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The objective of this study is to improve the development of affective domain among students with the introduction of the Open-Ended Laboratory (OEL). This enables students to design and conduct experiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data in a groups. By conducting the laboratory exercises in a group, students shall develop the ability to function effectively as a leader, as well as an effective team member. The present paper describes the assessment of the affective domain in OEL of Structural and Material Laboratory course for Diploma Program. This study involved a group of second-year students of Diploma of Civil Engineering for March-July 2019 semester who enrolled in the Structural and Material Laboratory course. There were ten groups involvesd in this study with the total number of 233 students; 98 male and 135 female.The attainment of affective domains among students in the evaluation rubrics was investigated in discovering the effectiveness of the course assessment. Not many differences in affective domain attainment between genders are reported; females shows better performance in punctuality and discipline attributes as compared to males. The outcome of this study is to observe that the OEL approach creates positive impacts in developing student generic skills such as leadership, communication, and teamwork. This attribute is expected by the industry, thus this also contributes to the overall students’ learning experience.

The COVID-19 disease has created the largest disruption in human history, affecting all sectors especially educational systems. Closure of schools, universities, and other educational premises due to pandemic has forced higher education and researchers to create a new alternative way on how to alleviate this problem. E-learning and online instructions is one of the most notable methods that is highly recommended during this pandemic. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the experiences and challenges in learning Civil Engineering Materials (CEM) during COVID-19 pandemic among Civil Engineering Studies (CES). This quantitative study data was conducted to 159 students who enrolled in the CEM course. The student's experiences and challenges while undergoing online learning sessions and how the students can adapt to the CEM course with the new learning environment is the main concern of this study. The result showed that most of the students had a variety of problems such as internet access, discomfort, and inappropriate places to complete the required assessment. Whilst facing the risk of loss of enthusiasm in learning, lack of focus and lack of communication skills between the teaching staff and friends.

Bio-fuel production can be categorized into biodiesel and bioethanol and the most common renewable fuel today is ethanol derived from sugar. Future large-scale use for ethanol will most certainly have to be based on production from lignocellulosic materials due to its abundance in food crop waste. This article gives an overview on paddy straw biotransformation into ethanol. Rice straw has lignocellulosic material for bioethanol production since it is one of the most abundant renewable resources. Paddy straw especially, has favorable characteristics such as high hemicellulose and cellulose content that can be readily hydrolyzed into fermentable sugars. However, one of the major challenges in developing technology for bioethanol production from paddy straw is selection of an appropriate pre-treatment and fermentation method.

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