Others

Integrating Career Education into Introductory Courses with AI Assistant: A Case Study with EC2880C “Introduction to Foreign Exchange”

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , ,

MUN Lai Yoke 

Department of Economics
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

ecsmunl@nus.edu.sg 

Mun, L. Y. (2024). Integrating career education into introductory courses with AI Assistant: A case study with EC2880C “Introduction to Foreign Exchange” [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-lymun/

SUB-THEME

Opportunities from Career Exploration with AI Assistant 

KEYWORDS

Career development learning, AI assistant 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talk

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

EC2880C “Introduction to Foreign Exchange” is a new economics course with no economics prerequisites. It is designed and taught by the author, primarily for freshmen and sophomores. Being a primer, it can be taken independently as a standalone course. It provides a foundation of the foreign exchange markets for students who are keen to work in corporations with global operations, or financial institutions including the central banks.

 

With the increase in global trade and capital flows, understanding and managing foreign exchange market exposures are important skills in the workplace. This course introduces students to the foreign exchange markets, institutions, tools and applications. The objective of this course is to provide students with the contexts and tools to think about current issues related to foreign exchange exposures in international finance. These include the choice of exchange rate regimes, exchange rate forecasting, and exposure management using a variety of instruments, and policies to ensure the smooth functioning of the foreign exchange markets. 

 

One of the chapters is entitled Careers in International Finance. Using the participants in the Foreign Exchange (FX) market as the context, we explore the various roles available on both sides of the market: the buy-side and sell-side, and their core businesses. In addition, we review a typical organisational structure, and the asset classes or products commonly traded by these firms. With AI assistant, we drill deeper into the available roles along the following dimensions: skillset, qualifications and training, and typical character traits needed for each role. 

 

Based on the post-course survey, students ranked this chapter highly. The following are excerpts from their comments. 

“Chapter 10 is my favorite chapter. I was so surprised that in the last chapter I could learn all this knowledge about the industry and employment. And that kind of diversifies what I think is a more theoretical class.” 

 

“It gave me a reference for my future career direction.” 

 

“In this class, I learned some knowledge about career planning… This class also made me reflect on myself and think about my current major and my future plan.” 

 

By incorporating relevant career pathways into introductory courses, we can inculcate greater engagement and motivation in students. It makes salient the relevance of the course content and supports students’ career development by giving them lead time in planning their academic journey and internships. This corroborates the findings from Bridgstock et al. (2019), where integrating career development learning into the curriculum enhances the employability of higher education learners. 

REFERENCE

Bridgstock, R., Grant-Iramu, M., & McAlpine, A. (2019). Integrating career development learning into the curriculum: Collaboration with the careers service for employability. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 10(1), 56-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2019vol10no1art785

Handling a Diverse Cohort of Students From Non-computing Backgrounds in a Computing Course

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Prasanna Karthik Vairam 

Department of Computer Science
School of Computing (SOC), NUS

prasanna@comp.nus.edu.sg 

Vairam, P. K. (2024). Handling a diverse cohort of students from non-computing backgrounds in a computing course [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-pkvairam-2/

SUB-THEME

Others 

KEYWORDS

Lifelong learning, back to university, computer science 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talk

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

Due to opportunities in the computing industry, students with a basic degree in other fields (e.g., Mechanical engineering or Civil engineering) enrol themselves in our Master of Computing (General Track) programme. These students often come with work experiences (e.g., average of 3-5 years) but may have little or no background knowledge in computer programming. The learning goals of the students also vary considerably: While some students start with a good background and aim to learn advanced topics, most others are usually first-time learners. Therefore, there is a need to design a methodology to cater to a diverse cohort.

 

In this paper, we propose a methodology to allow the students to tailor the pathway to achieve the learning outcomes at their own pace and appetite. The critical challenge is ensuring that first-time learners stay caught up when the instructor employs schemes to encourage the more ambitious learners. We use a two-pronged approach for this: Targeted code frameworks and Tailored pacing.  

Targeted code frameworks 

In a typical software course, students learn the development environment (e.g., Operating System, code editing tool, version management), programming language (e.g., Javascript, HTML, Python), and the deployment environment (e.g., server, docker, Kubernetes). The sheer number of moving parts in a software project can overwhelm any first-time learner. Our methodology creates a targeted code framework for each assignment task by providing a fully functional coding environment except those related to the learning outcomes of the assignment task. For example, in an HTML assignment, the students must write only the HTML code and not worry about setting up the development and deployment environments. Students can run the code with a few simple instructions and start coding. We use cross-platform Docker technology to build the framework, making it accessible to all students. 

 

Contemporary methodologies such as online coding websites/IDE (e.g., Codepen) act as black boxes and have the drawback of over-simplification and potential misunderstanding. In contrast, our method retains real-world development’s complexity (e.g., constraints) and possibilities (e.g., use of tools), while focusing on the learning outcome. In the later stages of the course, students learn the topics they missed out on (due to the simplification provided by the framework) through recorded videos. Finally, the open-ended project allows students to build a project from scratch (i.e., not based on targeted code frameworks), making them ready for real-world software development. The proposed framework brought about improvements in their assignment scores and was well-received by the students.  

Tailored pacing 

We propose this methodology in our software engineering course with an open-ended project where the students implement advanced features of their choice. The idea is that the ambitious students do not wait idly until the instructor completes teaching the fundamental topics (Personalized learning, NETP, 2017). 

 

At the start of the course, both types of students are introduced to the essential topics necessary to code the basic project features. At this point, we rely on the zone of proximal development (ZPD) (McLeod, 2024) to expand their knowledge to advanced topics with some instructor assistance. We provide them with several recorded videos and tutorials covering optional advanced topics (e.g., 3rd party API integration, advanced styling, authentication). Note that these topics only count towards the novelty rubric of project assessment. During the project, depending on the student’s interest, they pick up a few of these topics to integrate into their projects (akin to choosing your own adventure). 

 

While the scheme seemingly prioritises ambitious learners, there are some essential elements to support first-time learners. We do this through conferring, a way by which students (especially first-time learners) can get guidance from the instructor on selecting and implementing the advanced features. We follow blended learning-based feedback for this, considering the reservations of first-time learners and their shyness, especially in the presence of ambitious students. The students showcase their progress to the instructor through an online (but private medium) using GitHub Classrooms, where a log entry is automatically created for each significant code update of the student (called Git commit). The instructor can provide feedback with comments and the next steps (e.g., which video to watch) in a 1:1 meeting or using Github Issues (remotely). The proposed framework brought about improvements in their assignment scores and was well-received by the students. 

REFERENCES

Personalized learning, NETP (2017), Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update, https://lincs.ed.gov/professional- development/resource-collections/profile-902 

Saul Mcleod (2024), Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Scaffolding Theory, https://www.simplypsychology.org/zone-of-proximal-development.html 

 

Intersectional Encounters With Decolonising In A Singapore University

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Aimee-Sophia Puteri LIM1, Siti Umairah Bte Adnan2, NG Jin Ying Emily3, Shelley Tuazon GUYTON3,*

1Global Studies Programme and Department of Sociology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), NUS
2Department of Japanese Studies, FASS, NUS
3Global Studies Programme, FASS, NUS 

*stguyton@nus.edu.sg   

Lim, A-S. P., Siti Umairah Adnan, Ng, E. J. Y., & Guyton, S. T. (2024). Intersectional encounters with decolonising in a Singapore university [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-stguyton-et-al/

SUB-THEME

Others 

KEYWORDS

Decolonial praxis, educational equity, co-learning, intersectionality 

CATEGORY

Lightning Talk

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

We present here a collective reflection on the classroom as a space for encountering and co-learning about decolonising, based on our individual and shared experiences in an undergraduate fourth-year seminar in Global Studies called, “Colonial, Anti-colonial and Postcolonial Globalizations.” The writing for this paper was co-produced as individual reflections and group dialogue between four students and the course lecturer centred around these six themes: positions, expectations, frustrations, discoveries, lingering questions, and hopes. In this way, we present a multi-faceted illustration of our classroom encounters with the topic of decolonisation, which happened through readings, films, discussions, a museum visit, and a Participant Action Research project, and which we reflect on by acknowledging our positionalities and the intersectionalities of our identities in encountering these materials and experiences. 

 

This paper is an intellectual experiment, a personal process of hearing and understanding, and a labour of great care, for each other and for our potential audiences. We hope it imparts some clarity and inspiration regarding intersectional encounters with decolonising in the university. Mignolo and Walsh (2018) challenge us to consider the potential and prospects for the “decolonial for”—why, how, and for whom we imagine and put into praxis “decolonial otherwise.” We extend this question to the university classroom as itself a potential space for “decolonial otherwise” in learning. 

 

The writing group first gathered six months after the conclusion of the course for informal and reflective sharing to generate reflection questions for each topic, based on our memories of the class experience. We then journaled individual responses to our group-generated questions, and then returned together for a second and third meeting to share our reflections. From there, we divided and wrote our contributions to this paper. In this way, knowledge about decolonising here was co-produced between the five of us from different positions and perspectives in the university yet also produced from a collective standpoint, together.  

 

We hope that this collective reflection gives educators some insights on how co-learning and more horizontal/non-hierarchical approaches to learning about decolonisation can be designed, and the potential value of doing so within higher education. These are a few insights that surfaced in each of our reflective discussion topics: 

  • Expectations: Awareness of our own expectations (individual, shared, academic and personal) proved to be an important mode for making our various entry points into a collective dialogue on decolonisation. 
  • Frustrations: While learning about decolonising, we individually and collectively felt a sense of empowerment through the realisation of the validity of our experiences, but this quickly turned into frustration, as we were unsure what to do about it. 
  • Discoveries: Many of our personal and intellectual discoveries through encountering decolonisation entailed re-viewing the mundane aspects of our everyday lives with a new, decolonial lens.  
  • Lingering Questions: We were left with a list of lingering questions, which was useful for understanding how our perspectives continued to develop on decolonisation, even after the course ended. 
  • Hopes: Our hopes were contingent on our various positions and roles in society, and shaped what decolonisation meant to us. Those who were Singaporean citizens, for example, had hopes aimed at seeing tangible decolonisation efforts beyond the classroom, and questioning sources and creation of knowledge. 

REFERENCES

Mignolo, W. D., & Walsh, C. E. (2018). On Decoloniality: Concepts, Analytics, Praxis. Duke University Press. 

 

Game-Based Learning: A Pathway to Improving Affective and Cognitive Outcomes in Interdisciplinary Education

cdtlsd Lighting Talks , , , ,

FOO Maw Lin1 and MUN Lai Yoke2 

1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science (FOS)
2Department of Economics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS)

1chmfml@nus.edu.sg; 2ecsmunl@nus.edu.sg 

Foo, M. L., & Mun, L. Y. (2024). Game-based learning: A pathway to improving affective and cognitive outcomes in interdisciplinary education [Lightning talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-foo-mun/

SUB-THEME

Others; Opportunities from Interdisciplinarity

KEYWORDS

Interdisciplinary courses, pedagogy, game-based learning

CATEGORY

Lightning Talk

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

HS2904 is a new interdisciplinary course (IDC) in the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) co-designed and co-taught by the authors. This course examines the current renaissance of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) worldwide via an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the physics and chemistry of batteries into the environmental, economic, geopolitical and policy consideration of BEVs.

 

One of the learning outcomes for an IDC is for students to emerge from the silos of their disciplinary majors and view real-world issues from an integrated perspective, connecting across different disciplines. This is challenging as IDCs have no disciplinary pre-requisites and thus the disciplinary background of students is highly varied. Additionally, student motivation to understand the significance of interdisciplinary integration is often a challenge (Xu, 2022).

 

Game-based learning is a type of gameplay with defined learning outcomes (Plass, 2015). Games can be used as a means of promoting active learning through play, often leading to improved engagement and motivation (Ritzko, 2006; Buckley, 2016). Although game-based learning is frequently associated with digital games, it is noted that card and board games have also been used for game-based learning. While educational studies on games tailored for teaching individual disciplines are relatively common (Byusa, 2022; Platz,2022), interdisciplinary games are less well-explored.

 

We thus piloted an interdisciplinary board game “Charge” in AY2022/23 for students to revise knowledge learnt in HS2904 and reinforce how chemistry and economics are integrated in the EV ecosystem (Figure 1). Besides the cognitive aspects of learning, significant emphasis was placed on developing the appropriate game mechanics to make it fun and interactive. This promotes the affective domain of learning which increases students’ motivation to explore interdisciplinarity through play. We have chosen to use a physical board game instead of a digital game for our game-based approach due to its relative ease of implementation and prototyping. The board game was loosely based on “Monopoly,” with the winning player earning the most revenue by dominating the supply chain of BEVs through vertical integration and economies of scale. The pros and cons of different charging protocols and minerals used in battery production are incorporated into the game design by varying the timeout while charging and prices of different mines. Conceptual knowledge such as thermal runaway, multi-homing network, regulations, and policies are built into the “Chance” cards. The game was played in groups of 3 to 4 students during tutorial sessions in week 10 of the semester after most important concepts of the course were taught. Before the one-hour game session, students in the class completed a pre-game survey. Immediately after the game, the students completed a post-game survey with both Likert scale and qualitative questions.

 

Preliminary survey data indicated (Table 1) that after playing the game, students perceive that the objectives of revision of key concepts and integration of chemistry and economics have been met. In addition, most of the students perceive the game as fun/enjoyable and they understand key concepts better after an educational game. Hence our “Charge” board game has addressed both affective and cognitive aspects of learning and demonstrated the potential of interdisciplinary game-based learning. Further iterations of this interdisciplinary game will build off this foundation to explore using games for teaching the BEV ecosystem.

HECS2024-a82-Fig1

Figure 1. The interdisciplinary board game “Charge” specially designed for HS2904 showing a chance card, player pieces, and playing board.

 

 

Table 1
Survey results of students for “Charge” board game (N=93)

HECS2024-a82-Table1 

*A represents “Agree” and SA represents “Strongly agree. NA represents not applicable.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors extend their gratitude to Lua Juen Wei Eugene for his valuable contribution to the development of “Charge” board game.

REFERENCES

Buckley, P., & Doyle, E. (2016). Gamification and student motivation. Interactive Learning Environments, 24(6), 1162-1175. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2014.964263

Byusa, E., Kampire, E., & Mwesigye, A. R. (2022). Game-based learning approach on students’ motivation and understanding of chemistry concepts: A systematic review of literature. Heliyon, 8(5), e09541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e09541

Plass, J., Homer, B., Kinzer, C. (2015) Foundations of Game-Based Learning. Educational Psychologist, 50, 258-283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2015.1122533

Platz, L (2022). Learning with serious games in economics education a systematic review of the effectiveness of game-based learning in upper secondary and higher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 115, 102301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2022.102031

Ritzko, J.M., & Robinson, S. (2006) Using Games To Increase Active Learning. The Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 3(6), 45-50. http://dx.doi.org/10.19030/tlc.v3i6.1709

Xu, C., Wu, C.-F., Xu, D.-D., Lu, W.-Q., Wang, K.-Y. (2022). Challenges to Student Interdisciplinary Learning Effectiveness: An Empirical Case Study. Journal of Intelligence, 10, 88. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence10040088

 

 

Enhancing Interdisciplinary Learning: The Impact Of Jigsaw-based Pedagogy In Integrative Health Education

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Amanda Huee-Ping WONG*, Swapna Haresh Teckwani, and Ivan Cherh Chiet LOW* 

Department of Physiology
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (YLLSOM), NUS  

*phswhpa@nus.edu.sg; phsilcc@nus.edu.sg 

Wong, A., Teckwani, S. H., & Low, I. C. C. (2024). Enhancing interdisciplinary learning: The impact of Jigsaw-based pedagogy in integrative health education [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-ahpwong-et-al/

SUB-THEME

Others 

KEYWORDS

Interdisciplinary learning, jigsaw method, collaborative learning, soft skills, integrative health. 

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation 

INTRODUCTION

Addressing the multifaceted challenges in the modern workforce, including silo-thinking and integrating diverse disciplines (Smye & Frangi, 2021), requires educational strategies that emphasise interdisciplinary learning. A prime opportunity to implement innovative approaches is the course MIH1101 “What Impacts Health?”, part of the new Minor in Integrative Health Programme. This programme provides students from diverse backgrounds a foundation in integrating discipline-specific expertise to address various health-related challenges. The course employs a webbed curriculum framework with multidisciplinary, health-centric lectures and small-group tutorials that immerse students in real-world cases. This approach fosters a collaborative and conducive environment for open discussions to evaluate health determinants and conceptualise solutions. Effective group learning must navigate the complexities of collaboration and conflict management while fostering a balance of sharing and co-construction to integrate diverse perspectives (Decuyper et al., 2010). Therefore, the jigsaw method, known for fostering responsibility, collaboration, and teamwork skills (Shaaban, 2006), was introduced alongside conventional tutorials in this study. We compared the effectiveness of the jigsaw method with conventional tutorials in promoting interdisciplinary learning and collaboration, aiming to enhance understanding of complex health issues and to prepare them for contemporary healthcare challenges.  

METHODS

This study employed a mixed-methods approach to evaluate the effectiveness of the jigsaw compared to conventional tutorials in enhancing interdisciplinary collaboration and learning. In the jigsaw-based tutorial, students were initially grouped by discipline for the first task, then reshuffled into interdisciplinary groups for the second task. Conventional tutorials involved groups of similar-disciplined students for both tasks. Data was collected from a survey adapted from the Interdisciplinary Understanding Questionnaire (IUQ) (Schijf et al., 2023), assignment scoring based on the rubric developed according to the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes (SOLO) Taxonomy (Biggs & Collis, 2014), and semi-structured interviews developed from the Interdisciplinary Education Perception Scale (McFadyen et al., 2007). 

RESULTS

Quantitative analysis of questionnaire responses (n=16) revealed an improvement in students’ perceived achievement of learning outcomes for the jigsaw tutorial (4.06±0.86) compared to the conventional tutorial (4.02±0.86, p=0.018), with knowledge of interdisciplinarity significantly enhanced (p=0.003). The jigsaw tutorial also demonstrated slight improvements in the multidisciplinary (Figure 1) and interdisciplinary (Figure 2) learning domains, albeit not statistically significant, and was comparable in transdisciplinary learning (n=17-18).  

Figure 1. Distribution curve comparing student assignment scores from conventional and jigsaw tutorials for the multidisciplinary learning domain.

 

Figure 2. Distribution curve comparing student assignment scores from conventional and jigsaw tutorials for the interdisciplinary learning domain.

 

The most frequent theme identified from the semi-structured interviews (n=10) with regards to strengths of the jigsaw tutorial was enhanced soft skills. This comprised the sub-themes of ‘confidence’, ‘communication’, ‘conflict management’ and ‘collaboration’. This was closely followed by hones analytical thinking skills, which comprised the sub-themes of ‘creativity’, ‘critical thinking’ and ‘problem-solving’. For themes related to negative experiences, the most frequent emerging theme for jigsaw was ‘lacking depth in content’ and ‘experienced discomfort during collaboration’, while for the conventional tutorial, it was ‘restrictive in creating new ideas’ (Figure 3). 

Figure 3. Themes identified from the semi-structured interviews on the positive (black text) and negative (red text) experiences for the jigsaw and conventional tutorials respectively.

CONCLUSION

The jigsaw method demonstrated improvements in students’ perceived achievement of learning outcomes, particularly in interdisciplinarity, compared to conventional learning models. Thematic analysis of the semi-structured interviews highlighted that the jigsaw method enhanced soft skills such as confidence, communication, conflict management, and collaboration. Despite some negative feedback regarding content depth and discomfort during collaboration, the overall positive impact underscores the potential of the jigsaw method as a valuable pedagogical tool, preparing students to navigate the complexities of their future collaborative endeavours. 

REFERENCES

Biggs, J. B., & Collis, K. F. (2014). Evaluating the quality of learning: The SOLO taxonomy (Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome). Academic Press.  

Decuyper, S., Dochy, F., & Van den Bossche, P. (2010). Grasping the dynamic complexity of team learning: An integrative model for effective team learning in organisations. Educational Research Review, 5(2), 111-133. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2010.02.002  

McFadyen, A. K., Maclaren, W. M., & Webster, V. S. (2007). The interdisciplinary education perception scale (IEPS): an alternative remodelled sub-scale structure and its reliability. J Interprof Care, 21(4), 433-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820701352531  

Schijf, J. E., van der Werf, G. P. C., & Jansen, E. P. W. A. (2023). Measuring interdisciplinary understanding in higher education. European Journal of Higher Education, 13(4), 429-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/21568235.2022.2058045  

Shaaban, K. (2006). An initial study of the effects of cooperative learning on reading comprehension, vocabulary acquisition, and motivation to read. Reading Psychology, 27(5), 377-403. https://doi.org/10.1080/02702710600846613  

Smye, S. W., & Frangi, A. F. (2021). Interdisciplinary research: shaping the healthcare of the future. Future Healthcare Journal, 8(2), e218-e223. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.7861/fhj.2021-0025  

 

Reverse Engineering Pedagogy To Bridge Diverse Learning Background In Classrooms

cdtlsd Poster , , , ,

Da Yang TAN* and Yoke Leng LOO 

NUS College

*dytan@nus.edu.sg

Tan, D. Y., & Loo, Y. L. (2024). Reverse engineering pedagogy to bridge diverse learning backgrounds in classrooms [Poster presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-dytan-ylloo/

SUB-THEME

Others 

KEYWORDS

Reverse engineering, interdisciplinary education, honours education, programming 

CATEGORY

Poster Presentation

BACKGROUND

With the push for interdisciplinary education within the higher education settings, many of such programmes are designed to help students gain a wider perspective and develop a diverse skill set essential for addressing the complex challenges of the modern world ​(World Economic Forum, 2023)​. This means that students from wide-ranging backgrounds now learn together within the same classroom settings. While the exchange of perspectives from students’ different backgrounds add tremendous value to the classroom learning experience, the varying learning abilities and starting points of students bring new challenges to the instructors, especially in subjects that seek to impart technical knowledge, such as quantitative reasoning. The same learning experience now must seek to accommodate a spectrum of students: students with prior knowledge and who are likely to find the learning objective trivial; while students who have little background will struggle to play catchup when faced with new technical knowledge that they need to pick up within the short duration of the course.  

 

To mitigate the challenge of diverse learning backgrounds, reverse engineering pedagogy (REP) ​(Tan, Cheah, & Lee, 2021)​ as a teaching method has been piloted in an earlier run of the authors’ sections of GEA1000N: Quantitative Reasoning with Data ​(Tan & Loo, 2024)​. Within the course, one of the learning objectives is for students to be familiar with R programming to handle large datasets (see Figure 1 for a sample of such activity). Students with limited prior programming knowledge may struggle to reconcile the theory with the programming tasks, while those with programming experience may find the tasks underwhelming. Below, we highlight some of the considerations in designing such activities: 

Figure 1. Sample of reverse engineering learning activity implemented in the class.

DESIGN AND USER CONSIDERATIONS 

Resources

The design of the activities needs to consider the resources allocated to the class, such as contact time within the classroom. For the REP activities, they were all designed to be completed within 30 minutes of the class, so that there will be sufficient time to complete other activities within the class.

Curriculum Structure

The activities need to situate itself well within the curriculum of the course, so that both instructors and students will not find the activity out of place during the learning process. This requires a careful consideration of the suitable timing to contact the learning activities. For the REP activities, they were introduced at the midpoint of the course in Week 5 and 7, since a theoretical minimum such as basic syntax, data structure, logical operators and loops would still be needed to be introduced earlier in the course to help students successfully navigate the RE activities; on the other hand, introducing the activities at midpoint will allow students to expose themselves R programming and subsequently use them in the later part of the course, especially in other in-class activities and projects. The RE activities also situates itself within the original activities that the teaching team have designed.  

Instructors

The role of the instructor should not be overlooked as a key user of the activities, especially in the team-teaching context of the course. Given that the designer of the learning activities and the instructors delivering the materials may not be the same person, the learning activities should be intuitive and clear for the instructors for the buy-in.  

Students

Students are the primary stakeholders of the learning activities and their appreciation towards the learning activities would therefore be important. To reconcile the challenges of varying learning background, the RE activities are deliberately conducted in small groups during the class, so that the less experienced students could learn from experienced students, while the experienced students could gain new perspectives from the questions or gaps in understanding from the less experienced students. 

CONCLUDING REMARKS 

In this work, the use of reverse engineering in the teaching of R programming is introduced. Earlier preliminary results have hinted at the potential of REP learning activities as potential strategy for classes with varying learning background. By highlighting the possible design considerations in the development of materials, it is hoped the approach would be useful for generalisation of such reverse engineering approaches to other courses of similar students’ background in technical subjects. 

REFERENCES

​​Tan, D. Y., & Loo, Y. L. (2024). Reverse Engineering Pedagogy To Promote Confidence and Motivation in Programming Among Honors College Students. 2024 IEEE Global Engineering Education Conference (EDUCON) (pp. 1 – 3). Kos Island, Greece: IEEE. 

​Tan, D. Y., Cheah, C. W., & Lee, C. H. (2021). Reverse Engineering Pedagogy as an Educational Tool to Promote Symbiosis between Design and Physics. IEEE International Conference on Engineering, Technology and Education (IEEE TALE). Wuhan, China. doi:10.1109/TALE52509.2021.9678692 

​World Economic Forum. (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. Geneva: World Economic Forum.

Interdisciplinary Education In NUS: A Scan Of Current Courses And Development Of An Evaluation Framework

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Olivier LEFEBVRE1,*, Alex MITCHELL2, Marissa Kwan Lin E3, Stephen En Rong TAY4, Li Neng LEE5 

1Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Design and Engineering (CDE), NUS
2Department of Communications and New Media, College of Humanities and Sciences, NUS
3Centre for English Language Communication, NUS
4Department of the Built Environment, CDE, NUS
5Department of Psychology, College of Humanities and Sciences, NUS 

*ceelop@nus.edu.sg

Lefebvre, O. P., Mitchell, A., E, M. K. L., Tay, S. E. R., & Lee, L. N. (2024). Interdisciplinary education in NUS: A scan of current courses and development of an evaluation framework [Paper presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/olefebvre-et-al/

SUB-THEME

Others – Interdisciplinary Education 

KEYWORDS

Interdisciplinary learning, course design, course evaluation, community engagement  

CATEGORY

Paper Presentation

 

CONTEXT

The establishment of the College of Humanities and Sciences (CHS) in 2020 and the College of Design and Engineering (CDE) in 2022 exemplifies the efforts towards interdisciplinary education in the National University of Singapore (NUS) in response to current problems that require various disciplines to work together (National University of Singapore, 2021). These efforts have produced courses that look beyond the classroom to engage with the wider community.  

 

For example, in the CHS, the course HS2911 “Social Media and Mental Health” provides students with interdisciplinary training to analyse the impact of social media in real-world scenarios. Similarly, in the CDE, the course CDE2501 “Liveable Cities” provides students the opportunity to approach community development through the lens of urban policymakers, planners, architects, engineers, real estate consultants and managers. 

 

While these efforts provide students with an interdisciplinary learning experience, the diverse nature of the courses, along with the lack of a common yardstick in evaluating interdisciplinary education makes it challenging to determine if these efforts have been fruitful, especially in terms of real-world applicability that impacts our communities. Hence, the NUS Teaching Academy (NUSTA) has developed the following research questions: 

  1. What is the current state of interdisciplinary studies at NUS?  
  2. What evaluation metrics could be used to support interdisciplinary courses? 
  3. How can interdisciplinary education in NUS be refined? 

 

METHODOLOGY

An interdisciplinary team within the NUSTA was formed to include views from CHS and CDE. In this study, the operational definition of interdisciplinary learning from the NUS Board of Undergraduate Studies (BUS) was adopted:  

Interdisciplinary courses integrate perspectives, theoretic frameworks, concepts, tools, and techniques and approaches from two or more conventional disciplines to understand the chosen theme, its challenges, and potential solutions. 

A scan of interdisciplinary courses in both colleges was conducted. Subsequently, the NUS Futures Office was engaged to better develop the study, from which the findings were presented to the NUSTA for feedback and refinement. In developing an evaluation framework, the Accreditation Manual from the Institution of Engineers Singapore was referenced (Institution of Engineers Singapore, n.d.). 

 

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The scan reveals that interdisciplinary courses can be predominantly categorised as either knowledge-/application-focused and adjacent/orthogonal (refer to Figure 1).

Figure 1. Dimensions describing interdisciplinary courses in NUS. 

 

Subsequently, an evaluation framework inspired by the engineering accreditation board (EAB) was developed. The proposed framework consists of 1) interdisciplinary educational objectives (IEOs), and 2) interdisciplinary learning outcomes (ILOs). The former describes the objectives at the programme level, while the latter describes attributes that students should achieve. A total of six ILOs were developed, which are presented in Table 1. Note that courses need not fulfil all the ILOs as courses within the same programme can complement each other to cover the ILOs. 

 

Next, the Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs) in the proposed framework would describe how the specific course maps to the ILOs. An example for CDE2501 “Liveable Cities” is presented in Table 2 as an example. 

 Table 1 
List of interdisciplinary learning outcomes developed in the study 

 

Table 2 
List of interdisciplinary learning outcomes developed in the study 

 

CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE

With these findings, a suggestion towards more application-focused courses is made to provide students to create and test solutions for the community at large. In addition, the proposed framework could be used by faculty members to develop interdisciplinary courses and education programmes, and provide a tool for reflection on current interdisciplinary courses. Finally, the framework could be utilised at the programme level, coupled with alumni and employer surveys and engagements, to assess if the ILOs have been achieved. These suggestions are provided to enhance the interdisciplinary education within NUS on community impact. 

 

REFERENCES

Institution of Engineers Singapore. (n.d) Engineering Accreditation Board Accreditation Manual. https://www.ies.org.sg/Accreditation/EAB10249  

National University of Singapore (2021, 27 August). Two new colleges at NUS to deliver flexible, interdisciplinary education more accessibly, and at greater scale https://news.nus.edu.sg/two-new-colleges-at-nus-to-deliver-flexible-interdisciplinary-education-more-accessibly-and-at-greater-scale/ 

Engaging Students for Community Engagement Courses and Beyond: Overcoming Confirmation Bias

fina Lighting Talks , , , ,

Anne CHONG Suet Lin

Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), NUS
Office of the Provost, NUS

pvoacsl@nus.edu.sg

Chong, A. S. L. (2024). Engaging students for community engagement courses and beyond: Overcoming confirmation bias [Lightning Talk]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-chong

 

SUB-THEME

Others: Engaging Students for Community Engagement Courses

KEYWORDS

Confirmation bias, student engagement, critical thinking, community engagement

CATEGORY

Lightning Talk

EXTENDED ABSTRACT

We are prone to many cognitive biases and logical fallacies despite and sometimes because of our knowledge and experience. One of the most pernicious ones is confirmation bias, which is the tendency to find evidence to confirm pre-existing beliefs (Wason, 1960). The pervasiveness of confirmation bias has led to many undesirable outcomes in societies, as articulately expressed by Nickerson (1998):

If one were to attempt to identify a single problematic aspect of human reasoning that deserves attention above all others, the confirmation bias would have to be among the candidates for consideration. Many have written about this bias, and it appears to be sufficiently strong and pervasive that one is led to wonder whether the bias, by itself, might account for a significant fraction of the disputes, altercations, and misunderstandings that occur among individuals, groups, and nations.

 

In the context of learning, confirmation bias, not only seeks to collect evidence to bolster our beliefs, but more treacherously, it leads us to ignore or undervalue evidence to the contrary. Humans have somehow evolved this tendency to avoid the discomfort of cognitive dissonance and the pitfalls of societal non-conformity (Ling, 2020).

 

To combat confirmation bias, the first crucial step is to bring this very human tendency to the foremost of our awareness (Gilovich et al., 2002). It demands we challenge our pet hypotheses (Lord et al., 1979), forces us to consider others’ viewpoints and overcome the discomfort of finding we possess uncertain information or that we are simply wrong.

 

In this lightning talk, I would like to share a teaching innovation that I have used for two courses in which students already have pre-existing beliefs that impede their learning. Students who take the module GEQ1000 Asking Questions (now discontinued) and a current C&E course, GEN2061, generally come into courses with the beliefs that they know the content already and/or view the lessons as common sense and therefore are disengaged in the learning.

The activity comprises 2 steps:

  1. Ask students to answer a Yes or No question on whether they think the course is useful for them. Their answer will determine the colour of their responses for Step 2.
  2. Ask students to write down their expectations of the course, i.e. what do they think the course can or cannot teach them and colour their posts according to Step 1.
    The placement of students’ posts will show a segregation of colour consistent with confirmation bias that students are not aware of.

 

Using an activity targeted at revealing the existence of confirmation bias leads to the re-engagement of students in the courses, especially when the need for critical and empathetic thinking is brought to the fore.

REFERENCES

Gilovich, T., Griffin, D., & Kahneman, D. (Eds.). (2002). Heuristics and biases: The psychology of intuitive judgment. Cambridge University Press.

Ling, R. (2020). Confirmation bias in the era of mobile news consumption: The social and psychological dimensions. Digital Journalism, 8(5), 596–604. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2020.1766987

Lord, C. G., Ross, L., & Lepper, M. R. (1979). Biased assimilation and attitude polarization: The effects of prior theories on subsequently considered evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(11), 2098-2109. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.37.11.2098

Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 175-220. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175

Wason, P. C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12(3), 129–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470216008416717

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