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.
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