ying MAK, Magdeline NG Tao Tao, and Steven CHOW
TEL Imaginarium, NUS Libraries

*lyndiachen@nus.edu.sg

 

Chen, L., Thongkam, R., Mak, J. Y., Ng, M. T. T., & Chow, S. (2023). Bringing immersive technology closer to education and research in the NUS community [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/bringing-immersive-technology-closer-to-education-and-research-in-the-nus-community/

SUB-THEME

Interdisciplinarity and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Technology education, immersive technologies, game-based learning, training, student engagement

 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talks 

 

ABSTRACT

To prepare for the digital era, it is important to familiarise students, educators, and the NUS community with various technologies that will soon be a mainstay in education, work, and daily lives, especially for immersive technology that is reshaping research and interaction with information. While its potential is promising, it can be challenging to keep up with the development of immersive technology (Dengel et al., 2021).

 

Some reasons for a lower than desired uptake of immersive technology are the ever-evolving novelty of the technology which can be overwhelming for a user who wants to start exploring the technology, the unfamiliarity and lack of use cases that can be done in a tertiary education setting, and the systemic difficulties in implementing immersive technology across curriculum (Dengel et al., 2021; Häfner, 2020).

 

Digital engagement strategy , adapted from Windham (2005)

 

As a team and a space in NUS Libraries, the Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) Imaginarium tries to raise awareness of immersive technology and its educational potential to the NUS community by organising bite-sized learning experiences through three main ways—short hands-on workshops, exciting game competitions, and tours that showcase popular tech tools and devices.

 

Underlying all the initiatives implemented by TEL Imaginarium is a strategy to engage participants, which its elements are succinctly described by Windham (2005), as described in Table 1.

 

Table 1
Principles to engage digital era learners [Adapted from Windham (2005)]

Interaction A classroom setting with ample opportunities to not just communicate, interact and collaborate with peers and educators, but also with multimedia material. Activities are organised to allow the building of connections in and out of the classroom setting.
Exploration Give learners an opportunity to explore and come up with their own conclusions, critique established literature, and develop an output or understanding with their unique stamp on it.
Relevancy Give learners an opportunity to impact real communities, interact with real-life case studies and applications, to acquire relevant skills and experiences.
Multimedia Provide a variety of media and keep them short and alternating to produce diverse content that meets the class’ learning objectives.
Instruction Basic research skills are still required to help learners navigate the information landscape, which can include teaching how to find, organise, evaluate, mix and use information correctly.

 

Workshops and other outreach initiatives to engage digital era learners.

 

Short hands-on workshops

The Jumpstart Miniseries are 1–2-hour workshops conducted every semester to increase familiarity with common immersive technologies. Participants from various disciplines get together to develop an output by presenting ideas in novel ways. The work is then showcased on an online exhibition platform to show possibilities of applications to research to inspire. Gamification elements such as digital badges are introduced to motivate learners to take charge of their learning and development for immersive technology (Huotari & Hamari, 2012).

 

Exciting games

In the name of education, the TEL Imaginarium team carefully weaves captivating storylines, game development concepts, and applications of immersive technology to develop escape room games. Packaged as a game competition with prize incentives, the NUS community can have fun pitting their wits to solve puzzles while learning about immersive technology. The game-based learning approach resulted in the popular reception of the games and successful engagement of the community (Kraiger et al., 1993) to share the technology’s potential in research and learning applications. Multiple partnerships were forged that increased the uptake of learning with immersive technology in NUS (Ketelhut & Schifter, 2011), such as with the Global Relations office to use games to orientate their incoming exchange students, and with the NUS Health and Wellbeing unit to develop escape room games revolving around the theme of mental health.

 

Tour showcases

TEL Imaginarium used to offer tours to interested NUS members to showcase the variety of immersive technology tools in the Library. Participants got to try out the applications and learn from use cases developed in NUS such as the 360 virtual tour application of NUS Libraries, which resulted in some notable interdisciplinary collaborations, such as with the Department of Biological Sciences where the team co-creates assessment tasks using immersive technology tools. This generated interest from the NUS community and NUS Libraries decided to organise yearly Tech Central Carnival events to do outreach on a wider scale over organising individual tours.

 

REFERENCES

Dengel, A., Buchner, J., Mulders, M., & Pirker, J. (2021). Beyond the horizon: Integrating immersive learning environments in the everyday classroom. 2021 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.23919/iLRN52045.2021.9459368

Gilbert, J. (2007). Catching the Knowledge Wave: Redefining knowledge for the post-industrial age. Education Canada, 47(3), 4-8. Canadian Education Association. Retrieved June 2023 from https://www.maailmakool.ee/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/gilbert-catching-knowledge-wave.pdf

Häfner P. (2020). Categorization of the benefits and limitations of immersive environments for education. Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Modeling & Applied Simulation (MAS 2020), 154-59. https://doi.org/10.46354/i3m.2020.mas.020

Huotari, K., & Hamari, J. (2012). Defining gamification: A service marketing perspective. Proceeding of the 16th International Academic MindTrek Conference, 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1145/2393132.2393137

Ketelhut, D. J., & Schifter, C. C. (2011). Teachers and game-based learning: Improving understanding of how to increase efficacy of adoption. Computers & Education, 56(2), 539–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2010.10.002

Kraiger, K., Ford, J. K., & Salas, E. (1993). Application of cognitive, skill-based, and affective theories of learning outcomes to new methods of training evaluation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 78(2), 311–28. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.78.2.311

Windham, C. (2005). The student’s perspective. In D. Oblinger & J. Oblinger (Eds), Educating the Net generation (pp. 5.1-5.16). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE. Retrieved June 2023, from https://cyberlearn.hes-so.ch/pluginfile.php/804144/mod_resource/content/2/pub7101.pdf

 

Enhancing Regulatory Capacity of Diverse Healthcare Stakeholder Communities: Reflections on the Development and Delivery of a Graduate Certificate Programme

cdtlsd Poster , , , ,

Rathi SARAVANAN*, Osman Bin Mohamad, Soumyanarayanan UTTARA, Faith TAN, Silke VOGEL, and LEONG Wai Yeen, James

Centre of Regulatory Excellence, DUKE-NUS Medical School, Singapore 

*rathi@duke-nus.edu.sg

 

Saravanan, R., Osman bin Mohamad, Uttara. S., Tan, F., Vogel, S., & Leong, J. W. Y. (2023). Enhancing regulatory capacity of diverse healthcare stakeholder communities: Reflections on the development and delivery of a graduate certificate programme [Poster presentation]. In Higher Education Campus Conference (HECC) 2023, 7 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecc2023proceedings/enhancing-regulatory-capacity-of-diverse-healthcare-stakeholder-communities-reflections-on-the-development-and-delivery-of-a-graduate-certificate-programme/

SUB-THEME

Communities and Education

 

KEYWORDS

Capacity-building, regulatory science education, blended learning, team-based learning and collaborative learning

 

CATEGORY

Poster Presentations 

 

ABSTRACT

Timely access to safe and good quality essential medicine relies on the capacity and partnerships of diverse stakeholders in the healthcare environment: patients, healthcare professionals, regulators, the industry, academia, and research communities. Regulation of health products is the fundamental approach to safeguard patients against products that are harmful or ineffective. However, navigating this complex and highly dynamic healthcare regulatory landscape requires regulatory knowledge, critical skills, and competencies that are not imparted in standard and structured programmes. The primary challenge for regulatory professionals in diverse stakeholder communities is acquiring the relevant baseline knowledge, and staying relevant with updated current regulatory developments arising from globalisation and technological advancements. Despite the vital role of regulators in accelerating the development and access of life-saving health products, there is limited options for training and continued education in health products regulation, locally and within the region. Addressing this need, the Centre of Regulatory Excellence (CoRE) at DUKE-NUS Medical School in Singapore, launched a graduate certificate (GC) programme in health products regulation in 2017. The GC programme aims at building capabilities of regulatory professionals, while simultaneously promoting partnerships across stakeholders for an efficient and effective regulatory environment in the region.

 

As a team of educators at CoRE, the poster documents the reflections on the journey of developing and delivering the GC programme. The tailored curriculum, leveraging on social constructivism theory, principles of blended learning, team-based learning (TBL), as well as engaged and educated regulatory professionals from diverse stakeholder communities in Singapore and across Asia- Pacific. The active learning strategies utilised in the classroom setting, across physical and virtual platforms, foster 21st-century competencies of collaboration, communication, critical thinking skills, and awareness of the global regulatory landscape. Through the structured curriculum and pedagogical approaches adopted, participants are equipped with the practical skillsets necessary to perform and excel in their roles within the regulatory and healthcare systems. The positive feedback from participants is testimony to the effectiveness of the programme in strengthening the capacities of health product regulatory systems. The key insights outlined will support and refine similar capacity-building efforts as well as collaborative learning programmes in higher education locally and elsewhere.

 

REFERENCES

Bada, S. O., & Olusegun, S. (2015). Constructivism learning theory: A paradigm for teaching and learning. Journal of Research & Method in Education, 5(6), 66-70. Retrieved from https://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jrme/papers/Vol-5%20Issue-6/Version-1/I05616670.pdf.

Michaelsen, L. K., & Sweet, M. (2008). The essential elements of team‐based learning. New directions for teaching and learning, 2008(116), 7-27. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.330

Goodsell, A. S., Maher, M., Tinto, V., Smith, B. L., & MacGregor, J. T. (1992). Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education. National center on postsecondary teaching, learning, and assessment publishing, Pennsylvania State University

Konduri, N., Rauscher, M., Wang, S. C. J., & Malpica-Llanos, T. (2017). Individual capacity- building approaches in a global pharmaceutical systems strengthening program: a selected review. Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice, 10(16), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40545-017-0104-z

Kusynová, Z., van den Ham, H. A., Leufkens, H. G. M., & Mantel-Teeuwisse, A. K. (2023). Pharmaceutical scientists’ perspectives on capacity building in pharmaceutical sciences. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 112(7), 1997-2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xphs.2023.04.015

Vaughan, N. (2007). Perspectives on blended learning in higher education. International Journal on E-learning, 6(1), 81-94. Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/6310/.

 

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