Intra-team peer assessments have become the norm for performance and attribute assessment in problem and project based learning activities. However, research on the effects of interpersonal... Show More

Intra-team peer assessments have become the norm for performance and attribute assessment in problem and project based learning activities. However, research on the effects of interpersonal variables on these assessment practices is limited. This study examined the relationship between interpersonal variables and student perceptions on the validity of peer assessment. In order to understand the relationship between social interaction and its effects on peer assessment, four interpersonal variables were identified in this study: psychological safety, value diversity, interdependence, and trust. Fifty five undergraduate engineering students working in teams of 5 to 6 participated in a survey after having completed their first formative peer assessment. Preliminary findings from this study and evidence from other studies support the view that interpersonal variables have the potential to affect peer assessment and influence the learning outcomes.

Teaching experience shows that programming is time consuming and can be acquired with substantial practice. Besides, students need to know whether their solutions are correct or incorrect and the... Show More

Teaching experience shows that programming is time consuming and can be acquired with substantial practice. Besides, students need to know whether their solutions are correct or incorrect and the root causes of their errors. Thus, teaching programming in a large class requires considerably many teaching assistants, which is costly. More importantly, a communication means that can support students virtually any time is also desirable. In order to handle these problems, a static method was applied to build an online intelligent tutoring system that can assist students checking their solutions. In addition, when detecting the errors, this system can suggest students to investigate the suspected code. This feature is really significant for students to self-practice and improve their learning.

Structural Dynamics has gained prominence recently due to (i) vibration problems in slender structures that have emerged as a result of new materials technology and aesthetic requirements, (ii)... Show More

Structural Dynamics has gained prominence recently due to (i) vibration problems in slender structures that have emerged as a result of new materials technology and aesthetic requirements, (ii) ageing bridge structures whose health needs to be monitored and appropriate retrofitting carried out to prevent failure and (iii) increased vulnerability of structures to seismic, impact and blast loads. Knowledge of structural dynamics is necessary to address these issues and their consequences. In recent times, structural dynamics research has generated considerable amount of new knowledge to address these issue, but this is not readily available to practicing engineers as very little or none of it enters the class rooms. This paper argues for the need to include structural dynamics and the new research knowledge into the syllabus of all civil engineering courses, especially those with a major in structural engineering. This will enable our future structural engineers to design and maintain safe and efficient structures.

The paper discusses the results of an action research to improve teaching practice which applied the philosophy of Knowledge – Experiential – Self-regulated (KES) at the Malaysia-Japan International... Show More

The paper discusses the results of an action research to improve teaching practice which applied the philosophy of Knowledge – Experiential – Self-regulated (KES) at the Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The teaching and learning strategies were implemented to achieve the following objectives; (i) to enhance students' mathematical competencies; (ii) to support self-regulated learning; and (iii) to improve the teaching practice of Engineering Mathematics 3 i.e. Advanced Calculus. A modification to a previously developed framework by Roselainy et al. (2012a) was performed to encourage students to adopt self-regulated learning behaviour in an active learning environment. The teaching, learning and assessment activities were aligned constructively based on the theory of Biggs & Tang (2010). Data was collected, analysed and later employed to modify the teaching and learning activities. The findings found that it is imperative for teachers to design an appropriate learning environment and apply suitable strategies in encouraging and supporting students to embrace and take charge of their own learning.

Technology plays a critical role in delivering modern education to the next generation. Proper and effective use of technology is extremely important especially for distance education. Students who... Show More

Technology plays a critical role in delivering modern education to the next generation. Proper and effective use of technology is extremely important especially for distance education. Students who enrol in distance mode have a number of limitations as most of them work full time along with the commitments to the family. Distance education in engineering has its own unique set of challenges; it has to ensure the learning outcomes are met through the content, delivery style and assessment strategies. It also has to ensure the distance students are provided a learning experience at par with on campus students in terms of access to laboratory facilities and hands on experience. The Project Oriented Design Based Learning model drives the learning through a design based project and employs a blended learning environment to address the challenges faced in distance engineering education. This paper discusses technology integration for the distance students based on the Project Oriented Design Based Learning.

Online instructional technology supports an organization's capability in the online environment for training hands-on skills. This study uses the modeling theory by developing an online three-stage... Show More

Online instructional technology supports an organization's capability in the online environment for training hands-on skills. This study uses the modeling theory by developing an online three-stage training environment of technical skills. This paper describes the implementation of the online environment for the course “making of a network cable”, and evaluates the effectiveness of the online method. A survey was used in comparing the online instruction with face-to-face teaching by using the following criteria: learning content's presentation; students' attitude; students' completion of the skills; the effectiveness of online learning; the organisational capability of online courses; the requirement of IT skills for online teachers. The results prove that effective teaching strategies can encourage the learners to practice technical skills in online courses.