Page 80 - AEI Insights Vol. 7 2021

AEI Insights, Vol 7, Issue 1, 2021

Evaluation feedback/input for ToT improvements

The feedback gathering sessions were important for the co-development of the ToT module
between UM and NUOL. The guiding documents containing the table of contents and the list
of topics for every module were provided in advance to the NUOL ToT Committee prior to the
UM ToT team’s visit to Lao PDR in April 2016. The ToT Committee from NUOL provided
feedback for the eleven modules in the following areas - problem areas/difficulties, local
situation/examples in Lao PDR, practical implications (application) and other
remarks/requests. During one of the visits to Lao PDR in April 2016, the UM and NUOL team
had another feedback gathering session to facilitate and elicit more input/contents relevant to
ASEAN and the Laotian context for the ToT handbook.
Co-authorship in the ToT Manual

Regarding authorship, maintaining all slides’ main author/contributor’ names, including in the
templates and a full page that acknowledged the contribution/input from the Laos committee
(their names, and affiliations) at the beginning of the handbook was done. This is to highlight
that the main contribution comes from the authors of the slides themselves.
Baseline study/Assessment materials

This is used for pre- and post-training cohorts. The baseline study provided data for further
research and as a support facility for ToT review/post-ToT proposals success stories. Within
this project, UM also collaborated with the Faculty of Letters, NUOL on joint research
publications by putting the process of TOT into practice.
Micro Teaching Evaluation/Reflective journals

The Micro Teaching (MT) evaluation form was given to all the trainees/facilitators/mentees at
the end of the ToT Training Workshop (September 2016) at UM. The ToT Training Workshop
was attended by members of the NUOL ToT Committee to participate in the research training
for academics from the National University of Laos (NUOL) by expert trainers and to
encourage knowledge transfer and exchange between academics from NUOL-UM through the
development of the TOT programme. The trainers were divided into two groups with each MT
session focusing on a specific module. Each trainee had to choose 3 slides (of specific module)
and present for 7 minutes. Performance of the presenters was evaluated by a panel of trainers
from the UM team and feedback was given at the end of each MT session. All MT presentations
were evaluated according to the following criteria - Familiarity with the content, Clarity of
presentation, Communication (voice, eye contact, body language), Interactions with the
audience: verbal or non-verbal and Traits of an experienced trainer/researcher, etc. The data
from the MT evaluation form was used as a monitoring effort for the effectiveness of the
trainers’ delivery. Reflective journals were prepared by each member of the UM team to
document their personal experiences of conducting/attending training workshops/
seminars/meetings in Lao PDR.

Setting up of an official ToT Committee in this collaboration
A formal letter of request was sent to the President of the National University of Laos (NUOL)
to propose the setup of a project committee at the Faculty of Letters to be involved in the
University of Malaya (UM)-NUOL collaborative project for research development through the
ToT programme. Details of the project were explained in the letter as well as the functions of

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