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.

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. 

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

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 

Applying learning theories to online learning: Reflections on the T3 intervention at Jimma University, March 2016

Through the African Universities’ Research Approaches (AURA) programme, Jimma University (JU) recently offered the T3 intervention, one of a series of interventions designed to build the capacity of universities in Sub-Saharan Africa.

T3, which took place at JU from 21st to 22nd March 2016, is a practical course focusing on how learning theories can be applied to an online learning environment. The training was designed to enable instructors from the various colleges of JU to:

•     plan and organize online learning effectively on Moodle – JU’s existing platform;

•     apply pedagogical implementations to learning technologies such as Moodle;

•     assess learners using learning technologies.

Generally, T3 introduced a growing world of technology that may help to facilitate learning and teaching by making learning and teaching easier and more engaging, as well as cost-effective. Information technologies are one of a number of revolutions which are transforming lives in the 21st century and having an impact on countries like Ethiopia. Consequently, education and training needs to be reinforced with technology if we are to benefit from the opportunities offered through the digital revolution.  If the instructors at JU are committed to applying T3, then the training will impact positively on the teaching and learning process in Jimma University.

Online learning: technologies, pedagogical processes, and benefits

The mentors of T3 covered a range of technologies applicable to online learning, including Moodle, which was discussed and demonstrated extensively. According to the demonstrations and theoretical discussions on pedagogical processes, Moodle can be used to create courses for online learning with the use of various kinds of teaching methods and theories. It is possible to apply social constructive, and any other theories suitable for the course content, to online learning as well as face to face learning.  Moreover, various learning materials (such as videos, podcasts, texts, documents, portable document formats, PowerPoints etc.) can be easily embedded in the course page created in the Moodle. It is also possible to incorporate chat and discussion forums in the learning page we create in Moodle – these can also help us to apply social constructive theories (encouraging the trainees to be more independent in the learning process, to share the knowledge they have gained, and to benefit from opportunities for greater online socialization with each other around their learning). Moodle also enables us to assess the trainees online.

The task set by the training facilitators at the end of the training, (to create a technology oriented course on Moodle), and feedback after rating this, made us competent enough to translate the skills developed by the intervention into concrete action because the task was designed so that we would have to apply what we had just learnt by putting it into practice on JU’s Moodle platform.

In addition, other learning technologies (such as Google Hangouts, Google Plus, Skype for Business, Second life, Facebook, Twitter, email threads etc.) were discussed and demonstrated in terms of how these could be used for online learning by facilitators.

The T3 training was facilitated by educators from various universities in Africa and highly skilled pedagogy experts from UK. Their experience on online learning was another highlight of the T3 intervention - in addition to delivering the training, they also shared their experiences on online learning in the context of their institutions. Hearing about their experiences was an additional motivation for the trainees to use technology for learning. The facilitators also promised to continue to provide support remotely.

T3 key points of learning:

The training intervention has yielded two key changes to my ways of teaching and learning:

1.    First, I had not believed that you could use social constructive theory for teaching online as online learning has little space for interaction between the educator and trainees – or so I perceived before T3. After the training, I could see that interaction between the educator and the trainees online is definitely possible. Therefore, I learned that we can make online teaching and learning interactive and share our knowledge among trainees online as well as offline. According to the new skills I have gained, the educator not only transfers knowledge but also learns from the learners too because, when online learning is created with the application of social constructive theory, the learners are encouraged to be more independent in the learning process and to share what they have acquired with both their fellow learners and also with the educator.

2.    Second, what I learnt from T3 is that pedagogy matters more than technology in online learning. Before we start designing online learning we have to select appropriate pedagogical theories to deliver the course effectively. Then, we can develop an appropriate online learning page. “Pedagogy before technology” was the interesting motto of our mentor – to remind us what is important.

Now capacitated by T1 (the precursor to T3 – T1 focused more on the pedagogical theories and T3 on applying these to online learning), T3 and the remote assistance of our mentors, I am getting ready to revolutionize my way of teaching and learning in a way which benefits both the trainees and the institution I am working for. Furthermore, some of the departments in our college have also created opportunities to apply T3 so there is more to come from Jimma University.

Melaku Haile Likka, Department of Health Economics, Management and Policy at the College of Health Sciences, Jimma University in Ethiopia.

Participants’ Reflections after the AURA Programme’s Research One (R1) Learning Intervention

There has been an increasing stream of feedback since October 2015 that indicates the potential benefits of AURA programme impacting individual participants at different levels.  What follows is a short summary of the key moments.

Application of critical skills in information literacy

One of these concerns application of critical skills in information literacy. One participant, a young scholar, began reading more widely on the topic of her PhD concept note and made an effort to contact the author of a paper she felt contained content that was core to the concepts of her research. She received positive feedback from the author and was motivated to keep working on the paper and has since gone on to present a poster at the GKEN4Africa 5th International Multidisciplinary Conference 2015 .

Opening up research opportunities to undergraduate students

The other area is the effort to open up research opportunities to undergraduate students, especially using approaches that impact society. One of the participants has demonstrated how the learning obtained in the AURA programme’s R1 face to face learning intervention has encouraged him to involve his students in research activities that have an impact in their communities. One of the student teams went on to present a poster on this initiative at an internal research event at Strathmore.

 These developments indicate the potential impact of the AURA intervention in promoting research amongst Strathmore students. Therefore,  it is becoming clearer how learning interventions can be beneficial in supporting young scholars in fostering confidence, in developing skills to develop their work and to take up opportunities to communicate about this both internally and externally.

Application of critical thinking skills

Another area is the application of critical thinking skills. One of the participants has been conceptualising a difficult research topic concerning the need for research outputs to contribute to the transformation of the society. In the local setting, most research findings remain on the shelves as scholarly outputs that do not influence policy or practice in the industry or within the communities.

The participant benefited from the R1 learning intervention and became more confident that the chosen topic was researchable and could be actualised, especially following detailed feedback from scholars in the AURA network.  It will be interesting to see how this student’s work progresses.

Concluding remarks

These developments indicate the potential impact of the AURA intervention in promoting research amongst Strathmore students. Therefore, it is becoming clearer how learning interventions can be beneficial in supporting young scholars in fostering confidence, in developing skills to develop their work and to take up opportunities to communicate about this both internally and externally.

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

AURA developing a framework for strengthening a research culture

The African Universities' Research Approaches (AURA) programme completed its first research capacity intervention, earlier this year in Nairobi and Dar Es Salaam working with African universities to enable faculty to do more research and develop researchers of the future.

Photo:  StockSnap-894430, Pixabay

Creative Commons CC0 Public Domain License

How the study of people's information behaviour informs the programme

The AURA programme's strategy draws on the study of people's information behaviour. In particular the assumption that information behaviour is intrinsically related to how we navigate and at the same time co-construct our experience. This shared experience, although open to interpretation, is reflected in our thoughts and informed and communicated through our actions including speech, writing, the creation and use of images, and with an array of technologies. The 'experience' that is the focus of the AURA programme is our learning experience, in particular that learning experience associated with conducting an inquiry into a particular topic or problem, i.e. conducting research and becoming informed.

As a consequence the project draws on theories of people's information behaviour that explores and documents the factors that influence and drive information behaviour, some generic some context specific. The sub-domain, information literacy, i.e. concentrating on the cognitive, emotional and behavioural capabilities relating to being informed; where people identify their information needs and appreciate and effectively utilise their socio-technical environment that can enable them to become informed or may be used to manage or communicate their 'research' i.e. the product of 'finding out' and learning.

Drawing on current approaches within higher education and research

The AURA programme also draws on a knowledge of current approaches to become informed within, on the whole, higher education and research environments.  These include an overview of the ontological, epistemological orientations and approaches that are taken. These include the broad ontological distinction between Cartesian and non-Cartesian and broad epistemological viewpoints within the post positivism or interpretivist paradigms such as social constructivism or critical realism or phenomenology.

Furthermore the distinction between citizen-led, highly participative or researcher-led forms of research (which are associated with distinct epistemological orientations) are highlighted.

The theoretical is however grounded in relation to the practice of conducting research and the process of developing research questions that will lead to funding from donors and research sponsors as well as getting published in respected publications plus ensuring that research is communicated effectively and has impact.  Hence, mapping the researchers network and identifying stakeholders (other academics, policy makers, publishers, international organisations etc.) and also mapping the knowledge, information and data landscape is seen as fundamental. The academic's research is therefore seen as integral to the wider socio-economic-technological context. Thus the research has to be contextualised and justified in terms of potential impact on society as well as to be clear about the academic contribution the research makes. In fact successful research is likely to stem from this contextualisation process. Without this contextualisation process, research is less likely to succeed or be seen to contribute.

Using pedagogical theory and practice to enable learners to engage with interventions

Another key component of the AURA programme is pedagogy. Pedagogy is the theory and practice of enabling learning and education. It is therefore intrinsic in that it enables us to implement interventions that are based on strong pedagogic theory and will enable learners to engage with the subject i.e. research and how to go about research. The current teaching of research, although there are examples of excellent practice, in many cases the learners do not engage and benefit little from research methods courses. Plus they tend to be patchy in their coverage. In the past the teaching of research has tended to take a teacher-centred approach rather than participative and experiential. It also tends have taken on board to a limited extent recent developments, for example, the importance placed on participative research or the blurring between quantitative and qualitative data or the increased emphasis on holistic/systemic approaches in addition to the more traditional analytical approaches. These changes are related to an increased appreciation of the complexity of many problems that we face and that need to be tackled from a multi-disciplinary, mixed methodological perspective.

Furthermore drawing on current knowledge about pedagogy enables the modelling of methods and techniques that can be applied in the universities and the learning stemming from AURA to be cascaded and institutionalised. It also enables current practices to be adopted such as reflective practice or the use of social media or blended learning which draws on different modalities of delivery and learning.

Concluding reflections

Strengthening research capacity within an institution is however challenging. There are organisational factors that impinge on the project. These include their: history, culture, goals, organisation and infrastructure. One key challenge is the large numbers of students and the shortage of staff. A host of different players operate in this context: faculty/researchers, students, the research office, the library, continuing professional development, the graduate school, deputy vice chancellors of research and teaching, the ICT providers. Each play a role and have an interest in certain aspects of the 'problem' i.e. strengthening the research culture and the capacity to do research. As a consequence AURA has involved representatives from these groups in each African university. They form the core group of partners and co-developers.

 This blog post was originally shared by Professor Mark Hepworth on LinkedIn.

Dr Mark Hepworth is Professor in People’s Information Behaviour, at the Centre for Information Management at Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK. He champions access to information for underrepresented groups in society, is passionate about research philosophy and methodology and about strengthening people’s capacity to conduct research in educational, workplace and community based contexts. He specialises in participative, qualitative research.

Read more at Mark Hepworth's Blog and on Twitter: @kampalamark.