LEARNING BETTER WAYS TO TEACH AND TRAIN

"Learning is a never ending road."

This desire for self-improvement is what drove Military Expert (ME) 3 Harrison Ee, a trainer from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Military Intelligence Institute, during his Learning and Instruction studies in the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) (Instructional) Accreditation Programme.

As part of the SAF's continual efforts to develop its people, the CPE (Instructional) Programme was launched in June 2006 to allow trainers and instructors to sharpen their teaching skills and stay abreast of the latest learning technologies and pedagogies. The programme was later enhanced in October 2008 to provide accreditation from the National Institute of Education (NIE).

CPE Accreditation is a joint Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)-NIE run programme designed to upgrade the Army training community on the latest developments in learning science.

Some 45 proud graduands were awarded their certificates at the inaugural graduation ceremony for the Accreditation Programme on 26 Apr.

Speaking at the ceremony, Commander TRADOC, Brigadier-General (BG) Tan Chuan-Jin emphasised that with the increasingly well-educated and tech-savvy trainees of today, it has become more important than ever for trainers and instructors to engage their trainees more effectively.

"We realise that we needed to refresh the way we teach because students are learning in different ways... and such programmes are important because they equip our trainers with the necessary skills to teach more purposefully and effectively," he said.

Echoing BG Tan's views, ME3 Ee said that he found the programme useful in preparing engaging lessons and fostering a better understanding with his trainees.

For example, one initiative that he introduced during his classroom lessons was to inject fun and interesting games as "breaks".

Said ME3 Ee, who graduated with a Specialist Diploma in Learning and Instruction: "I think playing these games actually reinforces their learning and it is reflected in how they did in their tests."

"And I am very proud to say that in my lessons, no trainees fall asleep," he added with a laugh.

Kasinathan Vadivaloo Alexandria, an administrator at the Military Medicine Institute, who graduated with a Specialist Advanced Diploma in Learning and Instruction, also applied the knowledge that she gained from the programme to her lessons.

Using real-life case studies, she got her students involved in scenario-based learning to find their own solutions for the problems that were presented.

"When they become involved in such things, it aids their recall of the material and helps them in the future," she told cyberpioneer.

In fact, Ms Alexandria found the programme so beneficial that she is planning to pursue a postgraduate diploma in learning and instruction.

"I personally believe in lifelong learning... and continually upgrading ourselves to be more knowledgeable and keeping up with the demands of our students."