Talk:University of Zambia OER experience by Dr. Vitalicy Chifwepa/Archive

= New Ways of Learning? =

Hi Dr. Chifwepa, may I call you by your first name Vitalicy? It includes “vital” - no? Nice!

I got quite “electric” when I read about your Teacher Education Project by AVU! Wow, AVU on WikiEd! And even with teacher education in my subjects Maths and Physics! If you somehow need my help, I’d support you 100% in that!

At first of course I would like to know the core curricula you have developed. Are they already edited? And second, I’d like to tell you how I personally think about this:

I start with my personal experience as a pupil and student for 18 years: Teaching and learning has to be improved a lot, even in so-called “developed countries” like Germany. I estimate, that I can remember only 20% of all “content” I learned in school and University once (this is more than 20 years ago). The rest I’ve learned in vain or only used for “brain jogging”. Please let us stop this waist of life-time of millions of young people throughout the world! Let us help to revolutionize learning in a constructivist way, that means that every learner finds personal meaning within the learned content, that learning is oriented in practical problems that have to do with everyday life experiences of the learner, and that learning gets in a way more self-directed. ODL (open and distance learning) is anyway more open for learner-centred methods.

I know that in Africa the educational systems are in general still very conservative, if not to say still colonial, and need a fundamental revision. Of course, this is a slow procedure, but we could ask educators which steps forward could be taken next into the right direction. If we offer young teachers new learning experiences already during their studies, they can transport them into schools slowly by slowly.

And then: Do we really think that gathering of subject knowledge, as much as possible, is the key to success? F. ex. in Bavaria (southern Germany) where I live, there has been a revision of secondary school curricula recently, and in my subjects the result was, that still more “content” will have to be pressed into poor children’s brains, of course logically with less depth and quality. What we need instead is new forms of pedagogies, not oriented in facts that should be memorized, but in the development of abilities of the student to deal with subject-related problems. And the development of motivations and capacities of mind in general.

If I think of my career as a teacher: Knowing the subject is only a smaller portion of the whole set of qualities you need for success in the classroom.

So let us see if we can work out something new, with the Internet we have the possibility to be on top of the world-wide development in regard to teaching and learning.

Best regards, Günther--White Eagle 13:00, 15 June 2007 (CEST)

locating Dr. Chifwepa's OER entries
Hi,

Where can I find the OER experience info that you refer to?

I am investigating communities in Africa, for the purpose of helping WikiEducator to grow and be sustainable....the Zambia OER reference sounds interesting...

Awaiting your reply.

== wikirandy

New platform for teachers
Hi Vitalicy,

have you visited already my new project for Teacher Education? May I ask you to give me some feedback, and tell me if you can use it for some of your activities? Many thanks and kindest regards, Günther--White Eagle 16:47, 11 July 2007 (CEST)