Towards a Different ICT Pedagogy for Africa
 By Vincent Kizza, Uganda
Many years back at university, we were extremely excited about the various instructional pedagogies such as lectures, discussion, discovery, etc. However, when many of us went to the field, we soon realised that there was a big trade-off between adapting some of these methodologies and the pressure to complete the extensive syllabus. We were left with no alternative than to resort to the lecture method, which - in our view - allowed one to move at a fairly high speed. Worse still, we were judged by the number of students in our classes who passed the national examinations with a grade of “1”, the highest possible.
School children at Gayaza
High School
These were also the times when Piaget’s theories of child centeredness were gaining ground, at least in my country. Personally, I didn’t believe in the need for it and was at ease with the status quo that effectively portrayed the teacher as the impeccable subject expert on the one hand and the student as an “empty” recipient on the other. I believed that there was absolutely no need to do things differently.
Several years later, though, the public seriously began to question the delivery of the curriculum amidst issues like the occurrence of high failure rates, a lack of standards, the low relevancy of the school products to industry, extremely low student and teacher morale, among others. On the other hand, we, the teachers, took refuge in explaining away our “poor performance” solely as the result of poor remuneration, and it made perfect sense in many quarters.
Nevertheless, deep in my mind, I strongly believed that the way I was teaching was terribly faulty and that I urgently needed to get to the crux of the problem. Could it be a result of the way I was taught myself?
Personally, I was constantly saddened by the fact that even with a BSc degree in physics under my arm, I was not able to fix a bulb, socket or radio. So the internal questioner in me kept giving me sleepless nights. Did I get the right education?
Then, more by God’s grace than design, several ICT initiatives came to the country and we were introduced to the “magic machines”. Sooner rather than later, terms such as word processing, spreadsheets, Internet and networks became buzzwords, and some of us - the most enthusiastic - started on things such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS and computer simulations.
However, with the reality of the basic literacy gap closing in, a new wave of curriculum–technology integration has also set in. At present, skills and tools are more emphasised, but studies continue to reveal that there are still very few teachers who use ICT in their teaching. It is this group of early-adopters that needs urgent attention since what they do impacts directly on the motivation of the other laggards to take up technology.
Furthermore, it is apparent that, because of the need for a completely new skill set commonly referred to as “the 21st century skills”, which has been imposed by a globalised world, the teachers and the students - working together - not only have to be in control of the content but also of how students learn.
All this calls for a radical examination of how best to deliver a curriculum using technology.
The African classroom, as opposed to its American and European counterparts where the dissemination of Web 2.0 technology and e-science grid infrastructures have already taken off, is generally characterised by large student numbers (over 50 in my school), high student-to-computer ratios (typically 10:1) and physical architectures not initially meant for technology use. Other negative features include frequent power cuts and the lack of key tools such as LCD projectors.
All this calls for a different but probably similar approach that takes into consideration the realities of the African context. What do you do when power goes off, for instance? Do you start with a simulation or hands-on with real materials? Is hands-on necessary in an ICT-enhanced lesson? How can it possibly be done? How do we factor in the high student-computer ratios?
Several years of helping teachers integrate technology, observing others and using it myself have enabled me to come up with a few best practices, at least some that are tailored to my class. First and foremost, the teacher should be able to discern situations where it does not add value to use technology and avoid using technology for its own sake.
Furthermore, whatever approaches are chosen, the ICT designs need to take account of the different learning styles of the students and hence choose multimedia and digital resources that match a wide range of these styles.
My pedagogical approach is more inclined toward science, the field with which I am most familiar. My hope is that my colleagues will suggest other areas for ICT use, including the arts. I hasten to emphasise that in no way am I recommending or suggesting that my view be taken as a panacea for every situation.
During the first part of the lesson, students work in collaborative groups to explore the lesson concept hands-on. As the teacher, you guide the groups in their exploration of the lesson concept by asking guiding questions to encourage observations and interactions with the actual phenomena being studied. For example, if your class is studying the physics topic of machines, divide the students into groups and give each group a set of pulleys, masses and a spring balance.
Then ask them if they can set up the system to lift masses. How many ways can they make this happen? Next, have them make drawings of ways that do and ways that don’t work. Have them explore the possibility of using a combination of pulleys and to record what happens. This kind of exploration offers the advantages of hands-on interaction with objects and systems. Students work with and get the feel for real materials and a sense for how they can interact in the face of guiding questions from the teacher and peer discussion. Such experience is fundamental to concept development, especially for secondary-school-level learners.
Concept explanation is the second part of a technology lesson, with the teacher asking the class questions about what they have observed and what it means. For example, what happens to the effort used as more masses are added to the pulley and which pulley system required the least force with given masses? Ask the students which concepts they are studying. Identify and define the concepts and list associated words, phrases and related vocabulary. At this point, your first computer-enhanced part of the lesson can come into play as you show students images of other pulleys, many of which can be found on the Internet. You can for instance, show them that pulleys come in many configurations and serve many purposes. The LCD projector can come in handy as the teacher leads the rest of the class and harmonises the different viewpoints for the large class.
Concept extension is the final part of the lesson. Here, students show they can extend their understanding of the lesson concept to a variety of applications and in a more abstract form. This part of the lesson can be used as both additional student practice and for assessment. The concept extension is where you can really leverage the power of computers and the Internet as learning tools. In particular, I like to have student groups use concept simulations to extend and test their understanding of the lesson concept.
A search of the Internet will yield a number of interactive circuit simulations, ranging from simple to complex. Some of them may require that Java, Java VM, flash player, or other tools be enabled, so the teacher should check this beforehand and have these tools ready offline; otherwise students may require lots of time downloading them from the unreliable Internet. The real power of simulations as learning tools comes from the fact that variables in a system can be changed quickly and predictions or hypotheses can be immediately tested. Students can determine if they do or do not understand a concept very quickly.
Whenever I teach with such an approach, the students respond positively to the combination of hands-on investigations and simulations. They comment that the hands-on "exploration" gives them a real context for the simulation "extension" part of the lesson, while the simulations gives them a chance to quickly build and test many different kinds of models.
February 28, 2008
Vincent Kizza (left)
Vincent Kizza will take part in a discussion on ICT in schools at eLearning Africa. We would like to encourage you to comment on this article.
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Comments
Hi Vincent, Hi all,
My name is Günther Osswald, and I’m a physics and maths teacher from a public secondary school in Germany.
I really appreciate this discussion about best practice for the integration of computers in physics lessons. In my school, some colleagues use them, some don't. The framing conditions are not exactly ideal.
In my school, we have a total of about 800 students, and only one computer room with 34 PCs. The room is booked for about only half the week. If we want to do a hands-on experiment with computer support, we have some problems because the physics materials are located on another floor. Furthermore, there is too little space for practical work in the computer room. As a result, the computer is mostly used for simulations or for the evaluation of a demonstration experiment.
What I want to say with this is that I, too, am interested in a collection of best practice teaching experiences.
Your article, Vincent, gives me some insight into your classroom, and even that alone is inspiring to me. Thank you! I have, though, a number of questions: How do you manage to achieve the student-centered approach you describe in your example with fifty(!) students? Doesn't it lead to confusion? And do you have enough experimentation material (e.g. pulleys) for all fifty students? We don’t! And how about the final examination ... ?
Would you be ready to share your experience? I think I could benefit all of us.
May I invite you, and all other physics teachers, to come to our Physics Teacher Education Platform on WikiEducator? This is a large international educational wiki run by the Commonwealth of Learning. It is a good place for sharing one’s experiences for the benefit of all. There you can find my own ICT practices, too.
This year I am experimenting for first time with an online script for secondary mechanics in WikiEd. In that project, students have to solve problems on solution pages in the wiki on a regular basis.
Looking forward to meeting you in WikiEducator.
Greetings from sunny spring in Bavaria.
Günther Osswald
Gisela-Gymnasium München, Germany
March 15, 2008
Thanks for a very relevant article. If teachers follow the line of thought very well, they'll realise that the integrated approach that Vincent advocates can work for other subject areas as well. In Ghana, our educational reforms emphasize integration, with the aim of making students better able to apply their knowledge and creative abilities. If the reforms succeed, they will help our students break free of the rote method previously followed by a system that yielded “products” who were knowledgeable, but who were unable to apply their knowledge very effectively.
Yes, we all need to take a good look at how we teach. Maybe we can improve teaching content in order to advance the Continent.
Dinah Amankwah
Lecturer
Wa Polytechnic
Wa, Ghana.
March 8, 2008
Dear eLearning readers,
I was delighted to read this article; it made me think about our experience within MKFC Stockholm College and in Scandinavia in general.
Finland is one of the top countries in education (see for example last PISA results), but we are facing large challenges in regard to taking full advantage of ICT, especially within integrating pedagogy and education. I would emphasise eLearning a bit more than using simulations or tools within classrooms.
We already have vast experience indicating that ICT in education and working life empowers people to create and participate in knowledge sharing and virtual communities. Virtual communities like blogs, wikis, podcasting and Learning Management Platforms (LMS) are effective tools to build collaboration between different kind of stakeholders and civil societies. We work with these tools in our courses in order to reinforce learning and prepare students and learners for acting in a connected world. End-to-End eLearning™ contributes to increasing access to learning, improving employability and citizenship and develops societies in general. The relationship between life-skills, internationalization and educational practices is needed to generate eLearning for our future.
I know that this is already reality in places where we work in Africa, and it will be possible in the near future in Ghana as well. I will be part of the MKFC group participating to the upcoming event in Accra, where we'll provide seminar sessions and information both at our own stand as well during the pre-conference workshops about our End-to-End eLearning™ concept that we are planning to organise.
Looking forward to fruitful comments.
Viljami Kettunen
March 8, 2008
Vincent,
what I enjoy most about your article is the positive feedback cycle that you describe, where the need to find a better, more involving pedagogical approach has called for technology integration into teaching and this has been stimulating the change in the pedagogical approach even further. Technology is then a catalyst for innovation not just in the way we do our lecture, but in the way we conceive our teaching. Conversely, in my experience this is one of the toughest hurdles to overcome when trying to introduce ICT in schools, since only few teachers are willing to re-think their role and approach to the roots: it's a major effort and it needs courage! That's why to me it is so important to empower those pioneers to become opinion leaders in their group and viceversa, work with existing opinion leaders to have them become pioneers, in the quest for building a local community of practices.
See you in Accra!
Paolo Brunello
March 7, 2008
Vincent didn’t mention whether his strategy is tailored to lessons in a computer lab or the more common one-computer classrooms. There are both advantages and disadvantages to having computers in a separate lab environment. For example, there may be technical assistance in a lab for trouble-shooting the computers, installing the software, and helping the students. In addition, a lab (as opposed to one computer in each classroom) allows more students simultaneous access.
However, the time in a computer lab is generally quite limited -- If this is the configuration at your school, you may have to be more structured in your approach with ICT activities. In other words, if you only have access to the lab for forty minutes each week, it may be difficult to engage the students in long-term projects. However, that does not mean that you cannot benefit from technology in your curriculum -- just plan ahead (have the students create storyboards and concept maps in the classroom); make sure they are aware of the goals and procedures before going to the lab; and structure short-term projects that can be continued in the classroom (without computers).
In a one -computer classroom, the computer may be used as a presentation tool (for the teacher and students) to demonstrate, provide and use technology-enhanced teaching techniques. In addition, students can showcase their projects and present them to the class. The computer may also function as a learning/research center where students can access encyclopedias, the Internet, and application software (such as spreadsheets, concept mapping tools, and word processors). Or even as a development station, you'll need to create a rotational schedule and make sure the students without a computer are engaged in another facet of the activity. For example, one group can be conducting research through "traditional" means, another group can be brainstorming or writing their storyboards, and other groups can be using a digital camera, scanner, or camcorder.
Paul Demeke, Teacher, Addis, Ethiopia
March 6, 2008
Dear eLearning Readers,
Vincent's article brings me to my "petty" topic of how best to integrate technology in the classroom to achieve the maximum benefit ... As the article hinted, simulations (virtual experiment) can demonstrate a plethora of scientific principles or experiments. They can, for instance, show how light travels through different materials, the workings of the human heart, or a frog dissection.
Teachers can produce their own simulations using programs such as Interactive Physics, Model ChemLab, or Macromedia Flash or Director, or run ready-made simulations from the Internet. Ready-made simulations residing on the Internet (which usually means they function using Java applets or plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave) can be useful for introducing or reviewing topics, and most are free.
There are limitations, however, to the simulations found on the Internet. They may not be as versatile as the ones you or your students can produce, and your students may not fully understand the scientific concept behind the simulation. However, if you want to produce your own simulations, you may have to purchase software.
Another point to consider is that just because simulations are on the computer does not necessarily mean they're easier — or more effective — than a traditional experiment or demo. A case in point is an experiment on reacting alkali metals (sodium) with water. A video or simulation of the results of sodium reacting with water pales in comparison to an on-site demonstration of the water and sodium forming a fireball that whizzes over the surface of the liquid. Of course, this must be done in a fume hood, but it's a sight students aren't likely to forget.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to attend the Conference because I am already committed to another at that time.
Aluta continua
Dr. Gentrix Banda
Teacher trainer
Blantyre, Malawi
March 3, 2008
Dear eLearning Practitioners,
When I attended the second eLearning Africa Conference in Nairobi, Kenya last year, I looked forward to discussing this relevant topic. We are really working in the dark as teachers and badly need a discussion on this one. It is one thing to have tools and skills and quite another to be able to put them to good, let alone innovative, use. This failure has partly led to school administrators’ reluctance to invest in technology.
John Dzruni
Harare Zimbambwe
March 2, 2008
I think this is a great article by Vincent of Uganda to set us thinking. Indeed Africa needs a different approach defined by her unique environment. This must not, however, be used as an excuse not to perform or even do better because there are situations inherent there that can be harnessed for the better.
Take for instance the fact that technology in Africa probably doesn’t change as rapidly as it does here in Europe. This gives the teacher in Africa the chance to be in a capacity to build a “sustainable “ collection of best practices better that here in the UK, where such efforts are rather hazy.
I intend to participate in the upcoming eLearning Africa event in Ghana to participate in this interesting debate.
Thanks again.
Susan Logose
Teacher, United Kingdom.
March 2, 2008
Hi,
Thanks for the great article Vincent. I think it all starts with lack of rigid education standards let alone enforceable national ICT policies that support these standards. Otherwise all students today, irrespective of geographical position need the best from technology that meets their unique learning styles.
Deolinda Salomao
Liputo, Mozambique
March 2, 2008
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