A year flew past really quickly when you are enjoying yourself. In this year spent with my Specialist Diploma in Applied Learning and Teaching cohort, a lot has happened. I remember being excited to start this programme, marking down all important dates in my calendar so that I would not miss any important dates and notifications. I was very happy to see some familiar faces in class and also grateful to meet new friends and lecturers who gave me support throughout my learning journey.
By participating in this programme, I was taught to learn, unlearn, and relearn. As someone who is passionate about the education sector, especially adult learning, I eagerly picked up knowledge and skills in class and was able to readily apply them while teaching my students. Beyond the regular class schedule, I observed that the lecturers in this diploma would often go the extra mile to provide support and materials to make learning fun, relevant and applicable to us. I cannot highlight only one lecturer who did that, because all lecturers did exactly that. They patiently answered our questions and made themselves available beyond class and consultation hours. This was evident when I texted them at night, apologising and letting them know that they could reply the next day, they surprised me by instantly replying to my text.
When the government announced the COVID-19 circuit breaker, the programme had to be moved online. I was struggling and on the verge of deferring the programme. When I surfaced my concerns to my classmate, Jalaluddin, he convinced me that we can get through this together. He told me, "Let's do this and graduate together!" And his words gave me the courage to persevere and complete the remaining modules. Besides Jalauddin, I am also grateful to Sakinah and Seri for helping me with my coursework. We had exchanged ideas and critiqued each other’s assignments to improve them.