UniSZA IDFalsafah Pengajaran dan Pembelajaran
My concept of learning
Learning and teaching are two drivers of knowledge. For me, learning always comes before teaching, but teaching does not always follow after learning. Learning allows me to only know about something, but teaching forces me to deeply understand it, carefully apply it and creatively deliver it to others. Therefore for a successful learning situation, one should resort into teaching others on what he/she has learnt, and that is exactly how I set my mind and the minds of my students in order to master a knowledge, especially in the science-based subjects that I teach.
My concept of teaching
As a lecturer who comes from an engineering background, I always stress on the importance of critical thinking and knowledge application in problem solving. Besides that, nurturing soft skills such as in leadership and communication, is of paramount importance. These are all achieved through various activities inside and outside my class, for example laboratory experiments that mimic the works by a QC officer in the food industry; assignments with real-life situations and problems to solve; group works that require brainstorming, job delegation, and on-time delivery; and so forth. The achievement is measured through different evaluation tools such as group reports, oral presentations with Q&A session, quizzes, peer assessment and many others.
My goals for students
At the end of each semester, I hope my students achieve the course learning outcomes (CLO) that I carefully design for the course I teach. Besides gaining new knowledge on the subject and score good marks in the exams, students should master the practical skills related to the subject and appreciate the knowledge applications in the industry and day-to-day life.
My interaction with students
I always regard my students as future food technologists in various application fields. Therefore I respect their right to politely oppose my opinions, argue with theories I presented, and professionally share their thoughts and ideas in class discussions. I also put myself as an older brother to my students, so that the barrier between us is not too high, thus allowing me to give brotherly advices and critics on their behaviours, manners as well as future prospects.
My professional growth
As an academic, I really hope that I can excel in teaching, without jeopardizing my other commitments in research, publication, management etc. I have to focus teaching the subjects of interest and expert, so that I can really improvise my lecture content, teaching methods and skills to help my students build some interest and ultimately appreciate what they have learnt. Additionally, I must also have the mindset of learning from my students through their feedbacks, presentations and teaching evaluation. I will only grow if I am willing to learn. May this humbling journey continues till the end of my life, so that I can become a better person day by day.
