Journal of Learning for Development - JL4D
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A Learning Design for Deep Learning for a Distance Teacher Education Programme
No full textSelf-learning materials (SLM) generally lack the mechanisms for ensuring deep learning but help address the learning needs of large number of learners. Hence, it was retained as the key instructional component for a distance in-service teacher education programme offered by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India. However, for the programme’s personal contact programme, a learning design was developed with the aim of addressing the SLM’s pedagogic limitations. This study aimed to determine how learners were using the SLM for learning while the design was being implemented at multiple units of analysis. It used the case-study method, and the findings suggested that the learning design encouraged deep learning processes that included the use of workplace learning as a context for interrogating the SLM and evaluating their relevance. Findings of qualitative studies are not generally generalisable. Nevertheless, this study will help in making informed decisions favouring ‘learning designs’ instead of instructional designs for IGNOU’s future teacher education programmes
Postgraduate Students’ Perception of the Use of E-portfolios as a Teaching Tool to Support their Learning in an Open and Distance Education Institution
No full textE-portfolios have been used for decades in education; however, it is still a new trend in some developing countries as they continue to adopt e-learning practices. The study investigated postgraduate students’ experiences and perceptions of using an e-portfolio as a teaching tool to support their learning in an open and distance e-learning (ODeL) university in South Africa. A sample of 74 students registered for an online module were selected and an online questionnaire administered via Lime Survey. The results show that more than half of the respondents (71%) were using the e-portfolio for the first time. The study also revealed the contrasting views of the support received from the lecturer and institution for the e-portfolio platform, especially with technical issues. This study suggests that distance education institutions that are using e-portfolios need to strategically choose user-friendly technology tools and design appropriate student support strategies for delivering online modules. Higher education institutions that are planning to implement e-portfolios may find the results of this paper useful; however, further investigation of the learners’ needs, and available tools may assist with creative and appropriate designs of support strategies for their contexts
Review: Cleveland-Innes, M. F., & Garrison, D. R. (Eds.), (2021). An introduction to distance education: Understanding teaching and learning in a new era (2nd ed.). New York, N.Y.: Routledge.
No full textEffects of Demo Kit on Remediating Senior School Students’ Misconceptions in Mitosis and Meiosis in Ilorin, Nigeria
No full textThis study investigated the effects of demo kit on remediating misconceptions held by senior school students’ in mitosis and meiosis. The quasi-experimental design of the pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group was adopted for the study. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 60 male and female biology students from two senior secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis. The instruments used for data collection was Mitosis and Meiosis Achievement Test (MMAT). Frequencies and chi-square were used to answer the research questions and test the null hypothesis respectively. The findings revealed that biology students’ held misconceptions on mitosis and meiosis before and after instructions. However, there was a significant difference in the number of misconceptions held by students taught using demo kit and those taught with the conventional method. It was recommended that biology teachers adopt the use of the demo kit for remediating students pre- and post-instructional misconceptions on mitosis and meiosis
Open and Innovative Schooling: An Implementation Experience in Fifteen Secondary Schools across Mozambique
No full textThis case study explores the open and innovative schooling model piloted in fifteen secondary schools across all regions of Mozambique in the period 2018 to 2020. The model involved provision of access to curriculum-based digital Open Educational Resources (OER) using an Aptus device to enable sharing offline. Learning support centres offering access to some ICT as well as opportunities for individual use or structured tutorials were established in fifteen schools around the country. A mixed methods tracer study was designed and implemented using quantitative analysis to ascertain student enrolment, retention and success and then used qualitative focus surveys and focus groups to gauge the satisfaction of students, teachers and managers with the OIS model to inform future planning. While the pilot was generally considered successful in augmenting existing secondary schooling provision, access to devices, teacher development and support and expansion of curriculum coverage were all found to be in critical need of improvement if the model is to be scaled
Reimagining Digital Learning for Sustainable Development: How Upskilling, Data Analytics, and Educational Technologies Close the Skills Gap
No full textBook revie
The Effects of Authentic Learning Practices on Problem-Solving Skills and Attitude towards Science Courses
No full textThis study aims to investigate the effects of authentic learning methods — applied in science courses — on the problem-solving skills and attitudes towards those courses. As a research design, a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test control groups was used in the study. The data of the study were collected from 92 students at the level of 6th grade in Van, Turkey in the 2017-2018 academic year. As data collection tools, the Problem-Solving Skills Test and Science Attitude Scale were used throughout the study. During the data analysis phase, descriptive statistics, one-factor analysis of variance for unrelated samples, t-test for related samples, Kruskal Wallis-H and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test were used. As a result of the study, it was realised that there was a significant difference between the experimental group and control groups' problem-solving skills total scores in favour of the experimental group. Furthermore, it was ascertained that authentic learning practices improved the problem-solving skills of the experimental group students to a significant extent. In terms of attitude points towards science, it was determined that the post-test scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than the control groups and authentic learning practices had a positive effect on attitude
Interplay between Literacy and Health Services Access: The Case of Elderly Exemption Beneficiaries in Tanzania
No full textOver the last two decades research has indicated an unpleasant experience for the elderly with exemptions. An important question for this paper is whether the unpleasant exempted experience for the elderly in accessing health services is linked to illiteracy. Since illiteracy can affect how services are used and its results, the answer to this paper’s question could affect how health services are accessed and their associated outcomes. Policy implementors are operating without a solid knowledge of this relationship. The study used a mixed methods approach. Purposive random sampling was applied to select 879 elderly and was guided by research assistants in filling in the questionnaires. Also, purposive sampling was used to recruit 23 key informants. Results indicates a significant relationship between illiteracy and selected indicators of health service access: awareness, acceptability and adequacy. This paper argues for more training opportunities through non-formal programs among adults and communication capacity building among health providers based on the results of implementing the elderly exemption policy in Ubungo and Mbarali districts in Tanzania
Challenges to the Effective Teaching and Learning of Geography through ODeL at the Zimbabwe Open University
No full textODeL offers a lot of opportunities and unique challenges for adult learners. In this paper, the authors sought to examine the main problems that influence the effective teaching and learning of geography and environmental studies in Zimbabwe through ODeL as perceived by the students at the ZOU's Harare/Chitungwiza Regional Campus. This single case study employed vital informant semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis and observations to solicit information from ten students and four tutors in the Geography and Environmental Studies Department (DGES) over three months. Thematic analysis and review of qualitative gained insight into the challenges that are faced by ODeL students in the DGES. The study found out that students in the department face personal and socio-economic challenges as well as related institutional challenges. The study recommends that the ZOU DGES should offer more academic support and improve its communication to the students so that they are aware of all university-related developments that impact on their studies.
Keywords: challenges, teaching, learning, ODL, ODe
Developing Partnerships to Acquire Impact: The Role of Three Regional Centres’ Capacity Building Efforts for ODL Adoption in the Emerging World
No full textPartnerships are central to the awareness, implementation and development of open and distance learning (ODL). It is an attribute that is distinct in the higher education sector, where ODL has made a large footprint by dispelling the notion that university enrolment is reserved for a narrow and elite demographic. The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) operates to advance the uptake of ODL amongst the 54 member states of the Commonwealth. COL leverages its work through various channels, and the COL Regional Centres play a pivotal role as partners to COL and, in turn, to acquire new partners that may benefit from COL’s technical expertise. The Regional Centres, strategically located across the Commonwealth, engage primarily in capacity building for ODL. Their constituents include governments, institutions, and individual learners. This paper explores the role of COL Regional Centres to grow existing partnerships and to form new ones in the pursuit of ODL expansion. The formation of partnerships is understudied in the ODL space, yet it has been pivotal in augmenting the visibility and importance of ODL around the world. Drawing on data from an evaluation of three COL Regional Centres conducted at the end of 2019, and reporting on follow-up activities to the mid-point of 2021, this paper highlights how the RCs are achieving their mandate to engage partners and, in the process, have achieved short- and long-term outcomes since 2018. Findings provide insight into the effectiveness of RC activities, relative to the number of institutions and individuals reached, complemented with inputs from RC stakeholders, mostly comprised of RC staff. Recommendations are offered, with the paper positing that the role of the Regional Centres should continue and expand to other areas of the Commonwealth premised on their ability to build and sustain partnerships through capacity building efforts.