Four years ago, Maslisa joined the Department of Art, Design and Media at Sunway University as a Lecturer, and now serves as a programme leader for the BA (Hons) Design Communication Programme. Learning through active exploration is one of the educational approaches adopted at Sunway University, where industry field trips coupled with local and foreign study trips are the means by which these learning explorations are conducted.

Prior to the pandemic, research-based trips were arranged regularly to enhance students’ learning experience by means of providing exposure to new environments. Students are guided to enhance and sharpen their design skills by exploring different cultures and societies through sensory perceptions of sight, smell, sound, taste and touch. Their findings, experiences and reflections will then form the core for their final project.

Cross-module assessments are another means of encouraging exploration in learning. Each cross-module assessment plan begins with programme alignment meetings where lecturers discuss the possibilities of module combinations that make good sense and establish visions for each module included. Individual planning then commences with project briefs for each module determined by the respective lecturers, which would include requirements for students to reflect upon and amalgamate all their learning outcomes throughout the semester.

For example, the combination of three modules - Visual Communication and Graphic Design, Digital Illustration, and Design and Typography - scaffold one another towards building and designing a series of end products that are structurally sound, visually pleasing, and identifiable by the intended target audience. As students work on one big project, they achieve the learning outcomes of all three modules simultaneously.

The final presentation and assessment of cross-module final projects are conducted concurrently. Students showcase their final outcome and process book which document their research and experimentation journey to their peers, lecturers, second markers as well as external assessors, who are usually industry practitioners.

This approach enables students to focus and work on one main research area, and produce a variety of design output that meets the requirements of multiple modules. They get to experience how knowledge from different modules can be utilized and applied into one project as it does in the industry. This helps students develop better time management skills as they manage different stakeholders’ expectations. Most importantly, students are encouraged to design and create works of art that are more inspiring and innovative.

The planning and practice of cross-module assessments can inestimably benefit both students and lecturers. Students gain different opinions and advice from lecturers of varying expertise during collective tutorial sessions, while lecturers’ bond with students and with each other through communication and collaboration at the assessment planning and execution stages.

Maslisa thinks of her students as collaborators and future colleagues and she passionately believes that learning is lifelong, both as an educator and a designer.

Maslisa Zainuddin
School of Arts
@email

This article has been adapted from Spotlight on Teaching & Learning (Volume 1)