| Azlan Othman |
THERE is a need to craft education curricula and innovative teaching practices and techniques that respond to the advances in technology and continually inspire our students to meet the challenges faced in the 21st Century.
This can be done through the teaching of lifelong skills in which the content is well rooted in commendable values as stipulated in the nation’s Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB) philosophy which should permeate in all levels of education.
This was said by Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education, at the official opening of the 2nd Politeknik Brunei International Symposium 2016 at Pengiran Anak Puteri Hajah Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah (PAPRSB) Institute of Health Science, Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD).
“At the Ministry of Education, educational innovation is one of the key priorities. The sharing of educational innovation offers avenues for producing quality teachers and educators in all areas and at all levels. Our educators need to be able to fully utilise ICT in teaching and should not fear its use,” the minister added.
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi added that in order to ensure relevance and competitiveness in the 21st Century, “it is imperative for us to have the drive to continually innovate and improve education practices. Thus, I would like to encourage educators to continue to improve the quality of their teaching and teaching programmes and to work closely and build strong relationships with one another.”
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education, delivering his speech. PHOTOS: AZROL AZMI
Pehin Orang Kaya Indera Pahlawan Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Suyoi bin Haji Osman, the Minister of Education, in a group photo
“In today’s globalised world that we live in, with a multitude of web tools that are easily available, a student with sufficient motivation could now basically learn what he wants, when he wants and from who he wants. I also believe we need to push boundaries by challenging the traditional assumptions and it gives the students the opportunities to do all these things and we indeed need to change,” he added.
The minister said over the years, the ministry has progressed much in raising the standards in quality of teaching and learning largely through education innovation. Education innovation is certainly one platform for providing quality education which essentially should be shared by all education institutions, private, public, mainstream or specialised.
Education through digital learning technologies should evolve through innovation and target to help our students cope with technological changes. The students of today should be independent and be equipped with problem solving skills, to become creative thinkers and think outside the box. More importantly, they need to be innovative and ready for the future.
It is also crucial for education practices to harness advances in new technologies to enhance the learning experiences of students.
“It is through technology that we can develop deeper understanding of other cultures around the world and connect with these cultures outside the comfort of the classroom, which is easily done with a swipe on our IT devices. This is what we mean by development in today’s technology. It is not happening in the future but is happening today,” the minister added.
Meanwhile, Denis Ho Mun Tai, the Acting Director of Politeknik Brunei, said Politeknik Brunei will continue to work towards embracing whatever changes brought about by the continuous changes in the use of technology, by ensuring that innovative teaching and learning approaches are adopted effectively by all lecturers in the delivery of their lessons.
“We are optimistic that the participants will be able to explore and adopt some of the best practices in innovative teaching and learning used to keep their students engaged and engrossed in learning,” he said.
The symposium is held for two days (May 28 and May 30) and is organised by the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning of Politeknik Brunei and supported by PAPRSB Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam as a platform to promote continuous professional development of the teaching staff.
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