Perceptions towards the Usage of Collaborative Learning in Teaching and Learning Processes at Malaysia Polytechnic.

It is difficult for a graduate to get employed, due to fierce competition within today’s career market. Most employers are primarily looking for good soft skills over academic achievements as selection criteria for selecting new employees. This paper shares the preliminary findings on the perceptions of students and lecturers on the use of Collaborative Learning in teaching and learning processes at Malaysia Polytechnic. In this study, two sets of questionnaires were distributed to 145 lecturers and 356 diploma students from Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan, Politeknik Merlimau, Politeknik Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin, Politeknik Kota Kinabalu, and Politeknik Sultan Idris Shah. All collected data was analysed using SPPS 19 software. The results show that even though lecturers used the collaborative learning method in their teaching and learning processes, the evaluation was only on the output product. The students felt that it was unfair for all members to get the same marks, and that the lecturers should award marks based only on the student’s contribution. Therefore, the development of soft skills will not happen if active collaboration does not occur.

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