Page 57 - Reimagining Higher Education : Case Studies On Designing For Inclusion, Equity, And Access In The Buka Project

P. V. Arumugam & J. S. Emmanuel · Course learning re-design, capacity building and

learner engagement - Wawasan Open University (WOU), Malaysia

3 ODL in the 21st Century 36

Supporting and Engaging Students during Online/Synchronous
4 38
Tutorials: Motivational Design Process Model
5 Online Forum Discussions for Post-Graduate Courses 32
6 Formulating Rubrics for ODL Assignments 36

7 Authentic Tasks in ODL Assignments 43
8 FlexLearn Clinic for Course Leads 58

All the training listed in Table 3 align well with the objectives of the WOU
BUKA project as well as the main objectives of the BUKA project itself, with respect

to academic sta capacity building.

Module Design/Learning Material Development

As described in the methodology above, WOU self-instructional materials contain

five substantial units that are spread over the duration of the module and have five

related tutorial sessions. In 2020, WOU transitioned from a twenty-week term to
the current fourteen-week term system. Keeping with the decrease in the number

of weeks in a term, the number of tutorial sessions was also reduced to three.
Fewer tutorial sessions within a shorter term led to issues concerning

students’ ability to manage the cognitive load for a specific term. To overcome
that, WOU created a study schedule for all courses that divides the learning

materials into ten weeks. This structured learning guide was expected to manage

the anxiety that may come with the shorter-term system. The SIMs still followed a
five-unit approach delivered in a three-tutorial session format, supported by a

course schedule organised around a ten week period. This eventually resulted in

confusion among the students and the experiment that was conducted here aimed
to reduce the confusion.

As an experiment, one course (Economics for Business) was developed,
following a ten-unit approach supported by a ten-week course schedule delivered

within a three-tutorial session format. As the units and the course schedule
matched, it was easier to communicate with students about the structure of the

module. The units were bite-sized which made them more manageable. Keeping in

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