All learning possibilities start here

Mega learning studios for NTU’s interdisciplinary courses

by Kenny Chee / Photos by Don Tan / Video by Ivan Yap

Your company has developed a product that helps with caring for the elderly, and you need to run a booth at a trade fair to explain to prospective customers – senior citizens – what’s so special about it.

How should you design your booth? How should you pitch your product to the elderly? Are there safety issues and cultural sensitivities you need to consider?

Welcome to an Interdisciplinary Collaborative Core (ICC) curriculum lesson that NTU students are taking this semester in one of NTU’s biggest flipped classrooms.

The “trade fair” was a class activity conducted in August this year for a module called Science and Technology for Humanity under the ICC that all NTU undergraduates take in their first two years.

During the activity, half the class designed and ran “booths” from their desks to promote their group’s eldercare project.

The other half roleplayed as senior citizens checking out the different projects. The roles were reversed later.

At the end of the exercise, Dr Jeremy Sng, one of the coordinators of the module, asked students to recommend booths they found memorable and explain what caught their eye. Students who ran these booths presented to the class after that.

“It created a very positive and encouraging climate in class,” says Dr Sng, who is also a School of Social Sciences lecturer. “I saw how creative the students could be in developing and executing campaign ideas to engage the elderly or discuss solemn topics like advance care planning.”

Class exercises like the “trade fair” would have been impossible to conduct when lessons were held in conventional classrooms.

But in two new learning studios, called the ICC ColLABs, that opened to students in the new academic year at the Experimental Medicine Building on the main NTU campus, such large-scale activities can be done. One of the ColLABs can hold about 170 students, while the other can fit up to 210. Currently, two ICC modules held in the ColLABs are capped at around 160 students per class.

WHAT IS ICC?

Announced in 2020 as part of NTU’s strategic plan to transform education and innovation at the university, ICC aims to develop key transferable skills and prepare students to tackle complex global challenges. The curriculum does so by helping them to make intellectual connections quickly and easily across disciplines, as well as acquire skills that can apply to any job. These include communication skills, collaboration abilities, career skills, digital fluency and ethical reasoning.

The first ICC classes began in 2021, with lessons covering topics like critical thinking and writing, ethics, navigating the digital world, innovative enterprise, sustainability and wellbeing.

“The coordinators of the Healthy Living and Wellbeing module create a safe environment for discussions during lessons. Their approach to teaching is also interactive and emphasises reflective and introspective learning. The course materials have been relevant and practical, focusing on important yet often neglected topics such as self-care and practical ways to deal with stress. This makes every lesson exceptionally meaningful and memorable.”

 Zachary Tio, second-year electrical and electronic engineering student

Unlike lecture theatres, the classrooms are designed to split students into groups of up to six across 29 to 35 tables. Students work in the same group for the two ICC modules throughout the semester.

All ICC lessons are taught using the flipped classroom concept – students watch online lesson videos in their own time and then head to tutorial rooms and, for two modules, the ColLABs, where they take quizzes and work on group assignments that involve class presentations.

NEW FEATURES

The new ColLABs were specially built for the interdisciplinary curriculum and sport features that make learning more engaging and interactive.

1) Mic, camera, present!

Whenever a student switches on the microphone at his ColLAB table to present, one of several cameras fitted to the ceiling activates, and the audience can see a video feed of him and his team broadcast on several monitors on the classroom’s walls.

This allows other students to put a face to the presenter and his group mates, which can help the students connect better with them.

While presenting to a large class with the mic and camera set-up was initially daunting, students HEY! spoke to say they have become accustomed  to it. Some students added that being able to present from their desks helps the more reserved ones.

For those who worry that their class participation grade for an ICC module will be affected if they don’t regularly get the chance to present in such a large class, their fears are unfounded. The ICC coordinators say class presentations are only one of several ways students are assessed.

“We also take into consideration the quality of their discussions during groupwork, their presentation to peers at the cluster level, and their work posted online. Students who don’t get a chance to present in class won’t be penalised,” says Dr Sng.

“After a few sessions, you’ll be acquainted with the people you meet every week. So, you’ll be a lot more comfortable sharing your ideas and presenting to the whole class with over a hundred students compared to the first session when you might get intimidated by the camera and microphone.”

Ismath Sultana Binti Sirajudeen, second-year chemistry and biological chemistry student

2) Monitor mirrorverse

Students can share their laptop screens with others easily at the ColLABs, which helps those present follow class discussions and presentations. During a group discussion, a student can share his computer screen with the adjustable monitor at his group’s table using a wired connection.

With the press of a button, he can mirror his screen on the monitors at six to eight surrounding tables during discussions with nearby groups. Pressing another button, his laptop screen can be broadcast to most of the monitors in the room for class presentations.

Alternatively, students can also share the screen of their phones, tablets or computers with the whole class using Wi-Fi.

Students say being able to share their laptop screens with the 24-inch table monitors is useful. In the past, many of them showed slides on their smaller laptop screens directly to peers during discussions, which made it harder to see the slides being presented.

“Presenting at your table means you don’t have to stand in the centre or front of the room or stage. Having to do so for presentations can be uncomfortable for people who are shy. When you’re sitting with your peers, you’ll be more
confident to speak. So shy students can also present their ideas rather than have more confident students take over.”

Justin Choo, second-year economics student

3) Sound masking

A little-known feature of the ColLABs is that module coordinators can pipe ambient background sound through the classrooms’ speakers during lessons. The inconspicuous sound can be easily mistaken for the hum of an air-conditioner.

The purpose of the ambient sound is to help mask the chatter of people in other groups during discussions. It does so by making their speech harder to make out and thus less distracting. This can help students focus more on their own group exchanges since a class can have over 100 people.

“You can go over to another group and share your computer’s screen on that group’s table monitor easily. Everyone can just focus on one screen and follow what you’re talking about, which helps inter-group discussions go smoothly.”

– Bryan Oh (right), second-year business and computer science student

ICC COLLAB

IN NUMBERS

1. Cameras that can capture video feed of a presenter when table microphone is on

2. Laptop, tablet and phone screen mirroring to other monitors in the classroom

3. Touchscreen monitor that lets coordinators make real-time annotations on slides

NEW SKILLS, NEW PERSPECTIVES

ICC coordinators aim to encourage learning behaviours that give students a leg up when they enter the working world.

For instance, Dr Sng says that when designing and executing class activities, his main aim is to inculcate soft skills.

For students unsure why they should even pick up knowledge outside their areas of study, ICC instructors say that interdisciplinary skills are now vital.

Dr Le Chencheng, a coordinator for the Sustainability: Society, Economy and Environment ICC module, held in the ColLabs, says that current global challenges, such as ageing populations and climate change, require complex analyses integrating interdisciplinary concepts from both the humanities and technological fields to tackle.

People need to be able to work in teams comprising members from different disciplines like sales and engineering as well, adds Dr Le, who is an Asian School of the Environment lecturer.

“In this era of information explosion where attention is a scarce commodity, being able to present and communicate one’s ideas effectively will stand students in good stead regardless of their future career paths.”

Dr Jeremy Sng, ICC coordinator and School of Social Sciences lecturer

“In today’s complex working environment, you need both STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and non-STEM skills. Employers are also looking for people with diverse skills. For example, scientists increasingly need to have a business mindset, while non-STEM practitioners need technical knowledge and mathematical literacy.”

Dr Le Chencheng, ICC coordinator and Asian School of the Environment lecturer

In line with this, ICC instructors encourage students to learn how to apply both the sciences and the arts to consider issues and solve problems.

For instance, when discussing about meat grown from cells in laboratories, Dr Le gets students to think about ethical issues like whether it’s okay to grow human meat, as well as technological aspects like the feasibility of growing fish meat since this can already be done with chicken meat.

Some students are worried that the large class sizes of the ColLABs might mean instructors don’t have as much time to engage with students as before when lessons were conducted in smaller tutorial rooms.

To try and mitigate this, there are four instructors in each ColLAB lesson, with each assigned to mentor and advise a cluster of students. With no more than 160 students per ColLAB class, this translates to about 40 students per instructor. Tutorial classes for some non-ICC courses can be larger, with up to 50 students in a class.

“Even as a humanities student, I felt I could be better in my communication and presentation skills. Presenting my findings in the ICC classes was good practice that helped me to do well in an interview for an internship. That was quite empowering.”

Sherryl Vania, second-year linguistics and multilingual studies student

“Some ICC modules had fewer opportunities for us to apply some of the technical skills taught in class. But I like the more structured courses, such as the one on ethics – we could apply what we learnt in our assignments.”
Bryan Oh

“ICC instructors are still able to give their attention to the students,” says Dr Sng. “In fact, because we use a flipped classroom concept, we have more time to walk around and listen in or nudge students’ discussions.”

He adds: “Students are also free to approach us if they have questions. The class feels less formal than a regular classroom so it has encouraged students to speak up and raise questions as well.”

A larger class also means more perspectives can be shared during presentations, which adds to the learning experience.

Says economics student Justin Choo: “The ColLAB hosts about four times the number of students compared with a regular tutorial classroom. So, there are a lot more views and ideas from different students.”

“Each ICC module that I’ve taken has broadened my horizons and allowed me to think critically. For instance, in one module, I was able to analyse underlying developments that might not be obvious. After taking another module, I now place more significance on wellbeing, both physical and mental. For example, I’m trying hard to ensure that I have healthier sleeping habits.”

Joe Goh, second-year electrical and electronic engineering student

“When our group worked on a project to encourage healthy living and wondered how intuitive our app solution would be, the engineering students provided perspectives that I feel I wouldn’t have been able to see on my own, such as on the app’s user interface.”

Germaine Wong, second-year communication student


Students sharing project ideas with other groups.

Wellbeing course helped him through rough patch

Second-year economics major Justin Choo had a tough time adjusting to student life in his first year. But the Healthy Living and Wellbeing ICC course he took at NTU in his first semester last year was a lifesaver. Here’s what he says about the module:

“Starting university felt like the toughest time for me. There were a lot of things going on, both personally and academically. I had just completed my full-time National Service one to two weeks earlier and had to adapt from being a soldier to being a student. I also switched disciplines – I applied for economics at NTU instead of following up on my polytechnic studies in environmental and water technology.

It was quite stressful. I wasn’t enjoying my meals and I wasn’t mindful of my own emotions. However, the Healthy Living and Wellbeing course I attended, taught by Assoc Prof Andy Ho from the School of Social Sciences, really resonated with me.

His lesson on understanding stress and fostering self-care was truly impactful and made me more aware of what I was going through. Even though he was speaking in a pre-recorded lesson video, it felt like he was talking directly to me.

Assoc Prof Ho’s meditation and mindfulness training has been very useful for students like me who are adjusting to changes. It can help us calm our minds and focus on the here and now instead of being bogged down by unconstructive thoughts. His lessons really made my day and I’m certain that they will translate to lifelong practices for me.”

This story was published in the Oct-Dec 2022 issue of HEY!. To read it and other stories from this issue in PDF format, click here.