I Can Be Your P.A.L

~ The ability to help others is a wonderful gift indeed. ~

My favourite program in UCSI University is without a doubt the Peer Assisted Learning Program – or P.A.L in short. It is a platform where senior students are able to help their junior friends succeed in their academics through weekly extra classes, revision sessions, mock examinations, and so on. A registered mentor under the P.A.L program selects his or her subject of expertise and conducts extra classes for enthusiastic mentees who are willing to learn and improve.

I’ve been involved with the P.A.L program for as long as I can remember. If I recall perfectly, I joined the P.A.L program as early as May 2017 when I taught “Fundamentals of Mathematics” – a subject under the Centre of Pre-University studies. Teaching a class was new for me but it was an experience which I had been hoping to try for so long. I’ve had only one ambition since I was in primary school and that was to teach. To become a teacher was my dream profession and it was a job which I could never get tired of. So, when I was presented with the opportunity to live out my dream, I signed up for it without giving a second thought. And as it all turned out, it was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made in my student life in UCSI University.

My voice cracked up when I visited my lecturer’s class to announce the students taking Fundamental of Mathematics that I was their student tutor for the May-August 2017 semester. The classroom was enormous and almost all the rigid blue chairs in the auditorium were filled. Walking up to the stage in front of a crowd of over two hundred students had been a nervous experience. I was overwhelmed with dread that I found it hard to breathe or even form words to speak for that matter. With the microphone at a weird angle from my mouth, I spoke slowly, “Hi… My name is Ko Ko…and I will be your P.A.L tutor for Fundamental of Mathematics…”

I didn’t expected many of the students to listen but to my surprise they had given their full attention to me. They weren’t really aware of the P.A.L program and what they could get out of it, so they were all intent on listening to me. As I proceeded to talk about what the program was and why students who were willing to score well in their examinations should join, I happened to take a glance towards a group of Middle Eastern students sitting in the front row to my right. I might not have placed much concentration on the gentlemen in the front row back then, but little did I know that they would become my first ever students, and that I consider them my best friends for life at the end of the semester.

I had written my phone number on the board and asked any students who were interested to join my classes to text me. To my surprise, I received an influx of texts from a lot of students who were eager to start the session – and yes, the gentlemen in the front row (Karam and Mohsen) were one of the first students to enquire and sign up for my class. After settling on a time and a classroom, I was all set to begin. Before my classes, I would usually prepare a lesson plan. I would generally revise what had been taught in their class and give them practice questions of my own to test their understanding. And the best thing of teaching a mathematics subject was there was a countless number of questions to practice with the students! Normally, I’d give the students question which was at a higher difficulty level then what they had been exposed to in class. And no, I wasn’t intent on torturing students. I felt like if they were prepared with harder questions than they were used to, they’d find their examination questions much easier and perform well. Thankfully, my methods as a fresh tutor achieved to deliver excellent results as most of the students who enrolled in my class passed the subject with flying colours.

My commitment with the P.A.L program did not end there. No, it continued until the present. Each semester I opt to teach a different subject giving myself the extra challenge of learning and preparing fresh lesson material every semester. Up until the start of 2018, I taught three foundation subjects: Fundamentals of Mathematics, Algebra and Trigonometry, and General Chemistry II. When I progressed to my degree, I became a student tutor under the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering, Technology and Built Environment. I started teaching Year 1 and Year 2 subjects namely Engineering Physics, Calculus and Analytical Geometry II, Fluid Mechanics, Mass Transfer, Mathematical Methods for Engineers II – and now Fluid Mechanics again for the January-April 2020 semester. Honestly, I believe I’m making a positive impact on the students through teaching. It brings me much joy to witness other students taking an active interest in the P.A.L program and helping their friends through the resources available to them.

If I have to decide on my best teaching experience under the P.A.L program, it would be during the September-November 2019 semester when I was teaching Mathematical Methods for Engineers II. I had taken the subject last year in September 2018 and though many seniors had described it as a killer subject, I actually loved it. I mean…mathematics is one of my favourite subjects after all. Under the careful and patient guidance of Ms. Norrabiatul, I was able to score an “A” in Mathematics II. Using the knowledge I had gained from my time as a student and the knowledge I’ve topped up through self-learning, I conducted my Mathematics II P.A.L classes and it turned out to be an amazing success! I had never anticipated that my students could fill an entire classroom with a fifty-student capacity! A lot of the juniors showed up enthusiastically to solve every differential equation I put up on the board. It was absolutely motivating to receive feedback such as, “Wow! You’re amazing, Ko Ko!”, “I understand Laplace Transforms now! Thank you, Ko Ko!”, and “You’re a natural at this, Ko Ko!”. An encouraging message can go a long way and it is hearing heart-warming messages like these that make me want to continue as a mentor under UCSI University’s P.A.L program for as long as my academic journey allows me.

In conclusion, if you are struggling with any subject, why not visit UCSI University’s newest block (Block G) level ten and head on to the “CAPA” office? Get yourself registered and your mentor will surely contact to arrange a study session with you. Or if you are gifted in teaching, why not sign up to be a mentor today? Maybe this is the opportunity you need to create a tremendous impact with your gift because the ability to help others is a wonderful gift indeed. As for me, I’m going to stick with my favourite program in UCSI University and hopefully it will look perfect enough on my resume when I apply for a teaching job after graduation.

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