by: the Coordinator of the Engineering Education, FKJ

Credit to:
AP. Ts. Dr. Mohd Kamaruddin bin Abd Hamid (Deputy Dean - Academics & International, FKJ)

Introduction

In the rapidly evolving landscape of technical education, the Faculty of Engineering at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) is moving beyond traditional metrics to measure true intellectual growth. This magazine explores a landmark five-year study (2021–2025) that utilizes the SOLO (Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes) Taxonomy not just as a teaching tool, but as a sophisticated analytical lens.

By retroactively evaluating student performance within the UMS-ALIEN ecosystem, this initiative shifts the focus from "what grade was achieved" to "how deeply was the concept understood," ensuring our future engineers possess the relational and extended abstract thinking required for global industry challenges.

Beyond the Surface

While the Faculty of Engineering has widely adopted Active Learning (AL) and Blended Learning (BL) to engage students, a critical gap remains: How do we actually measure the depth of a student’s thought process?.

Traditional assessments often fall short in three areas:

• Perception vs. Reality: Many evaluations rely on student satisfaction surveys, which may not accurately reflect actual cognitive development or learning outcomes.

• Hidden Progression: Simple implementation of active learning does not guarantee that students reach the higher cognitive levels required for complex engineering problem-solving.

• Lack of Empirical Evidence: At UMS, there has been limited data-driven evidence to show if SOLO-aligned active learning effectively enhances performance across different cohorts when measured by authentic academic indicators.

Mapping the Cognitive Journey

The main mission of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the existing SOLO-structured active learning framework within the Chemical Engineering programme.

The specific goals are:

• Document and Map: Systematically trace how SOLO-based active learning is enacted in courses like Engineering Programming and Process Simulation by mapping activities and assessment evidence across multiple years.

• Performance Analysis: Compare academic results—specifically Course Learning Outcome (CLO) attainment and grade distributions—before and after the structured use of SOLO-aligned practices.

• Evaluate Cognitive Growth: Analyze reflective journals and student work using the SOLO Taxonomy levels to identify genuine cognitive progression and pinpoint areas for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).

SOLO Coding: From Surface to Depth

The most innovative finding comes from the SOLO-coded analysis of reflective journals. This qualitative lens reveals exactly how student thinking changed:

• The Shift: Later "SOLO-structured" cohorts (2024–2025) moved away from Multi-structural (sequential, unlinked steps) recall.

• Deep Learning: There was a distinct rise in Relational (integrated reasoning) and Extended Abstract (critical synthesis and self-evaluation) levels.

• Why it Matters: This proves that students are not just following simulation steps but are now justifying optimization decisions and performing complex trade-off analyses.

The CQI Impact: Closing the Loop

Every data point was used to drive Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Documented actions—such as introducing scaffolded problem-solving tasks, revising project rubrics, and embedding guided reflection prompts—were directly linked to these performance gains.

This systematic approach ensures that the Faculty of Engineering meets the highest standards for COPPA accreditation, providing traceable evidence that UMS-ALIEN is effectively building the engineers of tomorrow.