Traditional methods of teaching in Malaysia were inadequate in preparing students to face a future rapidly moving towards a knowledge-based economy. Acknowledging this trend, the Malaysian Government's Vision 2020 plan places special emphasis on integrating technology into education, resulting in computers and broadband access being introduced into schools. Schools like Institut Perguruan Perempuan Melayu (IPPM) also realized that they needed professional training-in the form of the Intel® Teach Program-to empower teachers to effectively use the new technology for more effective teaching. The Intel Teach Program is part of Malaysia's efforts in transforming professional education for teachers; and for many who have embraced the program, like IPPM Teacher Nur Farah Gan Abdullah, the experience has left her with an indelible mark-a renewed passion for teaching.

Challenge

• Need for effective and innovative technology integration into teaching and learning activities
• Need for student-centered learning and outcome-driven educational approaches
• Enhance development of students' 21 st century learning skills

Approach

• Implement free Intel® Teach Program for professional development of teachers
• Build capacity to enable lecturers to become certified Master Facilitators and Senior Trainers in the Intel Teach Program
• Incorporate Intel Teach Program into teacher training curriculum to enable teachers to bring the benefits of the program to their own schools upon graduation

Benefits

• Intel Teach Program helps pre- and in-service teachers build up the necessary skills to enable them to prepare students to face a global 21 st century knowledge-driven economy
• The program provides professional development for teachers to improve themselves, and build upon their technical and pedagogical proficiencies to become better teachers
• The program promotes career satisfaction for teachers to realize further their goals in providing high-quality education to their students

Nur Farah Gan Abdullah has been a teacher for most of her career and has taught at various schools around the country. But it was not until she was posted to IPPM, a teachers training institute in the state of Melaka, that she became interested in using PCs to help her in her teaching. IPPM is one of the six regional training agencies for the Intel® Teach Program in Malaysia.

"I teach physical education," says the lecturer from IPPM's Department of Physical Education and Health, "and you normally don't think PE teachers use computers in their teaching because they're supposed to be out in the field."

But Nur Farah attended the Intel® Teach Essentials Course and that changed her perspective on using computers as an integral part of her teaching. It was not easy at first, as Nur Farah was not an everyday IT-user, but her passion for teaching and the new pedagogical skills she was learning drove her on. She bought her own laptop and stayed up late on her own time, to practice what she learned in class.

She says that she has learned to integrate technology into her teaching and make her PE classes more interesting and engaging for her students, "In physical education, there are topics that are theoretical and done in the classroom. For example, I get students to access the Internet to conduct research for their projects. They have to use that information on physical education theory and then apply that in a practical out in the field."

Nur Farah also appreciates how the Intel Teach course has also helped her "stretch" her teaching methodology. She gave an example, "In anatomy, we need to show the 'real' thing, and integrating technology in the learning expands the limits of what we can normally do."

Nur Farah finds that the course has helped her "connect" better with her more technology knowledgeable students. More than that, the professional training has rejuvenated her passion for teaching, with new ideas and skills to help her prepare her students for a better tomorrow.

Students are growing up in a knowledge-based global economy where critical thinking and life-long learning are paramount for success. In 2005, the Malaysian Minister of Education, Dato' Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein emphasized the importance of technology in education, saying, "We are at a crucial point in ICT integration into Education; ICT is no longer just an option. It is a necessary component of education in development. It offers us increasingly powerful capacities. We need to embrace these capacities in a way that involves all our people. ICT can enable people to make a better living for themselves.^”1

Malaysia's Ministry of Education (MoE) is working with technology leaders like Intel to help provide equipment and training to its schools and teachers. Intel plays a catalyst role in providing facilities and training through various initiatives and innovative programs. However, deploying technology in schools is just one aspect of enhancing the learning experience.

Teachers must be conversant with high-tech solutions and suitable methods of learning to reach these students. Professional development for teachers is therefore, a critical component in education. Teacher training institutions such as IPPM look to innovative programs like Intel Teach, to help them successfully integrate technology into their curriculum. The Intel Teach Program is a comprehensive approach to professional development that builds upon the fundamental technical and pedagogical proficiency of both teachers and school leaders.

"Our teachers were surprised to discover that the Intel® Teach Program was not learning about technology, but about pedagogy and how to improve their teaching skills by integrating technology into their teaching methods."
Mustaffar Abd. Majid
Head, Department of Educational
Technology
IPPM, Melaka

Spotlight: Institut Perguruan Perempuan Melayu, Melaka

• Set up in 1 935, IPPM Melaka is the oldest teacher training institution in Malaysia and focuses on training Malay Muslim women especially for rural schools in Malaysia.

For more information on IPPM, visit www.ippm.edu.my*.

"After attending the course, I realized how useful it was in helping me change my teaching methods from a teacher-centered learning into project-based student-centered learning."
Nur Farah Gan Abdullah Lecturer, Department of Physical Education and Health IPPM, Melaka

IPPM, which is Institut Perguruan Perempuan Melayu in the Malay language, means Malay Women's Training Institute. IPPM has embraced the Intel Teach Program since it was first launched in Malaysia. The Intel Teach Program is part of the Intel Education Initiative and is a catalyst for changing the way teaching and learning take place in classrooms throughout Malaysia.

Intel Teach is a worldwide effort to help teachers effectively integrate technology into instruction, and the program has trained more than four million teachers over 40 countries worldwide since 2000. Says Soriah Bt. Abdullah, the director of IPPM, Melaka, "Lecturers, teachers and students are benefiting from this program-[Intel® Teach is] a powerful pedagogical tool to prepare our students for the 21 st century."

Malaysia became the first country in South-East Asia to successfully implement the Intel Teach Program when it was launched in 2000. Within the first two years, the program exceeded its target of 12,000 primary and secondary school teachers. The program aligns with Malaysia's school Computerization and Smart School initiatives, with the content localized and adapted to suit the needs of the local educational system, teachers and students.

When IPPM developed their technology plan, the institution decided on a more strategic direction for the role of technology within its mission. The institution identified several aspects of their mission; to upgrade the professionalism and ICT skills of its lecturers, improve effectiveness of teacher training, and to develop and enhance 21st Century Skills among lecturers and students to be competent in facing current and future challenges.

The strategy allows IPPM to play an important role in helping the nation achieve its Vision 2020. Intel Teach is now an integral part of IPPM's training curriculum, designed to help in-service and pre-service teachers integrate technology into instruction, and enhance student learning towards critical and higher order thinking skills. Teachers learn to fulfill their teaching role more effectively. They learn from other teachers how, when, and where to incorporate technology tools and resources into their lesson plan. They also learn how best to create assessment tools and align lessons with educational learning goals and standards. The program incorporates the use of the Internet, Web page design, and student projects.

Director Soriah believes that the Intel Teach Program "fits in beautifully" with IPPM's strategic technology plan, and explains how it affects her teachers. "Pre-service and in-service teachers will be trained in integrating ICT into teaching and learning; teaching thinking with technology via online thinking tools; enhancing pedagogical skills via project-based learning (PBL); generating alternative and authentic ways of evaluation; acquiring 21 st century skills and life-long skills.

"Lecturers will be able to integrate ICT seamlessly in teaching and learning processes and higher order thinking skills," continues Director Soriah.

Mustaffar Abd Majid is the head of the Department of Educational Technology at IPPM. For Mustaffar, embracing the Intel Teach Program was a godsend, and brought a whole new perspective to technology adoption in education.

"Intel Teach has evaluation tools, project-based learning, and is focused on 21 st century skills. It provides what we call HOTS, or high-order teaching skills," says Mustaffar.

"These skills are what every teacher should go through and are very relevant to their teaching. In fact, we are making it compulsory for every lecturer here to go attend the Intel® Teach Program."

Initially thinking that it was just another ICT course, IPPM teachers discovered to their surprise that technology per se, took a back seat to pedagogy in the Intel Teach Program. Learning new skills and incorporating technology to enhance their teaching methods transformed their initial reluctance to enthusiasm. Many teachers, after attending the course, buy their own laptops in order to practice what they have learnt, at home.

To enable more IPPM staff to undergo Intel® Teach Essentials Course, Intel customized the training to suit IPPM's requirements, resulting in streamlining the 5-day, 40-hour workshop into a 4-day, 30-hour workshop. This allows the institution to achieve their goal of training all their lecturers faster. Mustaffar says, "We have around 140 lecturers and only 15 percent of them-the newer ones-have yet to attend the program. By this time next year, we will have all our lecturers trained."

Twenty-Five of IPPM's lecturers who attended the Intel Teach Essentials Course are now Master Teachers or Master Facilitators, as IPPM calls them. They in turn train the trainee teachers. IPPM plans to train all trainee teachers in the Intel Teach Program so they can bring their new skills to the schools where they will be posted. IPPM has scheduled these Master Facilitators to upgrade their skills by attending the next higher level in the Intel Teach Program, the Thinking with Technology Course.

IPPM has a fervent belief in the Intel Teach Program; that educators learn best from one another; that fostering a community of practice is an excellent way to ensure consistent professional development of their teachers, so that their students are better prepared with the 21 st century skills and knowledge they need to succeed.

Director Soriah recognizes the value of the Intel Teach Program in Malaysia, and at IPPM, and says succinctly, "The Intel Teach Program helps us produce thinking teachers."

And thinking teachers produce the kind of students Malaysia needs to succeed in the 21 st century.

Intel® Education Initiative
The Intel Education Initiative is Intel's sustained commitment to prepare all students, anywhere, with the skills required to thrive in the knowledge economy by improving teaching and learning through the effective use of technology and advancing math, science, and engineering education and research. Through a sustained public-private partnership with educators and governments in more than 50 countries, Intel works with international organizations and governments at an international, national, and local level and invests approximately USD 100 million per year in education programs adapted to address the needs of each country to advocate for 21 st century educational excellence through policy work and awareness efforts.

• For more information, visit: www.intel.com/education
• For more information on the Intel Teach Program, please visit: www.intel.com/education/teach

This document is for informational purposes only.

INTEL MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT.

Programs of the Intel® Education Initiative are funded by the Intel Foundation and Intel Corporation.

Copyright © 2007, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Education Initiative, and Intel Teach Program are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
*Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

¹ Dato' Sri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister for Education, Malaysia, A Vision of the Future of ICT and the Challenges Facing Malaysia Schools, 11 January 2005.
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