Mr. Flex Tio Choon Fook designs training modules based on students' level of preparation and challenges them to step out of their comfort zones. Mr Tio, a senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic Institute of Technology (SEG), says it's all about education. He is a finalist for the 2023 President's Award for Teachers.
Mr Flex Tio has a unique humility.
A senior lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) professes to have been a “typical 10-year straight student”. But he said, “Once I got to work, everything became blurry. There were different expectations that I didn’t understand.”
He had a rough start as an IT professional in the public service sector, but found his sweet spot a few years later, working as a lecturer at NYP.
Today, NYP's School of Engineering's Senior Specialist (Teaching and Learning) is renowned for designing unique learning experiences to prepare students for the workplace.
He also emphasizes that it takes more than good grades and technical skills to succeed in the workplace. He says this in a gentle yet confident tone. “Now that I’ve walked that path, I can make the journey smoother for my students.”
Develop classes relevant to your industry
Of all the courses he has designed, Mr Tio is most proud of the Java Enterprise Development module.
This module consists of several layers of learning. One of the important lessons taught to students was that one cannot survive on an island. “No one can develop an enterprise system alone. We have to do it as a team.”
Mr Tio turned his classroom into a mock software design house, first teaching students programming knowledge and then working in small teams to carry out the work. The module concluded with a large class project run by students in roles with varying levels of responsibility, similar to real-world organizational structures common in the software design industry.
From ensuring correct file naming conventions to assigning programming tasks with limited instructions, Mr Tio ensured that students had the full experience of co-creating a product in a professional attire.
“Team-based environments allow students to see different ways their peers solve problems. It’s also motivating because we can solve problems within the group without having to run to the instructor for help.”
“Students assigned to ‘administrative’ roles felt the most uncomfortable because they were unable to directly use their programming skills, which is common when moving up the ranks in the workplace. “You have to take on less of an operational role and coordinate efforts so that it all comes together in the end.”
Although this module was abolished in 2020, it inspired colleagues and laid the foundation for class projects introduced in the revamped Software Engineering Practice module of the same diploma.
Co-create great user experiences
In addition to programming, Mr Tio also teaches User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX) design, which uses design thinking to improve how users engage with digital processes.
To increase student engagement, he invited students to co-create an advanced UI/UX design module. In doing so, he exemplified the first principle of UI/UX: understanding the user's needs.
“Students are happy when they can control what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. Empowerment and autonomy are exciting for both students and instructors.”
Mr Tio also co-developed the Learning Experience Design (LXD) framework used throughout NYP. LXD is a framework for developing learning experiences based on the principles of design thinking. In 2022, we also shared insights about LXD with educators at the Joint Polytechnic Teaching and Learning Mentor Residency Programme.
The end goal is to make classes more interesting and effective.
“Successful class participation will encompass the 3Ms in a meaningful, motivating and memorable way,” he says.
Cultivating leaders as the ultimate goal
Inspired by Dr Brené Brown, an American studies professor who studies courage, vulnerability, shame and empathy, Mr Tio's leadership philosophy is to be “a person who takes responsibility for finding potential in people and processes and has the courage to develop that potential”. It will. “.
“Students are happy when they can control what they want to learn and how they want to learn it. Empowerment and autonomy are exciting for both them and their instructors.”
Mr Tio develops student leaders at Team DIMEnsion, a club for Diploma in Information, Communications and Media Engineering (or DIME for short) students. Each year, the Student Council helps run events such as Open House and New Student Orientation. These platforms allow him to instil values and life skills in his students.
For one year, he set students an ingenious challenge: having them communicate with complete strangers through prepared anecdotes.
“Is this something they want to do again? Of course not. But now, when I’m faced with a difficult challenge, like convincing a friend to join an event or entertaining parents at a seminar, I won’t flinch because I’ve done much more difficult things before,” he laughs.
His students remain in close contact long after graduation. “It shows that they remember me, and I hope they have benefited from the mind skills I have shared, whether it be critical and creative thinking or leadership,” he added.
What keeps Mr Tio going after 11 years of teaching? “I believe that if we can raise students with good character, the world will be a better place.”
We are on Telegram! Subscribe to our channel: https://t.me/schoolbag_edu_sg