On Wednesday 1st March, the University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) hosted a special teaching and learning workshop to support academics from across the region develop critical thinking in students.
The event, delivered by internationally respected education researcher, Professor Emmanuel Manalo, from Kyoto University in Japan was opened by the University of Reading Vice Chancellor, Sir David Bell.
The development of critical thinking ability in students is a key focus of the Malaysian Education Blueprint 2013-2025. The event attracted close to one hundred attendees including officials from the Ministry of Higher Education and academics from across the region, including lecturers from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia, Raffles University Iskandar and MDIS Unicampus Malaysia.
Sir David Bell said:
“Critical thinking is one of the most crucial skills that we as educators need students need to develop if they are going to excel in their studies and future careers.
But more than that, it equips citizens with the knowledge, skills and innate curiosity to rise to the challenges of the world today. Our responsibility as educators is to help everyone to understand the big picture and shape the world we live in for the better.
So I’m delighted that Dr Emmanuel Manalo can be with us today. It’s great to see so many colleagues from the Ministry of Higher Education and our neighbouring universities joining us for this workshop. I hope this is the first of many of its kind.”
During the workshop, Professor Manalo shared his research findings and strategies that can be used to promote critical thinking skills development in everyday classroom contexts. He emphasized the importance of providing effective teacher professional development so that they would be able to facilitate the necessary skills development in their students.
The visit by Professor Manalo was made possible by external grant funding from the Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur fund, awarded to UoRM psychology lecturers, Dr Dan Jones and Dr Beth Law.
About the University of Reading Malaysia
The University of Reading Malaysia (UoRM) is the first overseas campus of the University of Reading in the UK and is based in EduCity@Iskandar. Ranked in the top 1% of universities worldwide, the University has a long-established international reputation for the quality of its teaching and research. Together with Henley Business School, which is part of the university, UoRM offers a UK quality education for students at Foundation, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral level in a range of subjects including business, accounting, finance, property, construction, psychology and pharmacy.
For more information on UoRM visit www.reading.edu.my
For more information on our research, including our research projects, PhD opportunities and our series of research events and seminars, visit www.reading.edu.my/our-research
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