OER4Schools: Introducing digital Open Educational Resources into Zambian primary schools through school-based professional development
Partners
Sara Hennessy and Björn Haßler, Centre for Commonwealth Education, University of Cambridge, UK, Mark Bennett and Clare Stead (iSchool, Zambia), Zanzini Ndhlovu and Godfrey Mwewa, (University of Zambia), Edgar Zulu (National In-Service Teachers College, NISTCOL, Zambia), VVOB, OER Africa, Esvah Chizambe (Principal Education Officer for Teacher Education, Zambia Ministry of Education).
Pilot Project
This CCE-funded 'OER4Schools' project started in August 2009 with a pilot phase, that was completed in May 2010. Through this pilot, we assessed the feasibility of providing Open Educational Resources (OER) to ICT- and Internet-equipped primary schools in Zambia, and of supporting interactive forms of subject pedagogy with the new resources. It identified the needs of school-based professional development adapted to the local context. The project is conducted in a North-South partnership between the CCE and institutions in Zambia. It uniquely combines stakeholders from various sectors (including educational research, ICT for development [NGOs], government, and the ICT service sector) as a basis for developing methodologies that promise lasting transformation in Zambian primary education. While the project is conducted in Zambia, it is anticipated to be relevant to a wide range of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Key outputs include models for OER-Pedagogy-ICT adoption in poorly resourced educational systems, and guidance on implementing better learning environments.
In the pilot phase the primary aim of the project was to conduct the necessary research to build a further proposal for external funding over a longer period. We worked with teachers in 3 schools, developing, supporting and trialling uses of OERs combined with new pedagogical approaches for teaching mathematics. There were opportunities for peer observation and
reflective practice. The research element recorded classroom practice and assesses participants' reactions and learning, eliciting messages for embedding basic ICT and OER use in teacher education. Findings were presented at the e-Learning Africa Conference in Lusaka in May 2010.
Phase 2
The second phase started in June 2010, and draws on outcomes of the pilot phase. The aim of the second phase is to develop a professional development resource for teachers, focussing on interactive teaching and learning - with and without ICT - in a whole school context. A key element of this resource is the use of video (produced in the Zambian primary school context) as a stimulus for discussion. The resource will be available under a Creative Commons license, and support different modes of learning, such as individual use, as well as blended learning as part of a course. It will be available in a number of formats, appropriate to the varied Zambian environments in which teachers find themselves, and will be embedded in a professional development course administered by teacher colleges in Zambia.
Project Publications
A collection of video clips is being developed at http://sms.cam.ac.uk/collection/1087359. These depict classroom practice in Zambia and form the basis of a professional learning resource for teachers and teacher educators across sub-Saharan Africa.
The collection also includes conference presentations of our work. A clip of one primary teacher, Agness, co-presenting with us at the e-Learning Africa conference in Lusaka is May 2010 is accessible here.
A collection of our Phase 2 lesson clips and sequences is also viewable at http://www.youtube.com/user/OER4Schools
The project team have produced a poster summarising the key ideas and aspirations for the project, the findings so far and future plans for carrying the work forward. The image on the left is purely for illustrative purposes. For further information a full size version of the poster is available for download as a pdf file.
Itupale paper: Haßler, Hennessy & Lubasi (2011), Changing Classroom Practice using a School-Based Professional Development Approach to Introducing Digital Resources in Zambia, Itupale Online Journal of African Studies, Volume 111.
UKFIET Presentation: Hennessy, Haßler, Mays & Cross (2011) OER4Schools: Introducing digital resources into Zambian primary schools through school-based professional development. Click here to view presentation.
eLA Presentation: Hennessy, Haßler, Cross, Lord & Jackson (2011) Creating interactive pedagogical spaces using portable technologies in the Zambian classroom. Click here to view presentation.
Our presentation at the Humanitarian Centre's ICT4D event in Cambridge (November 2010): Introducing digital OER into Zambian schools. Click here to view video.
Contact
If you think the resource could be of interest to you individually, or for a teacher education project that you are running, and you would like to find out more, please email us at sch30@cam.ac.uk.
Click here to visit CCE ANTSIT project page.