MANAGING STUDENT LEARNING TIME

FOR EFFECTIVE LEARNING*

Zainai B Mohamed, PhD

Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn (KUiTTHO)

86400 Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor.

Abstract

One must understand that teaching and learning are two separate
responsibilities. From a teacher’s or a lecturer’s point of view, teaching can be
his/her own right and require the learner to find their own way to understand the
teaching materials. In this example, it is a teacher-centered concept. However
in the new learning landscape, a student-centered concept is the way forward for
effective learning. In this new environment, the teacher acts as a facilitator and
the student is an active learner. However it should be realised that human being
has limited time for self-development such as for learning. Perhaps, in a week, a
normal student needs to utilise some 35 to 45 hours quality time for learning and
in some cases it could be bigger variation. Thus students need to be informed of
the amount of time required for learning or the Student Learning Time (SLT) at
the onset of enrollment into an institution of higher learning. Apart from specific
learning techniques and contents, it is also important for lecturers/trainers to
understand and help to manage SLT so that all available time is used effectively.
This paper describes SLT as a nominal study load that in a conventional term it is
also known as credit hour. SLT constitutes the specific learning components and
activities necessary to be observed by all students. The discussion will be
focused on understanding SLT towards the success of experiential learning
particularly in the study of technical subjects.

Key words: Teaching and learning. teacher-centered, student-centered, student

learning time, study load, experiential learning.

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*Proceeding the first National Conference on Technical Education 2006 – Enhancing Human
Capital Development Through Quality Technical Education. 27-29 August 2006, Penang.
Organised by POLIMAS.
INTRODUCTION

The requirements in the study of any engineering or technologically based

subjects are different as compared to areas in the social sciences as it needs

visualisation and realisation at any stage of learning [3,4]. It is even better if

learners can experience themselves (i.e. by touching or operating) rather than

memorising a detail of the subject provided by the lecturer/instructor. This

approach is called experiential learning or learning by doing. The understanding

of taxonomy concept of educational objectives does not limit to a single learning

approach. It is rather to encourage new innovation and invention. Project

oriented problem based learning (POPBL), for example, helps to facilitate

effective learning of technical subjects [1]. In this approach, the learners are

given opportunities to experience solving selected problems. They are required

to formulate the solution and thus learn the tacit knowledge behind the theory. At

the same time the learners are trained to be creative and more innovative in

solving a given problem. The POPBL is claimed to support requirements of

“modern collaborative and communications society, which we experience today

better than traditional teaching”. It is focused “on technical knowledge as well as

on personal skills and abilities – the so called life-long learning abilities”.

It has been observed that some of students face difficulty to succeed in their

studies or to complete their studies within the prescribed duration. It was then
realised that despite students attending most of scheduled classes and have high

potential to succeed, some of them were not fully aware of the importance of

properly managing their learning time. The question to be clarified is about the

appropriate utilisation of available time for effective learning. How much time is

required and expected from the student to understand a particular component of

technical subject should be informed at the onset of their study. In general, the

practice to date is indicated by credit hours but this old practice is not fully

satisfied unless the expected student learning time is also spelt out in the

syllabus/curricula. This paper promotes the understanding of student learning

time (SLT) and its concept, which enhances the student learning ability, time

management and effective learning to develop their personal skills and

capabilities. It is an element of quality assurance in educational process that

directly influences the student’s performance and the outcomes of teaching and

learning.

WHAT IS STUDENT LEARNING TIME (SLT)?

The conventional definition of academic load is reflected as unit credit hour.

However, the student learning time (SLT) as implied in this context is defined as

the time required by a student to understand the syllabus or curriculum content

and to fulfill the registration requirements to complete a study programme. It

fulfills the framework of student-centered teaching and learning. However, the

prerequisite to the success of this concept relies on the students’ maturity and

their willingness to learn. In order to facilitate the implementation of this concept

at the institutional level, all parties involved including the lecturers, the

supervisors and the programme managers, need to be well informed and aware

of the importance of SLT. In this respect, understanding SLT is so important that

it provides a guideline for effective time management to help students to

discipline their learning process. Student time management via SLT is even

more critical for those involved with independent study, such as completing a

project assignment.

The concept of SLT is derived with consideration of basic human needs to

maintain a healthy lifestyle. Generally, besides working, a person needs time to

rest, perform physical activities and be involved socially within the community.

After careful calculation, the maximum time left for work and self-development for

a normal person would be approximately 55 hours a week. Thus, it is reasonable

to consider at this stage that the available effective time or SLT per week should

not exceed 55 hours but not less than, say, 40 hour per week. With respect to

student time management, the 40 hour is taken as the minimum effective time to

be used as the basis to compute the available SLT. Hence, the effective time

available to nurture human excellence is guided by SLT. Observing SLT helps a

student to be in control in many aspects of learning, while maintaining a balance

between the demands of study and other responsibilities.

SLT MODEL

From time management point of view, the concept of SLT can be translated into

four major operational components, namely (i) the Official Contact Time, (ii) the

Guided Learning Time, (iii) the Self-Study Time, and (iv) the Assessment Time,

as presented in Figure 1. SLT is comparable to the prescribed working hours in a

typical office. Hence, the SLT model is concerned with effective time spent for

learning i.e. the quality of learning time.

Student Learning Time (SLT)

Guided Learning Self Study Time

Official
Time (Tutorial, Assessment
Contact Time
Laboratory, Field Time
(Lecture)
Study, etc)

(Independent
(“Guided Learning Time”) Learning Time)

Note: For a conventional credit = notional 40 hours SLT

Figure 1 – SLT Model

In a way, SLT is comparable to prescribed working hours in a typical office. The

specified working hours is the official working time during the day and in a week.

However, the major difference between SLT and office hours is that the latter is

normally structured during the day only (except for the shift workers) while SLT

extends to include the hours at night. In this aspect, the SLT concept is similarly

applied to both research-based and taught subjects. For a taught subject, the

curriculum specifies the student to fulfill one of the SLT components, that is the

official contact time. This official contact time also appears in the lecturers’

timetable. In the case of a research-based (independent study) subject, there is

normally no official contact timetable except during supervision time, which is

subjected to the agreement between the student and the supervisor. Thus for a

project (research) based subject, students are urged to observe SLT in order to

achieve the expected learning outcome.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE TO SUPPORT THE MANAGEMENT OF SLT

Management of SLT requires specific infrastructure (to be an effective learning

tool and enabler for student time management) so that the importance of SLT can

be disseminated and communicated to students. The institution of higher

education (IHE) normally creates amongst other, study regulations to specify the

student academic load in the form of maximum credit units allowed for a
semester. Curriculum for every academic programme also specifies the total

number of credits to be completed by a student to qualify for graduation. In

general, IHE practices a guideline in which for a one-year two-semester full time

equivalent study, the total credit is in the order of 30 - 36 credits or 1200 hours of

minimum study time (or SLT). However the maximum possible limit of academic

load is not exceeding 22 credits per semester (14 weeks duration) of a full-time

study [5]. These requirements are among the important infrastructure that helps

the effective management of SLT.

The importance of SLT can be introduced as an embedded element in the

curriculum. A curriculum is in fact can be devised to reflect the academic load

besides the learning outcome which is fulfilled if the student observes the SLT.

For the purpose of the curriculum design, current practice [5] specifies a notional

of 40 hours of SLT for every credit. Thus for a three credits subject, a student is

expected to allocate 120 hours of SLT on that subject.

Effective communication of the SLT concept to students is crucial. At the onset of

their studies, this can be emphasised at either the introduction stage to the

programme or during the first meeting on a particular subject. The briefing

should include the expected learning outcomes and the expected SLT.
An effective implementation of SLT also requires active participation by all staff

involved in teaching. They should also observe the expected learning structure

that forms the components of SLT, see Figure 1.

RELATIONSHIP OF SLT AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Theoretically, the students’ achievement in learning is the function of their ability,

effort and the instruction given to them [7]. This can be written in the following

form:

Ach = f(a + e + i)
Where
Ach = Achievement;
a = Ability, which is the function of innate ability and
acquired ability;
e = Effort, which is the function of motivation and time spent
on task;
i = Instruction, which is the function of quality of
preparation and quality of delivery.

This theory shows that a component of achievement exists in the form of self-

effort or independent study (see Figure 1). Hence, SLT is directly related to the

person’s effort in learning, and the student’s achievement is influenced by his

effective implementation of SLT. In other words, to be successful in their studies,

students should utilise to the fullest the component e in the above equation. SLT

is also related to the term i in the above equation which represents delivery

(instruction) whereby i also constitutes the official contact time, be it in the form

of scheduled timetabling or the meetings made through appointment arranged by

the students and their supervisors.

CURRICULUM DELIVERY - TEACHING APPROACHES

As the teaching and learning concept takes a new horizon that is towards a

student-centered concept, a good framework that guides for more effective

learning is vital. The importance of educating students is not just for the

specified technical knowledge but also in soft skills such as independence and

the ability to work in groups, communication, leadership and management,

capability to continue learning, etc. There are many approaches that claimed to

produce good results. Among others that are suitable for technical education is

through project oriented problem based learning (POPBL) which involves design,

problem solving exercises and case study [1]. At the end of the day, the

reflection of success is significant when the learning is fun and not burdensome.

In this approach, students are given specific problems and they look for the best

solutions hence learn the lessons. This is an example of experiential learning.

This can also be done in all traditional subjects, such as design projects, class

exercises (tutorials), laboratory and practical exercises (testing, field work,

industrial training, etc). It is believed that a prerequisite to the success of

problem-based learning is the appropriate delivery (setting up problem structure)

and assessment structure/technique. Thus it practices student-centered concept

of teaching and learning whereby the students are trained to be autonomous in

learning and hence responsible for their own learning. In this environment, the

lecturer/instructor acts as facilitator for the student learning. The guiding

principle is the understanding of SLT that disciplines the student’s conduct in

learning.

KUiTTHO’S EXPERIENCES

The first step in implementation is to educate all members of the University

(KUiTTHO) hence the development of an educational philosophy for the

University. The statement of the philosophy is promoted in which the concept of

learning by doing thus it is learning by experience or experiential learning:

“The education and training in this University is a continuous effort to lead

in market oriented academic programs which are student-focused through

experiential learning to produce well-trained human resource and

professionals who are catalysts for a sustainable development” [2].

After developing the education philosophy, promotion of problem based learning

(PBL) concept to the teaching staff follows. At the same time all faculties are

required to specify the expected outcomes or programme learning outcomes

(PLO) for the existing programmes followed by specifying the contribution of

each subject in the curriculum to the overall learning outcomes i.e. the subject

learning outcomes (SLO). The staff are also exposed to innovative delivery

techniques to satisfy PBL and PLO/SLO. At this stage the expected SLT is

indicated as part of curriculum delivery plan or teaching plan.

As an immediate measure to quickly gain experience and familiarisation with the

requirements of PBL and PLO/SLO, a pilot program called Industrial Skills

Enhancement Programme (INSEP) has been introduced in KUiTTHO’s campus.

It is a programme to translate the theory into practices and is also a simulation of

workplace where unemployed graduates are invited to participate.

Implementation of INSEP also requires the involvement of industries throughout

education and training. The participation of industry would realise a dual training

mode and fulfill the national dual training system (NDTS) concept recently

introduced by the government [6].

For the medium to long-term measures a minor, based on engineering

technology, has been formulated for all engineering major curricula, which add

the practice aspect of engineering. It is complementary and an enhancement to

the existing curricula.

In all development stages mentioned above, SLT requirement is stated clearly

and the student load or effort in learning is guided accordingly to observe the

expected SLT.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

The feedback gained so far is encouraging. The practice of observing student

learning time (SLT) in teaching and learning has made students trained to be

independent, creative and alerted the continuous learning concept. By

emphasising on SLT, the institutional academic system is able to discipline the

students in carrying out their responsibilities. The feedback confirms that

implementation of SLT guideline provides a well-structured time management for

students.

Student learning time (SLT) is a student time management tool that specifies the

value of effort or time to be spent to fulfill the learning process and the expected

learning outcomes. Experience shows that if students observe SLT they would

not have much difficulty to succeed in their studies. A programme of study can

be more meaningful and effective if the required SLT is specified at the onset of

delivery and as an element of the curricula. However, to ensure a successful

implementation, it is imperative that students and lecturers/supervisors are well

informed of the expectations and components of SLT.

REFERENCES

1. Egon Moesby, “Implementation of POPBL Seen from an Administration

Point of View”, International Workshop on Project Organised Problem
Based Learning (POPBL), Aalborg University Esbjerg, Denmark, 28 – 30
Oct., 2004.

2. Blueprint 2004-2013, KUiTTHO, 2004.

3. Zainai B Mohamed and Ahmad B Othman, “Lifelong Learning and

Technical/Vocational Education and Training”, Paper presented at the
International Conference on Technical and Vocational Education and
Training (ICTVET2006), KUiTTHO-UNESCO-UNEVOC, Johor Bahru, 22-
23 August 2006.

4. Abdul Rahim Ahmad, “An Investigation of the Implications of Major

Change in the Future World of Work for Engineers and the Consequences
for Educational Practices”, PhD Thesis, Loughborough University, 2000.

5. Peraturan Akademik (Program Sarjana Muda dan Diploma) (Pindaan

2005) Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn, 2005.

6. Government of Malaysia, “Ninth Malaysia Plan 2006-2010”. Kuala

Lumpur: Percetakan Nasional Malaysia Berhad.

7. Zainai B Mohamed & Rahmalan B Ahmad, “Student Learning Time : An

Effective Time Management Tool for Postgraduate Students”, Proceeding
International Symposium Blueprint for Better Graduate Studies (Grad-
Blueprint’2000), Phuket, Thailand, November 2000.