“I took four courses in the first two years of the PhD programme which served as the foundation in building my research skills. In the remaining two and a half years, I focused fully on my research, gathering and analysing data. I presented my study in local and overseas conferences which allowed me to broaden and deepen my knowledge in my research interest.
“Hidden, because the opportunity for let's say, someone who is not teaching in a non-mainstream school such as a madrasah, to observe a lesson in the classroom, is perhaps quite low.” “This reduced the anxiety in students to share their ideas and views with their teacher. It opens up the opportunity for students to ask questions and provide suggestions to their teacher on how to improve or change their method of instructions in their lessons.”
Dr Faizal said he went in with the intention to observe the teaching and learning in the classroom, but the outcome of his research has a positive impact on how teachers and students interacted with one another outside of lesson time. Dr Faizal said: “I wrote almost every night, when everyone else was asleep. I’d start at about 10pm, right up to 2am.