Keynote speaker, Dr. Logendra talked about theories surrounding student-centred learning.

A participant during the question and answer session.

A participant during the question and answer session.

Kuala Lumpur, 23 January 2010 - Realising the need to expose academicians to student-centred learning methods, UCSI University’s Centre for Learning Excellence constantly provides platforms for lecturers and other academicians to practice and learn more about student-centred learning. Today, the Centre kicked off their first Student-Centred Learning Symposium, which five UCSI University lecturers presented their findings and experiences from executing student-centred learning methods. The symposium was opened by Dr. Logendra Stanley Ponniah who is the Head of Teaching and Educational Development at Taylor’s University College. 

Dr. Logendra talked to lecturers on various theories and best practices involving student-centred learning. Student-centred learning is an approach which focuses on the needs of students, rather than those involved in the educational process. This method, practiced widely at UCSI University, puts students first in the learning process, acknowledging their “voices” as central to the learning experience of every learner. 

Dr. Logendra’s keynote address was followed by a presentation by Associate Professor Dr. P’ng Tean Hwa, the Associate Dean for the School of Music. His presentation focused on the Problem-Based Learning techniques applied by the School of Music, and how music students are assessed and evaluated. Mr. Andrew Tennant, (New Zealand) a lecturer from the Faculty of Applied Sciences presented “Spoon Feed Me That Memorisation”, detailing his unique insight into the minds of Malaysian students from a foreigner’s perspective. According to Mr. Tennant, his main aim is to emphasise the three main ingredients which contribute to an ideal student-centred learning experience, which are: curiosity, passion and intelligence. 

Ms. Shahrinaz Ismail, from the Faculty of Management and Information Technology, then presented her paper entitled “Class Management with Social Network as a Platform for Collaborative Online Tools”. Ms. Shahrinaz’s paper outlines her research which used online networking websites such as Facebook, as a platform to connect and communicate with her students. According to her, social networking sites have gone beyond just being a hobby to students. “Youth nowadays view these sites as an extension of their lives, and this makes it a viable platform to reach out to them.” She goes on to explain how she uses the social networking sites to get students to collaborate with each other for group assignments, give out assignments and give that can help them better understand assignments and subjects. The same paper presented by Ms. Shahrinaz has recently won the Best Paper award at the International Conference on Research and Innovation in Information Systems organised by UiTM. 

Two other speakers, Mr. James Yeow and Dr. Jimmy Mok presented their papers entitled “Student-centred Learning: A Personal Experience” and “Enhancing Student Learning Through Research” respectively. Mr. Yeow spoke of his personal experience while implementing student-centred learning theories in his teaching, while Dr. Mok demonstrated how his in the School of Engineering students are exposed to research-based activities, giving them the opportunity to create and patent new products. 

UCSI University’s Centre for Learning Excellence has been active in training academicians at the University to promote Student-Centred Learning. Apart from this, the Centre also recruits student volunteers to participate in the Peer-Assisted Study Session (PASS) programme to raise the quality of results across all fields of study at the University. The Centre also recruits students for the Writing Mentors programme, a programme where students mentor their peers to improve their writing skills.