An Australian learning experience
SUNWAY College, one of the pioneer twinning programme providers in Malaysia, offers a curriculum identical to Victoria University ( VU) Melbourne, Australia.
One of the ways of assuring Sunway College provides a true Australian learning experience is via Burst Mode or Block Teaching, whereby academic staff from VU Australia visit to teach the students and exchange ideas on their teaching experience with the academic team on the VU Bachelor of Business programme at Sunway College every semester.
Kathy Michael, Steven Wdowik and Dr Maxwell Winchester from VU Melbourne visited Sunway College for their block teaching stint last year.
They were also here to ensure the quality of the VU programme delivery standards, and to plan and implement the latest teaching strategies and methodologies at Sunway College, which had already been tested and delivered in Australia.
Michael and Wdowik from VU’s School of Accounting and Finance are teaching Management Accounting, and Credit and Lending Decisions respectively.
They introduced and rolled out “virtual office hours” at Sunway College.
The “virtual office hours” is an innovative programme introduced by the VU Accounting Faculty to engage international offshore students in virtual classrooms.
It accommodates multiple learning styles through the use of web, audio, video, instant messaging, shared interactive whiteboard and social networking.
Michael said, “Through the virtual office hours, dates and times are scheduled, which will give students opportunities to hop online and engage with their Australian Unit Offshore Coordinators about coursework wherever they are. This provides a real improvement in the quality of their educational experience as students can feel more connected with the entire VU programme.”
Bachelor of Business ( Marketing) discipline leader Dr Winchester, on the other hand, was here to teach a Marketing module and discuss with Sunway College VU Bachelor of Business Programme head Greeja Hemalata De Silva the plan of moving away from the conventional delivery model of Marketing modules from the current two- hour lecture and one- hour tutorial into a three- hour seminar.
“Seminars are directed at a much smaller group than lectures but at a bigger group than tutorials, ideally with about 40 to 50 students in a group.
“The benefits of running seminars within a three- hour duration is that when we have covered a lecture topic, rather than testing their understanding in tutorials the following week, students will now get to stop and immediately reflect on that topic.
“This provides the opportunity to discuss, question and do a case study on the topic.
“We have been practising this in the Marketing units in Melbourne and we found that students’ learning experience is enhanced with a higher retention of learning content, a better attendance rate and an improved relationship between lecturers and students,” said Dr Winchester.
With experience encompassing more than 25 years in teaching, he believes that the greatest reward of teaching is watching students grow and making a difference in their lives.
The VU Melbourne lecturers on the block teaching visits have been satisfied with the Sunway College VU students and lecturers.
The block teaching visits have been proven to be effective in assuring that the syllabi, assignments, tests and examinations are identical to VU Melbourne.
By studying locally, Malaysians can also enjoy a substantial cost savings in acquiring a reputable Australian degree, without having to leave home.
VU, established in 1916, is a highly respected, multidisciplinary university based in Melbourne, Australia.
This year, it celebrates its centenary on the founding of VU’s predecessor, the Footscray Technical School, in February 1916.
VU Melbourne’s partnership with Sunway College is the longest, largest and most stable among all its international partnerships.
For details about Victoria University Bachelor of Business at Sunway College, visit http:// sunway. edu. my/ college/ vubusiness, e- mail info@ sunway. edu. my or call 03- 7491 8622.