The major function of lecturers at universities is to teach and do Research. Different perspectives argue that the two sports should either complement or contradict each other.
In reality, there have been allegations that academics who’re too focused on studies fail to deliver the same level of enthusiasm to the lecture halls in their function of supplying expertise to their students, therefore affecting the pleasantness or having a bad impact on coaching.
Associate Professor Dr. Wan Zuhainis Saad, the director of the educational excellence department in the Ministry of Education’s branch of higher training, stated that for academics, it is straightforward to quantify research paintings in terms of the number of grants or a wide variety of guides. In many promotion sporting events, studies outputs were given huge scores.
“For younger personnel, the career course may be immaculate for advertising through Research but no longer for teaching. Subsequently, teaching personnel will receive extra attention to their research paintings and fulfill the minimal teaching necessities,” she mentioned.
“Research can be impactful in a superb manner for teaching if researchers are capable of joining their findings to the applicable guides or deliver possibilities to undergraduate college students to take part inside the research work of their labs,” Wan Zuhainis brought.
But she remarked that it might be exclusive or opposite if researchers had been doing Research merely for the sake of it, with no connection to the curricula or undergraduate teaching.
Professor Dr. Ishak Yussof, the pro-vice-chancellor (Strategy & Corporate Development) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), said research tasks convey new records and knowledge that students should share.
“The conventional roles of a university are teaching and studies to grow society and contribute undoubtedly to the countrywide economic improvement. Thus, apart from offering training essential for personal improvement, the feature of universities is to offer professional education for high-level jobs required via the use of an economic system. He discovered that it is important to ensure that the college’s Research is being used in the coaching and studying techniques,” he discovered.
Professor Mahendhiran Nair, the deputy president of Research and Development) Monash University Malaysia said, “Research connects us to new knowledge within the area; identifies boundaries of contemporary knowledge; informs us on what wishes to be studied, re-tested and researched similarly; and measures to take to overcome the restrictions of present-day understanding. Research is crucial to update one’s expertise base and to permit a horizon of recent opportunities,” he stated.
“Only research-inspired scholars or lecturers can reveal their college students to new ideas, discoveries, and expertise through first-hand enjoyment. All others are borrowed reviews and thoughts.
“Furthermore, research-intensive universities across the globe are also at the vanguard of modern and innovative path curriculum layout and coaching pedagogy. Through their studies, they’ll not simplest constantly enhance their guides, but hold them up to date in an international constantly changing rapidly,” he divulged.
“Research isn’t pretty much extending and generating new expertise. However, it’s also about fixing issues and evaluating present-day regulations and practices,” said Professor Dr. Mohamad Kamal Harun, deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International) at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).
“Any part of studies — identification of the problem, the theories, the technique, or the findings — can be teaching topics and study room dialogue factors. Academics are tasked to nurture vital thinkers and innovators. Consequently, students too should be exposed and capable of dissecting cutting-edge troubles and providing viable solutions,” he said.
RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM
Professor Dr. Noorsaadah Abd Rahman, deputy vice-chancellor (Research & Innovation) at Universiti Malaya, said that, given the right pedagogy and lesson plans, studies and teaching can complement each other.
“For instance, teachers who’re researching a specific topic would be able to formulate assignments and organization work which might be more arms-on and practical, consequently bearing in mind a deeper experience of concept toward the subject rather than providing superficial or 2nd-hand understanding from textbooks or references supplied by using third-parties — along with the authors,” she talked about.
At Universiti Malaya, similarly to analyzing in their respective fields, Noorsaadah said lecturers also advocated for and supported behavior studies in their coaching exercise through a small furnish referred to as Learning Improvement & Teaching Enhancement Research (UM LITER).
“Lecturers who adopt Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL), Action Research and Educational Research, can use the findings from their studies to replace their curriculum layout, enhance teaching delivery and most importantly, decorate scholar learning,” she said.
“For a studies college like UKM, it’s far ordinary to bring studies to the lecture rooms, which are now not handiest for technology or technical-based subjects but additionally among the social sciences classes.
“For technological know-how-based topics, it is compulsory for the scholars to get involved with laboratory work, which is regularly and carefully associated with analyzing projects, mainly amongst postgraduate students. For technical subjects like engineering or IT (Information Technology), college students are regularly being requested to provide you with initiatives to supply prototypes that are also research-based,” stated Ishak.
Research elements are also embedded within social technology subjects’ teaching and studying.
“Students carrying out surveys or task unique investigations on precise problems will gift their findings within the schoolroom beneath near supervision by using their lecturers, a norm amongst social, technological know-how college students.
“To fortify and similarly inspire such practices, UKM has decided to award 50 in keeping with cents of the training expenses inside the shape of studies grants to teachers who supervise research students. In doing so, we accept that scholars will have an advantage in terms of pioneering frontier expertise through sports studies,” he discovered.
To bring Research to the study room, Mahendhiran stated that traditional and didactic coaching procedures must provide a way to more innovative and experiential tactics, supported by building sturdy fundamental information to find the truth using the nice through methods, improvements, and culture,e.
“Sound essential information supported using experiential learning with a sprint of ardor and proposal will pass a protracted way in supporting students contextualize and follow what they examine in lifestyles. It can be a super recipe to enhance their getting to know and revel in an exceptional existence,” he said.
PATHWAY CHOICES
But does this mean that teachers need to put more cognizance on Research at universities?
Professor Dr. Kamila Ghazali, the deputy vice-chancellor (Academic & International) at Universiti Malaya, said the institution places equal emphasis on teaching and studies.
“We do not lose sight of 1 over the other as both are crucial for the university and you. S. In terms of annual value determinations and the merchandising exercise, studies are classed based totally on the output and acquisition of offers, even as teaching is assessed primarily based on pupil evaluations of publications taught and supervision of postgraduate students.