If one was told that the chemistry subject can be
used to enhance soft skills, it might have sounded implausible but that was
what Kolej Matrikulasi Melaka lecturer Marziah Mohamad did and the result
was exemplary.
After teaching for a few years at the
matriculation college, Marziah realised that equipping students with
knowledge alone was not enough. “They also need soft skills, confidence and
communication skills upon entering universities. Having soft skills will
always benefit the students because the working environment will always
change in the future but soft skills will remain as a bonus in any of the
careers they pursue,” said Marziah during a webinar via Zoom on 6 July 2021. The
webinar was held as a part of
Virtual Mind & STEM Festival
2021.
To address the needs, she came up with Chemistry
Open Mic – a public speaking or knowledge sharing session related to
chemistry. Inspired by a television show, Chemistry Open Mic requires the
students to create a demonstration or an experiment related to the topics
they have learnt within three to five minutes in their own creative ways.
Marziah have been teaching in Kolej Matrikulasi
Melaka since 2007
Some of the experiments demonstrated by Marziah’s
students
Boredom and loss of focus are common problems in
long-hour classes. To cope with that, Marziah utilised Chemistry Open Mic as
a break during the classes. This not only helps to freshen up the students,
but it also gives impact and benefits to the students.
As time went by, Marziah also found that the
method enabled the students to shine. “Aside from creativity, the method
also helped to unearth the potential in students, especially the passive and
introvert ones,” said Marziah, emphasising that the hidden talents may serve
as an opportunity that could mould the students’ future. She further
enhanced the method by making it an individual task, allowing more room for
every student to shine.
Her students sharing chemistry
topics while relating them to real-life matters such as recycling and
perfume-making
With more updated technology readily available,
Marziah felt that basic digital skills have become more important than ever.
“I surveyed and checked with the students on social media that they use
nowadays. That is how I decided to utilise TikTok in the chemistry sharing
session. We even had a chemistry TikTok challenge on the periodic table,”
said Marziah. She also made the students use Twitter to provide a short and
compact reflection on what they have learnt within the character limit.
Students’ TikTok videos during the periodic table
challenge
To encourage fellow educators to follow her steps,
Marziah shared the benefits that the students gained through the Chemistry
Open Mic. “The more presentation they conduct, the more they are able to
communicate effectively, cooperate among teammates, learn to use digital
skills to find information, and use critical and creative thinking to make
their presentations interesting,” Marziah explained.
She also reminded educators that teaching goes
beyond textbooks. Regularly, students need to be approached, sometimes one
at a time. Giving rewards is also useful. It can be as simple as
highlighting the best presentation. “Always find the quality of every
student to point out, but reflect the weakness in general to the whole
class,” Marziah advised on how to provide feedback on students’
performances.
Marziah listing the benefits of the
student-centred method
Tips to motivate and encourage students to
participate in class
Marziah always improve her method every year and
put it in check through various education competitions (and winning them
too)
Marziah reminding everyone to stay positive and
seek ways and opportunities to help the students
“Ninety-eight per cent of students will surely
participate,” Marziah gives assurance on her method based on the years of
her teaching experience.
Watch the webinar here.
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