LBD Advocates to spread 'Learning by Doing' philosophy at HCT campuses

ABU DHABI, January 18, 2013

Twenty-one innovative and highly motivated Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) faculty have been appointed as LBD Advocates in the next phase of HCT's 'Learning by Doing' (LBD) pedagogy.

From Semester Two, which starts on February 10, 2013, HCT's academic programs will emphasize and incorporate the LBD philosophy in order to enhance students' learning, promote the achievement of the HCT learning outcomes and to meet the UAE's workforce needs.

The LBD Advocates, selected from all 17 HCT Colleges, and who are engaged in all six core disciplines, will undergo training with the National Society of Experiential Education (NSEE) so as to build on their existing LBD skills, knowledge and practices and to be able to impart that to other faculty members. The Advocates will undergo intensive training in Dubai from February 5-7, 2013 with NSEE representatives.

"They have been chosen because they are already doing great things with learning by doing in their respective classrooms and we want to train them further to expand on this knowledge," Dr. Mark Drummond, Provost of the Higher Colleges of Technology said.

"This training will help them to solidify their knowledge and skills in this area and they can then train other faculty in LBD principles at their colleges," he added.

The Learning by Doing pedagogy is an educational approach where students gradually acquire essential knowledge and skills through active, self-reflective engagement with the world inside the classroom and beyond, which increases the chance that concepts will be learned, remembered and used in a variety of situations.  

The HCT has already announced that as part of its LBD pedagogy, all first-year BAS students at the 17 Colleges will incorporate mobile technologies in their studies from Semester Two. This will see about 1500 new year-one Bachelor's degree students having access to mobile learning devices.

The consensus among the LBD Advocates as to why they joined the group was due to the opportunities to learn new skills for themselves and to help their students.

"When I look into my students' eyes, staring at me eager to learn more in my classes, this motivates  me every day to give better teaching in my classes, and LBD is the solution for me here, " said one LBD Advocate, Mohammed Abdul Khalik, an Engineering Technology faculty member at the HCT Ras Al Khaimah Men's College.

For Mohammed the LBD teaching method is an intrinsic process. "Since I was a student I learned better from simple LBD activities in classes, and they are still in my memory now," he said.

Another Advocate, Abu Dhabi Women's College Education faculty member, Grace Faure-Bryan eagerly accepted the challenge, saying "I am a great believer in the philosophy of learning actively". "Learning by doing involves being involved or immersed in the learning situation and engaging with the materials or task in a meaningful way, which I believe will result in a deeper understanding of the concepts," Grace added.

For Dr. Neil Hunt, of the Al Ain Women's College Education Department, the LBD philosophy will hold his education students in good stead as they spend a total of 16 weeks teaching in schools, a part of their course. "I strongly believe that this strong practical element allied to a rigorous requirement for reflection and consideration of how their practice achieves standards or competencies has ensured that HCT education graduates are acknowledged as being the most professional in the UAE," he said.

Fellow LBD Advocate, Zainab Al Hussaini, who teaches General Education at Al Ain Women's College, can see many benefits to the LBD Process. "It will increase the students' knowledge of the world around them and also build the students' confidence when solving practical problems, by using critical thinking. Learning will be more enjoyable and interactive and it will allow students to suggest and experiment new ways to improve the system. There is more human/ personal input when dealing with a practical task," she said.

"By implementing LBD I cover the goals of the curriculum by setting up real world challenges for my students. Students love solving the challenges since they are authentic situations that they can identify with. They remember much more, and a great spin-off is that they are assisting their communities in turn," Barry Naidoo, HCT Fujairah Computer and Information Science faculty member said.

Sharjah HCT LBD Advocate Helen Donaghue, who teaches in the General Education Department, said: "This approach will also better prepare them for the world of work. Teachers will also gain better insight into their students' learning by seeing how students manage and achieve tasks."

Dubai HCT Health Sciences faculty member Steven Zay can see numerous advantages to using LBD in his classrooms, rather than older and traditional styles. "LBD helps to develop and consolidate knowledge in a more accelerated way than traditional learning does. It discourages rote learning; keeps students motivated; helps students to become problem solvers and it provides opportunities for interdisciplinary exploration to integrate knowledge and skills," Steven said.

Dr. Najmi Junaid of the Fujairah Men's College Business faculty said with his role as an LBD Advocate, "I want my students to feel personally challenged" in their courses. "Learning can be fun and interesting if it is incorporated with real life examples. Students can learn better when they see, do and reflect. By learning LBD skills, HCT students will become good leaders and better dynamic citizens of the UAE," he added.

HCT students have already embraced some initial LBD practices throughout their courses by way of problem-based projects, critical thinking, work experience and capstone courses.  Some of the LBD projects include:

·         Six Sharjah College students have been selected to model and pioneer the 'mobile learning unit', which takes mobile learning to government schools in Sharjah and highlight its benefits (Sharjah HCT education students);

·         Students are using LBD molecular modelling exercises to predict 3D structures of unknown molecules (Dubai HCT Health Science students);

·         Students have developed a Smart Wheelchair for assisting blind people at a local hospital (Fujairah CIS students);

·         Students have created an environmentally friendly Smart home system that monitors and controls the amount of electricity used (Fujairah CIS students);

·         HCT Engineering students have entered into the Northrop-Grumman Corporation sponsored unmanned aerial vehicle Innovation Challenge competition, to be contested on April 23-24, 2013 (All HCT Colleges);

·         Students are managing aspects of the Fujairah Men's College Green Initiative (Fujairah HCT Business students);

·         Training & Development students have conducted software training sessions with the Foundations students (RAK HCT Business students);

·         Senior students are creating iBooks for Foundation Program students (Sharjah Colleges CIS students);

·         Students have worked with the Sharjah Wildlife Center to create a website with animations about birdlife in the UAE (Sharjah Colleges CIS students).

-Ends-

About the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT)
Founded in 1988 with four colleges, The Higher Colleges of Technology has grown to be the largest of the higher educational institutions in the UAE, gaining a well-respected reputation for innovative learning. More than 18,000 students attend 17 modern men's and women's campuses in the cities of Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Fujairah and the western region cities of Madinat Zayed and Ruwais.

HCT offers a wide range of English-taught programs in Applied Communications, Business, Education, Engineering Technology, Computer & Information Science, General Education and Health Sciences.  These programs are all relevant to the UAE's fast growing and evolving economic sectors.  All programs are designed in consultation with business and industry leaders to ensure that the skills students learn are job-relevant and to high standards. They are constantly monitored to ensure they are at the cutting edge of industry standards and technological change. Visit www.hct.ac.ae

For more information contact:
Paul Lancaster
HCT Communication Department.
Phone: 02 404 8543
Mobile: 050 616 0964
Email: paul.lancaster@hct.ac.ae

© Press Release 2013