This study investigates the viability of using a phonics programme for Primary One students
who are studying at a National Type Chinese School in Sarawak, Malaysia. Jolly Phonics is
a Synthetic Phonics Programme that is used to address common reading problems. In this
study, Primary One students who learn Mandarin as their main language in school, while
learning English and Malay Languages at the same time. The phonics consists of teaching
reading with five skills, namely learning the letter sounds, letter formation, blending, segmenting
and tricky words. 39 students participated in the study. Two groups were formed to
compare performances between those who used the phonic programme and those who attended
the regular English classes. Data was collected on pre and post-test achievements for
both the experimental and control group. Findings revealed that the phonics programme did
not significantly impact the students’ reading ability when compared with performances of
those who attended regular lessons which used existing methods of teaching reading skills for
English language learning at the Chinese medium school.
The study investigates how working memory affects students' control of attention. A quasi-experimental research is conducted individually on 52 undergraduates of a public university in Malaysia, enrolled in various full-time undergraduate programmes, using Sternberg memory task and Task-switching tests. The reaction time is taken in milliseconds (ms) to differentiate the results for both tasks. The analysis revealed that when memory load was increased, reaction time also escalated. In the task-switching test, when one task was given at any one time, the reaction time was swift; however, when two or more tasks were integrated into one task, the reaction time would subsequently decelerated. Although the study also revealed that there is no significant difference between genders in terms of handling memory load and taskswitching. However, a significant relationship was observed in performances between memory load and task-switching. It is also evidenced in the study that when memory load increases, it compoundsthe reaction time for task-switching. Results from the study inform course instructors to be aware of cognitive load when chunking information and assigning tasks to students, as their decisions on content quantity bore an effect on what would be remembered when students learn.
To remain relevant in Sarawak’s Digital Economy Agenda (2018-2020), Mathematics teachers in Sarawak need to align their content with current expectations for the future workforce in the state. Big data analytics is a crucial driver to the Digital Economy Agenda, as it is stipulated to intensify economic growth in Sarawak. To be fluent in big data analytics, one has to master mathematical cognition. This study investigates the readiness of Mathematics teachers in urban and rural Sarawak, to highlight mathematical cognition in their teaching, to prepare their students for the requirements of big data analytics for the digital economy in Sarawak. The participants are 38 teachers who are currently teaching mathematics in primary and secondary schools from urban and rural areas across Sarawak. Data was collected using an online survey that was distributed via social media. It was found that there was no difference in the choices of teaching strategies used by mathematics teachers in Sarawak despite multiple demographic factors such as gender of their students, types of school, districts and years of teaching experience. Teachers were fully aware of the digital economy agenda, and they were conscious of the current state of their students who were deemed still unprepared to take part in the Sarawak Digital Economy Agenda.