Final reflections on the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) Programme

What do you feel were the strengths of the AURA programme?

At the onset of the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme, Strathmore University administration was intent on getting a proof of concept on the most effective approach to nurture a critical mass of dynamic research-engaged faculty and students, and what approaches could inculcate a rich research culture that is responsive to the society. In general, the AURA programme did not last long enough for the University to draw on the lessons. However, the AURA programme created the momentum needed to refresh the University’s approach to interventions to improve teaching and research excellence among the staff.

In terms of practical implementation, the novelty of the AURA programme and what was unique included:

• Co-creation model: The overall design and implementation framework of the programme has elements and flexibilities that give room for the meaningful input from Strathmore. For example, the curriculum and design of the course is shared in advance for input by the Strathmore team. Our suggestions are taken seriously and acted upon. We are consulted frequently and think together on evolving aspects of the programme.
• Experiential model of facilitation: This has worked very well with the young scholars. They were effectively engaged meaningfully throughout the delivery of face to face interventions.
• Research Informed Implementation: It has been very helpful to have access to the data from the participants and to try and use these feedbacks in real time to guide programme implementation. This practice is also reflected in the design of the course and is very highly appreciated by the participants.
• Creative Commons License: This is a great way to promote free access to resources generated during the implementation. It is a great boost to the programme.
• Strengthened individual research capacities of the staff participants. These include positive results from participating in scholarly conferences, progress in the individual academic research projects by the participants and even in less tangible outputs such as refreshment of theoretical grasp of research methodologies (in AURA Research #1-2 [R1] and [R2] interventions).
• Strengthened individual research capacities of the Project Coordinators: The demands of the programme, particularly the publishing of reflective blog articles was a great opportunity to improve the skills among the PCs.

How do you feel the AURA programme could have been improved?

1. Deliberately focus on an outcome driven implementation: The benefits of the programme in refreshing the skill sets of the participants in teaching excellence and research capacity was great. However, it would have been more productive to design the programme purposely to achieve, in a progressive manner, tangible results in teaching and research, for example journal publications, etc. this requires reflection and an extensive multi-level design.
2. Deliberately involve students as participants: Our experience in the involvement of undergraduate students in the Writer’s podium under the AURA Research Course 4 [R4] was very positive.
3. The consortium should have comprised at least one university from the South. The role of ITOCA complicated the decision-making processes. In our opinion, it did not bring what we expected it to do. Maybe a leading university on the topic of the project would have been a better option.
4. Leveraging in on functional linkages: The programme should pursue the possibility of leveraging in more resources from other partners to increase the effectiveness of interventions. For example mentoring of participants could get a shot in the arm from AuthorAID. Participants could also benefit from a competitive small grants programme, or travel grants from other sources, open to young scholars and students.
5. Deliberately focus on continuity: The programme will come to an end. Although institutionalisation efforts may achieve a certain measure, largely there could be missed opportunities if the programme does not deliberately work on exploring other platforms to continue engaging even on a higher plane to keep the tide and momentum high. This, for example, includes actively exploring more grant opportunities to leverage on the winning aspects of achievement and take them to a new level.
6. Create more opportunities for participants from implementing institutions to learn from one another: it could probably help to explore the possibility of having participants from the implementing institutions to attend some sessions together. It is critical to explore outcome driven learning opportunities for ALIRT team members from implementing partner institutions from the consortium institutions in specific areas. Explore opportunities for interactions between young scholars in the consortium institutions and implementing institutions could improve growth in personal trajectories of the participants.
7. Publish and disseminate results of this AURA intervention to wider audiences: There should be a deliberate design in the second year to broadly disseminate outcomes, including to the audiences in the implementing institutions.

What would you like to see from future programmes in this area of work?

The general technical design of the programme is very well thought out. The model at the consortium level accommodates a north-south partnership to deliver the programme. The implementing partners are a mix of public and private academic institutions, at the moment concentrated in eastern Africa. This design has impacted on the programme delivery as follows: administrative and financial management was governed by unclear procedures and demands. This made the life of PCs very frustrating in compliance. Better communication on this would have been helpful in managing expectations on both sides of the engagement.

Stephen Ng’ang’a and Cavin Opiyo are based at Strathmore University Business School, Strathmore University, Kenya.

The continuous learning curve of an academic-cum-manager

Introduction

Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

I joined the university after a ten year teaching position in a private primary and secondary school in Nairobi armed with a bachelors from a local university in education.

A Kenyan undergraduate degree in education comprises of foundational courses in education. The courses cover: philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and communication of education. In my personal reflections over the years I have seen how disconnected the courses were managed (and possibly still being managed to date). This disconnectedness continues to be the main issue that any dedicated teacher has to learn after studies.

IDS Learning Event

The learning event came at a time that I had been struggling to engage technology in my teaching. The theories that had been covered in the undergraduate course were not aligned with the teaching environment. For a teacher, I felt it was a case of "dive in and swim by self". To complicate the issue further, my role as an academic and manager requires appraising faculty on pedagogy. My walk into the learning event was therefore one filled with great expectation on my ever-expanding horizon in teaching.

The event facilitation, and the general presentation of work arising from the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme, brought out my disconnected undergraduate experience. My personal discovery was how teachers of the theories were also bent on one theory - the behaviourist approach. Secondly it opened my eyes to the reality of how my present faculty is also behaviourist in teaching and in use of technology. Thirdly, that arising out of the learning is my personal struggle to teach using the connectedness of social constructivist approaches. These three learnings are shaping my outlook as the academic manager that I am.

The learning curve

Ever since my undergraduate education, I have held a curious mind on what it is to be a better teacher. This curiosity has made me examine the foundational courses deeply to unravel their value. The "three learnings" I have picked from the learning event are part of the curious academic’s journey into education.

The "three learnings" that I got from this event have awakened my desire to change in the following areas.

1. My teaching (which I do on part time basis since my employment is a managerial one). The little teaching I do, I have placed my emphasis on becoming more of a connectivist or contructivist teacher. This I have found to be a journey that I will have to undertake for a while.
2. My role as a manager in a learning institution has to move away from the behaviourist model and adopt some connectivist outlook to solving work related issues. This is important especially where I manage meetings and academics are involved.
3. I have appreciated the value of time in the learning process. Learning how foundational concepts of theories after many years of practise means other academics might be going through the same. It is therefore important to give faculty time to experience teaching and see the value of growth in the profession.

Conclusion

Professional growth requires a mind that is in constant search of learning. The accidental meeting with AURA has opened my horizons to teaching and research that I have not covered in my undergraduate and post graduate education. The learning event, and the entire AURA programme, has been like a volcanic activity in my growth as a professional. It has provided me with several eureka moments that has given my learning curve a new direction.

Stephen Ng’ang’a is trained teacher with a post graduate degree in education management. He works as an Academic Manager at Strathmore University. In his role he is in charge of the teaching and learning processes of the university. He is extensively involved in the student experience from admission to graduation. This student experience requires the development of faculty capable of delivery. The role of faculty development is what has been his contribution to this programme.

How learning, teaching and research are changing around the world

A personal reflection on our impact on others

It is interesting how, as an institution, we teach and create content for learners; the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme has helped us to reflect back on our impact: the impact of the learning journey of others. Even after so many years of practice, there is always a new way that we could improve and optimize the time offered us by the learners.  It is time to re-examine ourselves, our teaching styles, our approach to research, and how these impact on others; the learners.  As a provider of edu-technology; I ask myself,  how can I demystify the technology, so as to make it accessible to the faculty in a very simple yet profound way?

Therefore, to be in a room with people who have been there before and who can speak to both the faculty and the likes of me was a real honour and the only down side being the number of people who needed to be there!

There is a sense of self-discovery; a sense of continuous improvement, even just from the sharing of the challenges that lie before us. Those challenges that are new, and those that are not so new, yet the solutions, the approach to the solutions, are varied. This speaks to the diversity that was in the room.  This offered different perspectives - the public versus the private, and all of that.

Dealing with new learning environment for adult learners

Yet in all these years of experience, there is yet so much that is new, so much yet unknown and so much yet to learn. This field of education is expanding, and opening up in new ways in different contexts. The presentation on connectedness was a good case in point since it was on what Adult Learners bring to the learning environment, and experience to the table, and how the role of faculty can be as facilitator; not the sage in the room.

In short even, what may appear to have been settled in terms of learning theories have been sufficiently challenged with the newly emerging learning environment - where the people you teach may be more knowledgeable about aspects of the knowledge domain.

Hence the need to facilitate, concretise and formalise knowledge, and to encourage its utilisation as a skill. Encourage learners to learn from each other using social learning and to become a community of learners from remote locations.

Students learn how to take more responsibility for their learning and the teachers; how to prepare material for an independent learner and how to keep the learner engaged even in your absence. Teachers require stills to manage an online community and on how to measure the quality of their delivery as well as new ways to assess the learning outcomes.

Increasing role of technology in education

In terms of the role of technology, and the opportunity and challenges it affords, and how best to navigate the thin line between success and failure. Another important point in how to deal with the shortened feedback loop that has many more touch points.   The notes and curriculum that has worked well in the past may require major modification when offered for a technology mediated learning.

It was good to learn there are several attempts to structure the online delivery in the form of a framework. Admittedly this is still a changing process and going forward, opens a new avenue for research work.

All in all we are living in interesting times and we need to be more purposeful and proactive.

Julius Bwibo, B.COM (1st class, UON), Msc Information Systems (UON), MBA (Strathmore), MAPE (Strathmore), DBA Candidate (UON)

I have worked in the IT industry for over 21 years, I also have experience as a teacher, as a founding faculty member for the IDPM (now the IMIS certification) in Strathmore in 1992. Now I am involved in development: the end to end eLearning offered in Strathmore University, including consulting on how a proposed school of digital learning could be structured. I have travelled and consulted widely in Africa. I am currently working on my Doctoral Thesis having completed Degrees in formal education. business, IT and philosophy.

There is no level at which taking in knowledge is enough

Impressions from the IDS Learning Event which took place at Strathmore University in July 2016

Picture credit: Pixapopz/Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

I must say, when I knew the programme was aimed at the lecturers, I really tried to think of how it would help me in any way. Initially I knew that to become a lecturer you must have gone through some type of study, and on completion, become a lecturer, but what I did not know is that even when you become a lecturer, you normally still undergo training here and there to become better at it, and also to learn more!

In the workshops that took place over four days, there were four universities that were participating namely: Kenyatta University (Kenya), Jimma University (Ethiopia), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences/MUHAS, (Tanzania) and Strathmore University (also Kenya). I was shocked that people who have studied to PHD level would sit down and listen to what someone else had to say. Due to ignorance, I thought that once you have a doctorate degree then ‘you know it all’ but it turns out that no-one knows everything. This got me into great surprise about how the people there were so eager to know and learn more as though they knew nothing.

During the sessions, we (the student volunteers) were encouraged to join in the different groups and to participate. I was an active participant in the first group and since, we were mixed, I learnt quite a lot from it. Some of the things I learnt were that we, as students, have different levels of understanding and ways of taking in knowledge hence it’s the work of the lecturer to make sure that each and everyone understands and to make sure that students are moving at the same pace.

During the first workshop I also learnt that in order to make a lecture interactive, we ought to engage the students in discussions and group work so that they can also share some of their ideas and not get bored.

In the last two sessions, groups were mainly categorized into respective universities and the main topic of discussion was e-learning, the need to implement it, and how to maintain it. (By e-learning I mean using the internet to teach, for example, people who are not in Kenya or Nairobi and want to enroll in Strathmore, e-learning means they are able to do so and can learn from wherever they are through the internet.) I saw the need to be part of a different university so as to learn more about the education system in the respective country, and how their university functions. I was honored to be part of MUHAS located in Tanzania. It came to my understanding that their level of education is not as advanced as the one in Strathmore University. For instance, in Strathmore it is almost obvious that all lectures use the e-learning platform to either post slides, share videos or give assignments while, at MUHAS, the number of lectures using the platform are around two in every department and some departments do not use it at all. This made me appreciate what Strathmore does for us as students and the different opportunities offered by Strathmore and not to take it for granted.

During my free time (that is during meals and breaks) I managed to interact with different lecturers and they were very surprised at how the university functions, and they loved the hospitality of the university in general, the structures of the university and how disciplined the students are. I can proudly say that I do not take lecturers for granted anymore and I now understand why they do what they do and have learnt to appreciate their good work. Just as they were eager to learn more, despite their high level of education, I am also eager to learn more and have learnt that there is no level at which taking in knowledge is enough.

Finally, I would like to give thanks to the organizers of the workshop for giving me the opportunity to be part of the workshop and to also be part of the great experience. 

Linda Nzavi is an undergraduate student at Strathmore University. She is studying for the Bachelor of Business Information technology.

Blend of learning theories and practise

Impressions from the IDS Learning Event which took place at Strathmore University in July 2016

Theory versus Practise

It was a vivid reminder of how learning theories simply laid out (such as constructivism, behavioural and cognitive) can be used in a practical sense in the classroom environment to enhance teaching and learning. It was contended that most students are “passive learners” operating at the surface level. This, it was said, has a lot to do with the teaching style.

It is based on this premise that activity-based learning should be encouraged, and measured by use of continuous feedback (avoid long lectures).

It is clear that if the content is too simple, then this leads the learner to boredom but if the content is too complex, then the learner switches off. This is what is expressed as the zone of proximal development.

Use of technology

Technology is mainly used in a restricted manner, handing in assignments and retrieving notes. The use of technology can be enhanced by identifying variables in the teaching and learning environment that can be used to measure learning activities, and if used effectively, can also predict performance and provide clues to points of intervention to facilitate set learning outcomes. I see this as an appeal to the “affective domain” in teaching, where the term “appreciate” (or favourable feeling toward) the outcome also becomes an objective in itself.

Impact on overall administration

The administrators in general are interested in variables such as retention and pass rates. Factors affecting these variables include personal factors, in this regard, Strathmore University appears to do much more than other peer universities through the mentorship programme. This is not the case with the experience from other universities, especially those with high enrolment numbers and a largely online offering of their academic programmes.

Are we doing enough to encapsulate the above?

In the blended learning project at SBS, for instance, a unit such as Strategic Management (offered by Dr. Fred Ogola) was offered as a blended (online as well as face-to-face sessions) as opposed to his other classes which were purely face-to-face. The difference this time was the use of impactful short video sessions (max. 7 minutes, with enhancements by use of technology), a pause to allow reflection followed with a request to the students to answer some questions (activity); then the next session proceeds, following a similar pattern. This type of approach was well received even with fellow faculty members and is now the prototype of how a blended session ‘should look like’.

What was the success factor?

The faculty was primed and given an opportunity to script his class, precise and to the point. The take away is that a session of 10 minutes would be equivalent to a 45 minute, or more, session in class. The session is controlled, students are able to interact with the content at a self-directed pace (containing the student within the proximal zone of development) and if need be, the student can rewind. At the end of the session, every student is "carried along" in the class. This is an enhancement to the teaching and learning environment. This is evidence of learning theory put into practise in an innovative way.

The above model has also been done with Geoffrey Injeni, by his own words ‘this is wonderful’.

Currently, faculty with the MBA for Executives are being lined up to pursue this approach.

David Shikuku is a consultant at Strathmore University and the technical lead in the Blended Learning Project. He has 20 years work experience spanning many areas including: accounts, logistics and warehousing, sales and marketing, project management and is currently completing his MBA (UoN).  David Shikuku holds a B.Ed (Maths) UoN, Diploma in Information Technology (IMIS), Agronomy (Yara). He has an affinity towards operational excellence helping deliver on overall strategic objectives. 

Learning is not a spectator sport

Many thanks for the opportunity to be part of the IDS Learning Event. Through it I was able to network and learn quite a bit both from the facilitators present and the lecturers from other institutions of learning who were participating in the workshop.

Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Previously, I was of the opinion that teaching was a routine job: lecturers were given a course outline and handed content to teach. They then had to pass on the same to students mostly through class lectures. I was familiar, to a small extent, with this. Being at Strathmore University where use of IT (power-point slides and the e-learning system) in teaching is highly embraced and encouraged, I was really interested in knowing which other ways IT could be used in teaching and understanding the process that goes on at the back-end before students receive content to chew on.

During the first session, an important revelation dawned on me: Learning is not a spectator sport. Genuine learning is active and not passive. Students do not learn much just by sitting in class listening to teachers, memorizing prepackaged assignments, and spitting out answers no matter how diligent they are at doing that so as I previously presumed. What a rude shock! I had relied upon the bare minimum stated above for almost the whole of my life. It was evident thenceforth that I was barely scratching the surface of just how much I could internalize and grasp. I learned that when students are actively involved in their learning, they learn more than when they are passive recipients of instruction. You can imagine that I resolved to participate in class more. Then came the resultant problem:  how would I be able to participate constructively in class?

Integration of IT in learning through especially use of dashboards on e-learning sites would be the answer to the problem that dogged me. I found out that through expression of opinions and reading what other students posted on the dashboards, it was possible to refine my thinking and to harness more knowledge from my fellow students than I had previously been doing.

I also came to the realization that, other than just passing on information required by the course outline, lecturers passed on their “industry experience” when teaching. This was an important aspect of the whole learning experience as information was widely available on the internet and anyone could access it, however such experiences gave classroom students an edge over others.

The most important “pickups” for me were the learning theories available to lecturers. I had always thought of learning as a one-directional tool, not knowing that there were several different approaches that taught specific skills. I often wondered what the point of group work assignment was, for example, especially as in some cases one person ended up doing the assignment for everyone else and submitting. (I must say I am guilty of doing this too, as previously the emphasis for me was on the marks available rather than the skills such an assignment was required to confer on me.) However, after learning about behavioral, cognitive and connectivism theories, I now get why different lecturers choose to use a specific techniques or combine several.

Interacting with lecturers from other institutions really made me appreciate Strathmore University even more and the facilities it has availed for student learning. Comparatively speaking Strathmore is a bit ahead of the other institutions. I resolved this had to reflect in my understanding of the coursework and to reflect on the nature of skills I would have at the end of the course. The same is important, especially in light of the current IT-skewed society that we live in.

In conclusion, I had a good time at the conference. The lessons I picked up firsthand will remain etched in my memory for eternity.

Michael Omugah is an undergraduate student studying Bachelor of Commerce at Strathmore University

Networking opportunities and discussions on lecturing and teaching

My experience of the IDS Learning Event which took place at Strathmore University in July 2016.

I am very thankful for having had the opportunity to be part of the IDS Learning Event that was held at the Strathmore Business School in July 2016. Through the workshop, I was able to network with lecturers from Kenyatta University (Kenya), Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) (Tanzania) and Jimma University (Ethiopia) as well as the facilitators from UK.

The workshop opened with an ice breaker introduction session where we all had to introduce ourselves and the institutions we had come from. The participation in the group was the most amazing part - I sat with the Strathmore team and had a discussion about ways lectures could be improved and the teaching methods in their classes so that students do not get bored, or left behind, and the reasons why students choose to come to Strathmore University, and the reasons why students do not attend class, and why students fail.

Before this discussion, I was thinking that teaching was an easy job where lecturers just come to class to give students the course outline and the contents. Then the lecturers discussed the approach they use to interact with the students in order to improve in the class. At Strathmore, IT is the most important aspect of teaching (e.g. the e-learning system and PowerPoint slides). I got a better understanding about the process it takes before we students receive this content.

Raj Patel is an ACCA student studying at Strathmore University

Education should focus on converting knowledge into life skills

It is the process and not a goal.

Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain

As defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, Knowledge looks at a practical or theoretical understanding of a specific subject. In this day and age, where technology has simplified information dissemination, the distance between ignorance and knowledge has radically been reduced. Students may not have to sit in a classroom to know when airplanes started flying. The Internet has got very comprehensive literature on this including videos, audio, images and text. And all this content is available at no cost.

In a second stage, little beyond a mere understanding of a specific subject, learning, is defined by Karban, R. (2015) as the act of acquiring new, or modifying and reinforcing existing, knowledge. At this stage the learner will need to convert acquired knowledge to fit into a context in the environment they live in. The learner will modify and reinforce existing, knowledge and see it adopted in his or her context. We probably all spend 70% of our driving lessons on a free and quiet road without any traffic or complex obstacles on our way, and 30% on a relatively jammed road. Yet, in reality, 70% of our rides will be in down-town on a jammed road, and only 30% in the countryside. From this illustration, knowledge in terms of understanding how a vehicle moves is not enough. The learner needs to adjust the leaning process to a new environment.

In the third and final stage, we talk about life skills. Howland, J.L. (2013), infers that given key resources like time, energy, or both; learning should lead to carrying out a task with pre-determined results. Along the same lines, in an education that aims at facilitating acquisition of values, well-being, and habits, life skills are the ultimate tools that learners should acquire. Although, the nature and definition of life skills may differ across cultures and beliefs, Weisen et al. (1997) provides a list of crucial skills:

• Problem Solving
• Decision making
• Creative thinking
• Critical thinking
• Effective communication
• Interpersonal relation skills
• Self-awareness
• Empathy

In summary, life skills are the abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.

Conclusion

A quick analysis of the three stages infers that knowledge, unless applied in given skills, may not be of any significant value. A fundamental objective of our daily activities is to solve problems. Problems are at the heart of what many people do at work every day. Education today should focus on converting knowledge into life skills and so impact the learners’ day to day activity. And given that life circumstances are not always similar, this should be looked at as a process and not a goal.

Benjamin Mundama, Strathmore University, Kenya.

From marketing boredom to a marketing academic

How the IDS Learning Events’ training transformed teaching for me.

Picture credit: Geralt/Pixabay. CC0 Public Domain.

Introduction

Teaching was something that I got into accidentally. For very many years my major career goal was to be a high flying, marketing executive in a large multinational firm. I loved marketing, still do. In my opinion, it is the perfect blend of psychology and business strategy, two subject areas that I find fascinating.

The marketing executive

However, three months into my first employment (which was in a marketing firm) I realized that boredom had become my constant companion. Yes, I was pursuing my passion. And yes, every day was different from the next because of the different clients and projects we were handling. But I was quite simply bored. It took me awhile to place my finger on the reason for my boredom, but I eventually did. I was bored out of my mind because I was barely learning anything new at my place of employment.

The moment I came to that realization, I started actively looking for a masters’ degree programme and, approximately six months later, I got the opportunity to join one of the best Business Masters’ programmes in Africa with the opportunity to offer tutorials, and two years later, to lecture in a university. It has been four years of teaching, so far, and I have loved every single minute of it.

Teaching is the boiling down of hard concepts to small simple morsels of information that can easily be understood. This process provides a unique opportunity of perpetual learning, that I especially enjoy.

The IDS Learning Event

One of the things, however, that has become very apparent is that teaching is a science that also needs to be taught. I have a very robust academic background in Marketing and Business Science, but I am mostly self-taught in the art and science of teaching. So when the opportunity to attend the IDS Learning Event on teaching and assessment practices was presented, I latched on with both hands and I was not disappointed.

I learnt quite a lot on the various pedagogies that can be used to teach. The training also touched on how we can work Information Technology into learning and assessment to make it more interactive.

At the end of the training, two things became very clear to me. One, I needed to apply the pedagogies I had learnt as soon as possible. And two, there was still so much to learn concerning the science and art of teaching.

The step forward

Approximately three weeks after the training, I started teaching a new cohort of students.  I made a point of attempting to try out the new pedagogies of learning that I had learnt in the training. I also made a point of incorporating Information Technology (through our institutions e-learning) in learning and assessment. One of the continuous assessments that was given to this group of students was uploaded on a platform I created on e-learning. The students were then instructed to engage each other on this platform as they interrogated the work that each student uploaded and to provide constructive criticism. The exercise is still ongoing but is proving to be quite successful so far.

The classroom has become livelier with the use of the various pedagogies. Students are more participative and learning is spilling over and taking place even outside the classroom hours. All these changes were brought about by a two day training. I am excited, as I contemplate the magnitude of change that will take place once I become a highly trained educationist.

Lucy Nguti is a Doctoral Fellow at Strathmore School of Management and Commerce. She teaches marketing on the undergraduate program offered by university. 

Pedagogy before technology?

Introduction

Picture credit: Mr. Tadele Mulat/Jimma University, Ethiopia

To implement online learning, we need a technology platform. However, without the knowledge of pedagogy, implementing e-learning is like being on a ship on the ocean without a captain. Pedagogy is key for implementing all learning including online learning. Pedagogy is a profession, or science of teaching, that is concerned with the study of, and practice of, how best to teach. It is a tool for managing teaching content in a specific manner.

Technology plays an important and pervasive role in modern education, business and everyday living. It is associated with an efficient modern society and economic health. The use of digital technology for improving the delivery of education has enormous potential to raise standards and increase employability. It also requires a change in teaching style, a change in learning approaches, and a change in access to information.

Online learning is a way of teaching modalities to learners who do not need to physically attend classes on campus. As it is a system of learning using the internet, online learning means students can attend the classes without being limited by time, distance and geographical constraints. This is an opportunity to provide online learning to learners who may find it difficult to come to campus for a variety of reasons and so providing online learning can be a way to ensure your courses are more effectively designed and taken up by your target audience.

For this reason the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), drawing on the work of the African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) programme, coordinated  a two day workshop at Strathmore University, Kenya on “Developing a strategic plan to operationalize investments in strengthening research and teaching ” (July 27 & 28, 2016).  The workshop was attended by Jimma University, Ethiopia; Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania; and Kenyatta University and Strathmore University, both in Kenya. An important aim of the workshop was to focus on strategies for implementing e-learning for research and teaching.

Producing an operational plan: a starting point for online learning

On the first day, our training focused on what the operational plan means and how it looks in terms of the main content that needs to be included. This topic was presented by Jagdeep Shokar, IDS.

The content that should be included in an operational plan include:

• An executive summary (what the plan aims to achieve, why this is important and how it will go about achieving this)
• The lead person (i.e. the individual who will lead the overall activities of the project)
• Background or content
• Outcome and output,
• Resources
• Risks and challenges. 

As, at Jimma, we have not had many opportunities to think about our operational plans in this way before, it was useful to go over these basic steps.  Since we are keen to address the challenges of developing e-learning at Jimma, writing an operational plan that will include strategies for implementing our e-learning was a useful starting point.  

Blended learning can be a useful approach (using a mix of online and face-to-face)

It was interesting to hear Professor Gilbert Kokwano, from Strathmore University Business School, highlight the importance of online access even if the connectivity is not perfect. He believes that using a blended learning approach is better than just face-to-face learning and would be a good approach for education, in particular in an African context. He also emphasized that multidisciplinary or geographical variations, of learners coming together in one place (online or face-to-face) enables individuals to learn through others’ experiences.  After the presentation we had the opportunity to reflect on how we relate to each institution on online learning. What was significant here was there were different experiences, and contexts, expressed in the group which allowed us to appreciate that we are not alone in the challenges we face at Jimma.

Open Access

Professor Martin Weller’s film on “Digital scholarship and openness in Higher Education” made us excited. Weller explores how digital network technology and open access movements are very vital for sharing resources. In terms of promoting your research to a wider audience, open access can be more vital for reaching out than academic publishing channels as open access are available to the public and academic journals can be costly.

Weller adds that the quality of online learning can be as good as face-to-face learning, provided that it is designed appropriately for an online environment. In sharing his insights - like the impact of new technologies, open education and learning environments - Weller has given us some ideas and approaches that we can take back and apply within our institutions.   For me these are inspiring ideas because one of the areas we want to develop at Jimma is our online learning.  The concept of applying a pedagogical approach to enriching our e-learning strategy and plans for the future is a good place to start.

Getting support is key to developing online learning

Irene Maweu, e/merge Africa, talked about “E/merge Africa: unleashing the power of networks in Africa”.  E/merge Africa is a free membership group created in Africa in order to share online support, IT support, course delivery, facilitating webinar etc.  Since she is an expert in human capacity development and communication, especially in e-learning, course design and content development, she had some valuable information for us (e/merge Africa could be a way that we can get some support for our plans to develop our online learning).

Esther Gacicio, Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD), specializes in instructional designer and content development as well as e-learning facilitation has talked about “Moving teachers competencies in curriculum delivery to the 21 first century”.  KICD’s objective is to give training for the Kenyan elementary and high school teachers on how they can develop curriculum and implement on their activities of teaching and learning processes in the entire nation (Kenya). Ethiopia does not yet have an institution like KICD looking at this area – there is a clear need for an institution like this in my country – although the Ministry of Education has played such roles at different times for different universities, high schools and for elementary teachers.

Luis Arnoldo Ordonez Vela spoke about “building collaboration interdisciplinary groups with the support of technology tools and social media”. His current research interests focus on the determinants of participation in society and the impact of digital technologies, specifically, the role of information in decision-making mechanisms in the Latin American environment and mobilization of knowledge between universities and Latin American society. His presentation was more on how we can share and transfer knowledge through social media, libraries, culture, ICCT etc. He also shares how collaborative research is very important for the development of any country. This is an interesting perspective for me because in Ethiopia, there is a need for a more inclusive, interdisciplinary approach and developing our technology tools, and fostering usage, would be a valuable step in progressing our country to being an efficient modern society enjoying better economic health. In Jimma, we have started working with an interdisciplinary approach and can really see the benefits; however, good access to the internet remains a serious challenge which, until it is overcome, prevents us from being in a position to take up the challenge of sharing and transferring knowledge in this way.

Preparing our operational plans

We also had the opportunity, during the two-day workshop, to prepare operational plans for each institution which we did in groups with support from the presenters and facilitators. Through the process, our guide reiterated that pedagogy, ICT and content experts are very vital in order to implement successful online learning. After the discussion, and once work on operational plans had concluded, one presenter selected from each group presented the plan that had been worked on. At the end of each group presentation there was several questions and discussions in order to shape the operational plan of each institution.  I found it a useful process to work on an operational plan for Jimma as a group as it allowed our group to discuss our context in detail, in particular the challenges we face in delivering online learning, and to work through our concerns with support from the facilitators and experts.  

Exploring teaching styles

On the second day, we looked different teaching styles which was facilitated by Siobhan Duvigneau, IDS, and utilized a number of quizzes on teaching styles which are available online (through Google). We have got a lot of experiences from the sites that we visited, and we tried to answer the quizzes to the best of our knowledge.  The focus of Siobhan’s agenda was: exploring how to improve teaching and learning experiences, behaviours and skills. She is passionate about approaches that foster critical thinkers, independent and self-directed learners who are confident networks, problem-solvers and knowledge co-creators. 

Teaching methods are general principles, or pedagogy, used for classroom instruction. There are different teaching styles in the world. Each country or university has its own teaching styles depending on the curriculum they have. For me, a student-centered approach is very important. It is a teaching method that focuses on student investigation and hands-on learning. In this method the instructor role is facilitating, providing guidance and supporting of students through the learning process, so that students play an active and participatory role in their own learning process. So, this is very important for Ethiopia/Jimma University in order to create skillful students to have their own jobs than seeking from the government.

The next presenter was Dr. Philipp Grunewald. He asked us to reflect on yesterday’s work (operational planning) on how was that useful to me and to my university? According to Philipp, when we are involved in teaching and research, we can contribute knowledge to the community and to the entire nation. This indicates that better teaching, and better teachers, will be created. He gave a strong emphasis on knowledge and skill. As a teacher we have to teach students to gain more skill than knowledge. To increase employability, we need to focus on active learning rather than passive learning; train students to be job makers rather than job seekers. In that context, Dr Grunewald is inquiring how creative commons and open source software can support social systems (organizations, corporations, enterprises, social movements, etc.)

In order to alleviate problems in Ethiopia, students who have graduated from the universities should become involved in the private sector and look at creating jobs for themselves rather than seeking work from the government. So, the universities strategy, when they teach students, should focus on skill rather than knowledge. If students are mature in skill, they might have a possibility to create jobs rather than seeking them from the government. I think this is the good idea that I got from the workshop.

Conclusion

Do you believe that pedagogy comes before technology?  I am still reflecting on this question as a result of all that I experienced in the two day workshop and it seems to me that pedagogy is quite key for designing online courses, and that e-learning (or a blend of face-to-face and e-learning) could provide opportunities in an African context which will really progress our education and research agendas.  However, it was also beneficial to look in detail at developing an operational plan that includes strategies for online learning as this is what an institution really needs in order to support teaching and research. 

Last, but not least, I would like to thank the host organizer (Strathmore University, Kenya) and also the sponsor organization IDS and the AURA project team members.

Mr. Tadele Mulat, ICT Team Leader, Jimma University Library System 

Fostering competencies in interactive online teaching and learning assessment

About seven faculty members from the Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), attended a two day workshop on teaching and learning assessment at Strathmore University from 25th to 26th July 2016. This workshop was immediately followed by another workshop on strategic planning from 27th to 28th July, 2016. The workshops were organized by the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and drew on the work of the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme.

Both workshops were very useful to participants because participants were exposed to various issues related to e-learning, including: learning assessment approaches, how to use technology for assessment, technology based learning and pedagogical theories that could be applied in a technology-based environment. Furthermore, participants were taught about how to operationalize what they learnt when they go back to their institutions by developing Operational Strategic Plans.

The teaching modality throughout the two workshops was participatory, and focused on peer to peer learning and assessment as well as on learning from instructors.  Participants appreciated the fact that they were able to learn from their colleagues and to share what they knew regarding the topic that they were working on. They were enabled to expand their network of researchers to work with, due to the task that they were given to write up in groups. 

Most of the topics were completely new to participants (i.e. learning analytics, learning theories. Given their medical science background, MUHAS faculty members were therefore able to learn and appreciate many of the topics taught and of which they had not had opportunities to explore prior to the workshop.  They also learnt, and appreciated, the technology-based assessment methods which were completely new to them. This kind of training was very important, and timely, given the fact that MUHAS is implementing competency based curricular by using blended learning approaches.

Participants were also able to develop operational plans which they will be able to implement when they go back to their institutions with what they had learnt throughout the workshop. Through the development of operational plans, participants expect that they should be able to cascade what they have learnt back into their institutions. Despite the fact that a learning management system (LMS) has been implemented at MUHAS for over four years now, its' uptake has been very low. Through developing an operational plan, it is expected that academic staff at MUHAS will be able to adopt interactive teaching methods and engage students in the e-learning platform more readily.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the teaching and learning assessment workshop enabled participants to acquire skills on learning assessment approaches, how to use technology for assessment, technology based learning and pedagogical theories that could be applied in a technology-based environment. Participants also learnt about how to strategically operationalize technology-based learning in their institutions. Participants appreciated the teaching methodology and it is expected that they will adopt this modality into their teaching, especially the use of blended learning approaches.  

Professor Lwoga holds a PhD in information studies from the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. She teaches and supervises both undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has facilitated a number of workshops and short courses.  She has published widely and has presented over 30 research papers in both international and local conferences.  Professor Lwoga currently coordinates the African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania, together with an additional four projects working with international partners in Sweden, South Africa and USA.

Dr. Doreen Mloka is a Medical Microbiologist/Molecular biologist. She is a Medical Education Fellow and the Director of Continuing Education and Professional Development at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS), Tanzania. She currently coordinates two medical education projects and several microbiology projects.

The Impact of Stepping Up the Quantity and Quality of E-learning to Address Challenges of Human Resources for Health (HRH) in Kenya

Human Resources for Health (HRH): Can technology be the magic bullet in LMIC?

Photo credit: Titus Muhu Kahiga, Kenyatta University, 2016.

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) challenges continue to pose a major headache to governments in many LMIC (lower middle-income countries) in Africa. Many traditional models (like increasing the number of medical schools) have been tested but face serious quality of training gaps. Some successes have been recorded with a symbiotic relationship of north and south, and south and south, collaborations but this has not gone far enough. The WHO recommended ratios of doctor to patients continue to be unachievable in spite of deadlines by many governments in sub-Saharan Africa making periodic commitments. This is aggravated by emigration of health workers to developed countries where conditions of work and remunerations are superior. Within country, the distribution of available health workers is uneven and is not based on specific local health needs but on economic and social considerations. The ultimate consequence of this are poor health indicators. Can there be a solution to this state of affairs?

The IDS Learning Event at Strathmore University (25th to 28th July 2016)

The African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) Programme was mooted on the premise of bringing expertise and experience from around the globe to co-create a context specific educational framework and support locally generated research knowledge and its dissemination. In view of human resources for health challenges, approaches to mitigate this based on innovation then becomes a relevant area that demands deep reflection and concern. We can only thereafter ‘talk research’ once we have personnel with basic knowledge who then can be taught to become skilled researchers.

Many universities in Kenya have e-learning programmes mainly in liberal arts and basic sciences. In health professional education there has been a palpable resistance to e-learning by traditionalists (although some acceptance of it has occurred partly by nursing professionals). This is not unexpected given that most of the trainers are products of old systems and practices. A strong legal and policy infrastructure to support e-learning is also lacking. However, where e-learning has been accepted, it has basically been interpreted as loading PowerPoint presentations on the institutional LMIS (Learning Management Information System).The interactivity aspect, the objective assessment need and the need for an examination to be a benchmark of evidence of learning, are clear gaps. We have had lots of conversations about the use of technology and many faculty members accept that it can make teaching an easier experience. Of course, instructional strategies differ from one institution to another one but all have one convergence: that ultimately, individuals will need to be fully trained to manage patients.

Drawing on the work of the AURA Programme, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) convened a learning event at Strathmore University in July 2016. This provided an opportunity to start questioning the quality of material, and the e-support, being given to the students taking these modules. The need for training the trainer on e-support facilitation became apparent. While the need to have many health workers is welcome, we also need to start a robust system of increasing the capacity of quality facilitators skilled in delivering e-learning. I was certainly encouraged by the sensitization given by the two consultants at the learning event.  It made me wonder if big funders who are interested in health professional education would be interested in the approaches.

A critical mass of facilitators skilled in delivering e-learning would then need to be trained and appropriately exposed so that they can train other health workers. I propose that this be piloted in one university and be done as a collaborative effort with regulatory bodies, in order to have their buy-in. Many curriculums in health disciplines have pre-clinical phases where subjects like physiology, biochemistry, and anatomy can be taught very effectively on an e-platform. These subjects do not have our trendy language (like ‘evidence base’) and are basically static. They can be taught in one ‘command zone’, as it were, and broadcast to thousands of medical, nursing, pharmacy and other allied health professionals, in one go. This can create a lot of time that can be utilised for face-to-face interactions. Certainly technology would not train, or assess, the psychomotor aspects of health professional learning, however it can have a valuable place in other areas.

The learning event at Strathmore University also reflected on the difficult terrain of assessment. As we increase numbers it becomes a necessity to devise objective methods of confirming that learning has taken place. It is now accepted that competency based learning is the future of learning, and how to best use technologies to assess the same, needs serious interrogation.

Conclusion

Investments in infrastructure to support e- learning are already going on in many LMIC,and are being supported by funders. The investment in e-support capacity development, and the need to build a cohort of expert facilitators on e-learning, is of utmost need and urgency. This could well be the answer to addressing the human resource capacity needs in health in sub-Saharan Africa. I urge the funding community to consider paying attention to this gap, much as they continue to give infrastructural support. The learning event at Strathmore University was an ‘eye opener’ in terms of exploring and exposing this need. This will be of particular use in health related disciplines where the numbers and the quality of health workers fall far short of global recommendations.

Dr Kahiga is a pharmacologist currently working as member of faculty at Kenyatta University, a public funded university in Kenya. He also serves as principle investigator (PI) in many donor funded projects including NIH and USAID. He has a special interest in health professional education and in the past has served as master trainer in a CDC/PEPFAR funded project called PACE. At Kenyatta University, he is currently the Head of the Ethics Review Board.  In the past, Dr Kahiga has served in the National Drug Regulatory Board and in the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya, rising to the position of National Vice President. In his free time he serves as a volunteer pharmacist in a community based setting in the central part of Kenya.