Title: Envisioning Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

ISBN: 978-967-2048-15-2    |    eISBN: 978-967-2048-17-6

Pages: 158 pages

Synopsis: The Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint has emphasized the role of institutions of higher learning in adopting and promoting 21st Century innovations in teaching and learning to enhance students’ learning experiences. To date, there are limited scholarly publications in the current market that target innovations in the field of engineering, technology and science education, specifically within the higher education classroom and programme levels. This book thus hopes to contribute to this area.

Teaching and Learning is a high priority at Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP). The Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETaL) was established in 2014 to look into ways in which teaching and learning practices at the university could be made more innovative and effective in line with the current needs of the industry, and the key shifts within the Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint.

In line with promoting innovation in teaching and learning within the higher education classroom, UTP, via CETaL, established the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) cluster to advocate the importance of educational and action research efforts to spur a more impactful learning experience for students. The SoTL grant scheme was established in 2015 to provide opportunities for UTP academics to explore possibilities of experimenting with new teaching methods in the classroom to create greater engagement and interaction between lecturers and students. The university has also transitioned from a teacher centered to a student-centered approach to teaching, using among others, Active Learning, Cooperative Learning, Problem-based Learning and Technology Enhanced Blended Learning methods.

The articles in this book emphasise on curriculum innovation, innovative assessment, technology and non-technology enhanced T&L approaches that can be utilized by educators in institutions of higher learning to create an active and engaging higher education classroom. In tandem with the principles of SoTL that advocate the sharing of research publically, the collection of chapters in this book does just this, through a showcase of the range of innovations in teaching and learning undertaken by beginning educational researchers of the university, who have just started to embark on action and educational research. We hope that this book would inspire more beginning researchers within these areas to consider the possibilities of delving into similar research efforts in their own institutions.