Introduction
The OMNI Program for teaching the theory
and practice of materials characterisation is designed to fully exploit
metacognition - the process of self-monitored learning. OMNI learners will:
- implement and enhance their
preferred learning strategies;
- assess their progress by
answering self-assessment questions and determine the degree to which
the instruction meet their needs; and
- develop remedial strategies such
as re-reading instructional information and seeking additional source
material.
University students want to
answer the question - Am I getting this? - and through self-evaluation students
can change their learning strategies to gain confidence that they understand
and can apply the new knowledge. For some repetition is critical; others learn
best by just diving in and trying a task; and many rely heavily on visual inputs.
OMNI provides the scaffolding to support a range of learning styles. It is a self-paced
and technology-based training program that will allow most students to master
microscopic, analytical and crystallographic techniques sufficiently to
complete a final year project or thesis in an accelerated timeframe.
Multiple
Choice Question Sets
Multiple choice question sets assist
learners to either feel confident that they understand the subject matter or to
recognize that they need to re-visit the content. For advanced undergraduate
students, graduate students, and professional engineers and scientists the
tests are taken as many times as needed to ensure the principles and practice
of a specific technique have been mastered.
The questions are divided into Topics
(e.g. SEM) and Sub-Topics (e.g. SEM – Imaging). They are further
differentiated into ‘easy’, ‘medium’ and ‘hard’ categories (e.g. SEM – Imaging
– Easy). Teachers prepare examinations by selecting questions from any
combination of these categories and scaling the difficulty according to the
cohort. Questions are chosen at random from a growing pool of problems. The
tests are time limited and students can work back and forth through the
questions to check their answers.
Targeted
Cohorts
OMNI Modules can be used for:
Imparting Core Knowledge. This approach is appropriate
for early undergraduate students who are accumulating basic information
concerning the functionality and uses of a characterisation method.
Preparing for Hands-on Training. A perennial challenge
for instructors is coping with students from a wide range of backgrounds, prior
knowledge and experience. Completion of an OMNI module ensures students have
the basic understanding necessary to receive hands-on instrument training. As
students tend to complete the modules close to the time of real need, this also
ensures that the instruction is delivered when the learner is most receptive.
Priming Advanced Researchers. Graduate students and
mature scientists may not need to become expert users in their own right, but
from time to time must interpret data given to them or critically evaluate
published results. OMNI notes can be used to refresh their knowledge of
characterisation techniques.
Trainers
and Instructors
The quintessential metacognitive
statements are I’ve got it! or I’m lost!. Preliminary trials and
evaluation during 2005-06 with a beta version of OMNI using in excess of 500 2nd
year, 4th year and graduate student cohorts have shown generally positive
overall outcomes – they did Get it! – leading to a first-stage fine
tuning of the examination process.
The OMNI Program is a work in
progress. It is evolving as we gather feedback from students and teachers.
The program notes are freely available and may be reproduced. Should you have
suggestions for improvement, or detect any errors in the content please contact
OMNI at facts@ntu.edu.sg. Access to
the multiple choice question sets is restricted. Bona fide teachers can
request access to a sample test, and establish a test cohort of their own
students if they wish. In the latter case, a charge per student will be levied.
