AHED in Namibia

I. Teaching and Learning Improvement

In February 2011, Barbara Campbell of the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning, Wayne Cutcliffe, Department of Computer Sciences, and Lawrence Hale, Department of Biology, spent 10 days at UNam with support from AHED. Working with Erika Maass and Kavena Shalyefu, the Director and Deputy Director of the UNam Teaching and Learning Improvement (TLIU), they gave a course on university teaching to 85 new faculty. During the second week they provided workshops in active teaching and learning strategies for 25 lecturers from the faculties of Science, Health Sciences, Education, Engineering and Computer Technology. During the course, lecturers brought up problems such as large class sizes—one participant said that there were 1,000 students in his first year math class. High failure rates were also an issue.

One noticeable difference between the Canadian and Namibian campuses is the absence of student laptop computers. IT infrastructure is also limited on campus. The UPEI team had hoped to use Moodle, an open source LMS software, to share resources from the Webster Centre at UPEI, but there was not sufficient bandwidth on campus, so they had to change their delivery methods. They took still pictures of their material online and then presented it to the workshop participants through PowerPoint slides.  Cutcliffe, who had provided support for curriculum development for four months in 2008, offered an example of the potential for sharing materials electronically. When he met a UNam colleague who was to teach a new course, similar to one that Cutcliffe gives at UPEI, he was able to upload the course from Moodle and save the UNam professor a lot of work. It is hoped that within two years UNam will have the bandwidth needed to connect with UPEI through Moodle.

“The presentations were excellent. Thanks a lot to our Canadian friends, and please come again.” – Faculty workshop participant

UPEI and UNam have established  a long-term partnership supported at the administrative level by Dr. Kenneth Matengu, UNam Director of External and International Relations responsible for international cooperation, and Christian Lacroix, the UPEI Dean who visited UNam in 2009.

AHED volunteers:

Barbara Campbell, Ph.D. (Calgary), is an associate professor of nursing and Director of the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning at UPEI.
Lawrence Hale, Ph.D. (McMaster), is an associate professor, is the Chair of the Department of Biology.
Wayne Cutcliffe, M.Sc. (University of New Brunswick), is an associate professor in the Department of Computer Sciences and Information Technology.

II. Student Support Programmes

After Dr. Campbell returned to UPEI from working with faculty members at UNam, the UNam management team requested that UPEI return to set up a Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning.   The second phase of the project took place in October and November 2011.  Barbara Campbell, Treena Smith, and Anne Bartlett from the Webster Centre assisted UNam to set up academic support programs for students at UNam similar to those the Webster Centre offers at UPEI.   Barbara sent this account of what they accomplished:

“We worked with the Department of Student Services at the University of Namibia under the guidance of the Dean of Students, Dr. I. U. Kandjii-Murangi and her very hard-working and committed staff. Their excitement about our work at the Webster Centre and their desire to replicate what we do have exceeded our expectations. We were especially impressed  as they are very busy with already full schedules. In the morning we held group sessions and in the afternoon we met with smaller groups or individuals around specific program implementation as well as with students who needed one-on-one help. The university sent student services staff to our workshops from the satellite campuses, some from as far away as 1500km. We worked with the two nurses who run the primary health clinic, which serves 16,000 students,  trying to get nursing and medical students to do practicums there as part of their programs. Olivia, the clinical nurse, and Barbara Campbell are developing a proposal to implement this. We gave presentations on collaborative teaching and learning as well as on the peer review process for faculty members.”

A Problem

“We are also faced with the poor academic background of students entering the university.  In particular, mathematics is a great challenge.” – Enos MR Kiremire, PhD, Professor of Chemistry and Dean, Faculty of Science

The University of Namibia currently experiences a 75% failure rate in their math courses because the students’ study skills and preparation for university are poor.   We presented both a strategy and the tools needed to improve this—for example, program manuals, links to our academic support websites, workshop outlines, ongoing UPEI support via internet—and will continue the development and implementation of a math help centre, a transitions program for first-year students, and a student success program/workshop series. We have provided our UNam colleagues with the tools, pedagogy and framework to build upon our initial on-site workshop and sustain the project over the long term.

A Way Forward: One Student at a Time

“Ralph Rittmann is a Science student who was at Dr. Larry Hales’ class on intro biology at UNam during our Feb 2011 visit. At that time Dr. Hale told the class how to prepare and study Biology, how to get interested in the Sciences and be successful in this discipline. Ralph told me he took all the notes that day and has used Larry’s suggestions to help him with his studies to this very day. He is confident he will not fail or leave school. He is on a bursary and is very committed to his work as a student. He too wants to come to UPEI to do his Masters.”

We also worked with the Office of the Dean of Students through Dr. Itah Kandjii-Murengi, Dean of Students, Ms. Margareth Mainga, Assistant Dean of Professional Services, Dr. Levi Hafeni Shigwedha, Assistant Dean of Support Services and all of their 45 staff and students throughout the 2 weeks on campus. It was extremely rewarding for us and them. Dr. Itah said that she felt inspired, energized and validated in the work they do.”

AHED volunteers:

Barbara Campbell, Ph.D. (Calgary), associate professor of nursing and Director of the Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning, UPEI.
Anne Bartlett, MEd (Mount St. Vincent) Coordinator, Pathways to Academic Success, Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning, UPEI
Treena Smith, BA (University of Prince Edward Island)  Transition Coordinator, Webster Centre for Teaching and Learning, UPEI