Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Risk Management

Should there be one Risk Management Committee to identify all the risks and opportunities?

While working as assistant coordinator of our department's quality assurance committee, I finished the internal auditor course (ISO 9001:2015) with SGS Oman. In 2018, I then conducted research comparing the processes in ISO 9001:2015 with the audit being conducted by the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA). One of the findings of the study revealed that our university/college has a distinct and separate Risk Management Committee/Unit for each of the departments. These committees are tasked with identifying the risks and opportunities of each department. However,  ISO 9001:2015 has adopted the "risk-based thinking" and "risk assessment is a main component of the process at each level of the system." 

The study then recommended that each process in the department of the university/college identify its own risks and opportunities. For example, the "Exam Committee" identify its own risks and the other committees also identify their own risks. Risk-based thinking requires companies to evaluate risk when establishing processes. As such, one committee should not identify all the risks and opportunities in a department.

(I presented the results of this research at the Smart Education and Technology Symposium (SETS) 2018, held at Ibra College of Technology, Ibra, Oman, on March 27, 2018.)

Can we teach the English language using the native language of the place?

 Can we teach the English language using the native language of the place? 

Yes. One of the techniques in teaching the English language is the Grammar-Translation Method (GTM). In this method, "the meaning of the target language is made clear by translating it into the students’ native language. The language that is used in class is MOSTLY the students’ native language." [Larsen-Freeman, D. & Anderson, M. (2016). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.]. The extent of the use of the native language in teaching also depends on the previous exposure of the learners to the target language. So it doesn't mean that the native language will be used as the SOLE language in teaching the English language if the learners have some experience with the target language. In this case, the native language is merely used to make the meanings of the English words or phrases clear if the beginning learners are having difficulty in comprehension. For example, I want to learn Arabic. At the start, my teacher will teach Arabic to me in English since I am a beginning learner. Eventually, the use of English in teaching Arabic decreases as I become proficient in the language. The goal of the GTM is to enable the learners to read and translate words/phrases/sentences from English to their native language, since it is believed that one of the signs that the learner understands the target language is to be able to translate it to his/her native language.  

Cart before the horse: Integrating Technology in the Classroom.

Simply put, "putting the cart before the horse"  means doing things in the wrong order.  

The cart represents "technology" and the "horse" represents "pedagogy."  The figure above illustrates how some people tend to decide first the kind of technology to be used for teaching rather than the reason or purpose for using the technology. Instead, pedagogy should dictate how to use the technology and what kind of technology to use in online learning.  For instance, the first consideration in online learning is how to put the following processes in into online teaching:

Face-to-face Learning	Online Learning	Technology to be used (What technology can be used to electronically send/deliver the files/activities to the students?)
Syllabus/Delivery Plan   (The hard copies are given to the students.)	How should the materials be given/delivered to the students online?	email?
Books/Hand-outs/Worksheets (The hard copies are given to the students.)	How should the materials be given/delivered to the students online?	email?
Classroom Teaching	How should teaching be done? fully online? blended?	MS Teams? Google Classroom? Zoom?
Quizzes and Examinations	How should quizzes or tests be administered? fully online? blended? How to prevent plagiarism?	MS Forms? Google Forms? Moodle?  How to prevent plagiarism?

(The author has presented this study at the 20th Oman International ELT Conference last October 14-15, 2020. The author hopes to publish the full paper/research.)

Paano ang tamang paggawa ng powerpoint?

5 M's of Management

5 Ms of Management
1.  Men
2.  Material
3.  Machines
4.  Method
5.  Money

from:  http://www.a4lsd.in/sml.aspx

Japanese 5 "S" Discipline: The key to Keeping our workplace neat everyday

Do you want your table/office to look like this even at the end of a busy day? The Japanese has some advice how to do it.

The Japanese are known for their discipline and they have recommended the FIVE "S" for  "good housekeeping techniques" to maintain a clean workplace. 

Japanese 5 “S”

1. seiri (sort)

2. seiton (stabilize, systematic Arrangement, set)

3. seiso (shine)

4. seiketsu (standardize)

5. shitsuke  (sustain)

At the end of the day, you leave your workplace clean and be ready to start the work fresh for the next day. 

Are you preparing teacher-made instructional materials? Here's a guide

Preliminary Considerations in Designing Teaching Materials

(by Howard, J, et. al., Christchurch College of Education, New Zealand[1])

Preliminary Considerations

1. Contextualization

a.  The teaching material is aimed at a specific group of learners or a particular cultural or educational context.

b.   Resources – Teachers should consider the use of the best resources available in their teaching context.

2.   2. Individual Needs

a.  Modern teaching methodology increasingly emphasizes the importance of identifying and teaching to the individual needs of learners.

b. Teacher-designed materials should be responsive to the heterogeneity inherent in the classroom.

c.   In addition, teacher-prepared materials provide the opportunity to select texts and activities at exactly the right level for particular learners, to ensure appropriate challenge and levels of success.

3.  3.  Personalization – The teaching material should tap into the interests and take account of the learning styles of students.

4.  4.  Timeliness – Teachers should design their own materials to respond to local and international events with up-to-date, relevant and high-interest topics and tasks.

5.  5.  Organization

a.  The teaching materials should be organized around an identifiable principle and follow a discernible pattern throughout while this can be rather dull and boring. However, without some overall organizing principle, materials may be piecemeal and can result in poorly focused activities lacking clear direction.

b.  Physical organisation and storage of materials – Without a clearly thought-through and well-organised system, teacher-produced materials may be difficult to locate for ongoing use, or may end up damaged or with parts missing.

6.  6.    Quality – The materials should not contain errors, be properly constructed, clear in layout and print and durable.

7.   7.  Time – The teachers must passionately believe in the materials.

8.  Pilot Testing (Trial Period) - The materials are pilot-tested before they are used by all the teachers and the learners.  

(*Note: I added number eight.)

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[1] Christchurch College was a college of education founded in 1873 located in Christchurch, New Zealand until it was amalgamated with the University of Canterbury and formed a new Faculty of Education with the university’s School of Education.