NUS Report Card: Grades over General Education
FEATURE by Serene Chua
Ask undergraduate Finian Lim if he would like his General Education Modules (GEMs) to be graded, and you will be greeted with a resounding “No”.
He is not alone in this view. In a poll conducted with 100 students from the National University of Singapore, 57% of the respondents said that they wished that such modules were not graded.
General Education Modules are part of the National University of Singapore’s curriculum to complement a student’s university career, in the process developing a person’s knowledge, abilities, predispositions and attitudes, “collectively serving as a hall of higher education.” Since its inception in 2001, many satisfied students have gained knowledge apart from the major they pursue in the university.
Compulsory graduation criteria
All students, except those from the Law, Medicine, Dentistry and University Scholars Programme, have to read at least 8 Modular Credits worth of GEMs in order to graduate. Students can choose to focus on “intellectual broadening”, or take on a different emphasis on “critical and creative thinking”. Today, students are spoilt for choices with over 150 modules ranging from Forensic Science to learning about World Religions.
The inevitable question arises: If the intention of such modules is to gain greater knowledge or to develop inquiry skills apart from their intended field of study, is there really a need for formal grading.
Poll conducted with 100 NUS students
Interesting insights arose from the poll with the students. Some believe that they should not be made to read compulsory modules that contrast from their chosen field of study, as they are weaker in such subjects, causing them additional stress as a result. Another student from the Faculty of Engineering said that he should not be forced to take such modules as they are “irrelevant to my course.”
Although some students disagree on being graded on modules of non-academic nature, 36% of the students do agree with the existence of having graded GEMs. They, as students, know very well that without examinations, they may not have the discipline to attend lessons or to even pay attention to that module at all. Others, however, believe GEMs should be graded due to more selfish reasons. In an overwhelming list of over 150 GEMs, how do students pick which modules to read? One commonly used criterion is how well one would be able to score. As such, students study these modules as a way to improve their overall results, as they are generally easier than core modules.
Teaching and Learning Club Gathering about GEMs
In a pedagogical discussion centered on General Education held recently, students and teaching staff gathered to examine the benefits and drawbacks of the 10-year-old initiative. Teaching staff brought up gripes such as oversubscribing of popular modules causing a compromise in teaching quality, whilst student representatives echoed hot issues that were raised by the student population.
Teaching staff offered their suggestions on how such modules can be graded from their experience. They recognize the problem with pooling all students regardless of their background to be graded equally. A teaching staff from the Physics department suggested that there be a system of moderation, so that students from different faculties would not be disadvantaged when placed together on a balanced scale.
Unconventional methods of grading suggested include allowing Physics problems to be answered by essays rather than the usual way of solving sums, which Arts students are traditionally weaker in. This puts students who are less mathematically inclined, but have a passion for Physics, on a level playing field with other students who do well in such calculation-based problems.
Meanwhile, in other local institutions…
The concept of compulsory General Education electives is not unique to NUS. The two other local institutions Singapore Management University (SMU) and Nanyang Technology University (NTU) both have similar compulsory General Education modules for undergraduates.
In SMU, students read 3-4 General Education modules, depending on their course of study. For NTU, students have to read around 3-6 General Education modules, depending on the faculty they are in.
“There is a place for exams, but let’s put exams in its proper place.”
At the end of the day, the dilemma of grading such general knowledge-acquiring modules remains unsolved. Hindsight may always be 20/20, but in an area like education, forward planning and environment scanning takes precedence. As for Finian, he only hopes that more lecturers can come up with innovative solutions to the perennial conundrum – the grading of General Education Modules.
Ask undergraduate Finian Lim if he would like his General Education Modules (GEMs) to be graded, and you will be greeted with a resounding “No”.
He is not alone in this view. In a poll conducted with 100 students from the National University of Singapore, 57% of the respondents said that they wished that such modules were not graded.
General Education Modules are part of the National University of Singapore’s curriculum to complement a student’s university career, in the process developing a person’s knowledge, abilities, predispositions and attitudes, “collectively serving as a hall of higher education.” Since its inception in 2001, many satisfied students have gained knowledge apart from the major they pursue in the university.
Compulsory graduation criteria
All students, except those from the Law, Medicine, Dentistry and University Scholars Programme, have to read at least 8 Modular Credits worth of GEMs in order to graduate. Students can choose to focus on “intellectual broadening”, or take on a different emphasis on “critical and creative thinking”. Today, students are spoilt for choices with over 150 modules ranging from Forensic Science to learning about World Religions.
The inevitable question arises: If the intention of such modules is to gain greater knowledge or to develop inquiry skills apart from their intended field of study, is there really a need for formal grading.
Poll conducted with 100 NUS students
Interesting insights arose from the poll with the students. Some believe that they should not be made to read compulsory modules that contrast from their chosen field of study, as they are weaker in such subjects, causing them additional stress as a result. Another student from the Faculty of Engineering said that he should not be forced to take such modules as they are “irrelevant to my course.”
Although some students disagree on being graded on modules of non-academic nature, 36% of the students do agree with the existence of having graded GEMs. They, as students, know very well that without examinations, they may not have the discipline to attend lessons or to even pay attention to that module at all. Others, however, believe GEMs should be graded due to more selfish reasons. In an overwhelming list of over 150 GEMs, how do students pick which modules to read? One commonly used criterion is how well one would be able to score. As such, students study these modules as a way to improve their overall results, as they are generally easier than core modules.
Teaching and Learning Club Gathering about GEMs
In a pedagogical discussion centered on General Education held recently, students and teaching staff gathered to examine the benefits and drawbacks of the 10-year-old initiative. Teaching staff brought up gripes such as oversubscribing of popular modules causing a compromise in teaching quality, whilst student representatives echoed hot issues that were raised by the student population.
Teaching staff offered their suggestions on how such modules can be graded from their experience. They recognize the problem with pooling all students regardless of their background to be graded equally. A teaching staff from the Physics department suggested that there be a system of moderation, so that students from different faculties would not be disadvantaged when placed together on a balanced scale.
Unconventional methods of grading suggested include allowing Physics problems to be answered by essays rather than the usual way of solving sums, which Arts students are traditionally weaker in. This puts students who are less mathematically inclined, but have a passion for Physics, on a level playing field with other students who do well in such calculation-based problems.
Meanwhile, in other local institutions…
The concept of compulsory General Education electives is not unique to NUS. The two other local institutions Singapore Management University (SMU) and Nanyang Technology University (NTU) both have similar compulsory General Education modules for undergraduates.
In SMU, students read 3-4 General Education modules, depending on their course of study. For NTU, students have to read around 3-6 General Education modules, depending on the faculty they are in.
“There is a place for exams, but let’s put exams in its proper place.”
At the end of the day, the dilemma of grading such general knowledge-acquiring modules remains unsolved. Hindsight may always be 20/20, but in an area like education, forward planning and environment scanning takes precedence. As for Finian, he only hopes that more lecturers can come up with innovative solutions to the perennial conundrum – the grading of General Education Modules.
B A C K G R O U N D S T O R Y
NUS Provost Tan Eng Chye recently addressed the issue of grading in his blog, which he set up to better communicate and understand the concerns of the students.
In early October this year, the NUS Business School created headlines island-wide over missing exam scripts, and the exam was cancelled subsequently. The students were told they would be assessed in other ways.
In response to the brouhaha, he said that NUS has been gradually changing its grading system to be less reliant on final examinations, and focusing on projects and quizzes.
The Provost’s blog is at http://blog.nus.edu.sg/provost/