Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Toolkit for Educators and Planners

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The global community has set a millennium development goal that ‘by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling’. In Sub-Saharan Africa this is a daunting challenge. Expanding provision requires millions of new teachers and upgrading millions more of unqualified and underqualified teachers already working in schools. Unqualified teachers may require emergency school-based training programs while they await the opportunity to access accredited courses. This comes at a time when pressure on the teaching workforce is great. New types of jobs in the expanding knowledge economy are attracting many who would traditionally have become teachers. HIV/AIDS is impacting the teaching forces of many countries. Teachers are less attracted to working in rural communities. In this context, the education and training of new and existing teachers becomes a top priority. New, school-based programs of teacher education using distance learning and information and communication technologies (ICTs) may be the only logistically feasible and economically sound means of educating the millions of unqualified and underqualified teachers within the primary sector.

The new publication ‘Designing Open and Distance Learning for Teacher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a toolkit that addresses the key issues in program development. The authors are international experts in this field with extensive research and development experience in Africa. They set out a structured approach to program design drawing on extensive examples from within the continent and the broader international community. The toolkit presents the very latest thinking in the field, including detailed exploration of the possibilities of information and communication technologies.

Structure of the toolkit

Foreword

Structure of the Toolkit

Audience for the Toolkit

Toolkit Framework

View Toolkit

The toolkit is divided into ten modules that model the development of open and distance learning, teacher education programmes. Linked to each module are a range of instruments that can be used in the planning process and a variety of documents that provide supporting evidence for use at each stage of the planning process. See Toolkit Framework for details.

Audience for the toolkit

In planning any program, a range of stakeholders became involved. These include policy makers, educational administrators, teacher leaders, teacher education, ICT and open and distance learning specialists and project managers.

The toolkit makes clear through a series of module overviews those who will have the most impact at each stage of programe development. Program development, as the toolkit demonstrates, is an interactive process. Major decisions have to be revisited at each design stage and key stakeholders are also required to review development throughout the design, implementation and evaluation process.

Toolkit Framework

The framework indicates key questions raised in each module and, where provided, the associated instrument and/or document.

PHASES OF PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT	TOOLKIT INSTRUMENTS	SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS (*=re-use of instrument)
SCOPING A PROGRAM
MODULE 1: How is the purpose of the program defined?
1. What purpose should the program meet?
2. What is the focus of the program?
3. How many teachers or teacher trainees are needed?
4. How does the program fit into existing education-policy priorities?	INSTRUMENT 1 (pdf): A chart for reviewing national strategies toward open and distance learning	DOCUMENT 1 (pdf): Three scenarios for teacher education offered at a distance
MODULE 2: What information about the existing teacher-education context is needed?
1. What already exists?	INSTRUMENT 2 (pdf): Pre-service education and training program: a review INSTRUMENT 3 (pdf): In-service qualification-upgrading program: a review INSTRUMENT 4 (pdf): Continuing professional development (CPD) programs: a review	DOCUMENT 2 (pdf): Uganda: a response to teacher supply DOCUMENT 3 (pdf): Contemporary ideas about a third age of school-improvement practice DOCUMENT 4 (pdf): The Educational Enhancement Program for primary teachers in Egypt DOCUMENT 5 (pdf): Albania’s Kualida Program for the CPD of teachers
2. Can existing infrastructures be reused for this program?
3. How should the program relate to relevant interest groups and other providers?	INSTRUMENT 5 (pdf): Stakeholder grid
MODULE 3: What is the composition of the budget?	INSTRUMENT 6 (xls): Cost-analysis spreadsheet	DOCUMENT 6 (pdf): Comparative costs of open and distance learning and conventional teacher-education programs
Conclusion to scoping a program	INSTRUMENT 7 (pdf): Scoping a program: key questions	INSTRUMENT 7 (pdf): Scoping a program: key questions
INITIAL DEVELOPMENT PHASE
MODULE 4: What information from the Scoping Phase needs elaboration?
1. What are the basic parameters of the program?
2. Who is the target audience?	INSTRUMENT 8 (pdf): Learner profile
3. What is the likely duration of the program?		*DOCUMENT 5 (pdf): Albania’s Kualida Program for the CPD of teachers
4. How long will it take to set up the program?		DOCUMENT 4 (pdf): The Educational Enhancement Program for primary teachers in Egypt
MODULE 5: What elements should be included in a preliminary design?	*INSTRUMENT 6 (xls): Cost-analysis spreadsheet
1. Materials: What are the types and functions of the resources to be developed?
2. Project Support: What is the nature and role of a preliminary staff structure?
(a) What criteria should be used in appointing a Program Director?
(b) How should a program team be set up?		DOCUMENT 7 (pdf): An overview of the management and administration of teacher-education programs using open and distance learning
(c) What type of training is necessary for staff working on the program?
3. Assessment: What forms of assessment are envisaged?
4. Quality Assurance: What processes for ensuring quality are to be put in place?	INSTRUMENT 9 (pdf): Design evaluation
5. What elements should be included in a preliminary costing plan?	*INSTRUMENT 6 (xls): Cost-analysis spreadsheet	*DOCUMENT 9 (pdf) *DOCUMENT 13 (pdf): Exploiting the potential of electronic conferencing in developing open and distance-learning courses for teachers
PROGRAM START-UP
MODULE 6: What are the options for curriculum-organization models?		DOCUMENT 8 (pdf): Teacher knowledge and the design of open and distance-learning courses and programs DOCUMENT 9 (pdf): Description of Fort Hare University, B.Prim. Ed. Program
MODULE 7: What are the Specifications for Determining Open and Distance- Learning Materials?
How can the study materials be classified? How can school-based activity be included in the program?	INSTRUMENT 8 (pdf): Learner profile	Document 10 (pdf): Sample pages from Fort Hare University, B.Prim. Ed. Program, teacher-learner text
What are the options for delivering course materials?	INSTRUMENT 10 (pdf): Selecting course materials and technologies	DOCUMENT 11 (pdf): Interactive Radio Instruction DOCUMENT 12 (pdf): Chile’s Learning Network DOCUMENT 13 (pdf): Exploiting the potential of electronic conferencing in developing open and distance-learning courses for teachers DOCUMENT 14 (pdf): Missing the Connection? Using ICTs in Education
MODULE 8: What is the nature and role of the local support structure?		*DOCUMENT 13 (pdf): Exploiting the potential of electronic conferencing in developing open and distance-learning courses for teachers
What are the potential sources of support?
What characteristics should support structures exhibit?
MODULE 9: What systems of assessment and quality assurance can be put in place?
1. What are the options for participant and teacher assessment?
2. What are the options for quality assurance?	INSTRUMENT 11 (pdf): Process evaluation
EVALUATING A PROGRAM
MODULE 10: What are the options for evaluating a distance education program for teacher training?
1. What forms of evaluation should supplement the quality-assurance framework?
2. When should the program be evaluated?	*INSTRUMENT 11 (pdf): Process evaluation
3. What criteria and indicators should be used to judge effective implementation, especially in terms of the impact on teaching and learning?	INSTRUMENT 12 (pdf): Criteria for judging the elements of open and distance-learning programs in teacher education.

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