Perspective Chapter: Lessons from Implementing a Higher Education Program in Lesotho

Abstract

Recent developments in the Lesotho higher education landscape necessitated a change in this subsector. In particular, the Ministry of Education and Training established the Lesotho Council on Higher Education (CHE) as a regulatory body. Among its achievements, the council legislated that academics teaching in institutions of higher learning undergo professional development. This development coincided with the completion of Lefoka’s PhD thesis. One of the findings of the PhD research is that most higher education teachers do not have professional qualifications for teaching in the subsector. The thesis recommended that higher education teachers should be capacitated for a teaching role. This recommendation motivated the National University of Lesotho to comply with one of the council’s policies by introducing a Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGD-HE) program. In this chapter, the author uses reflective practice literature to guide the presentation on the implementation of the PGD-HE program. The chapter articulates lessons emerging from the change of initial plan due to disruption by the COVID-19 pandemic. The major change involved the reduction of academic duration and a move from blended teaching to online teaching mode. Based on the lessons learned, this chapter recommends the use of the lessons to improve the offering of the program.

1. Introduction

The chapter discusses issues that were considered in developing and implementing a new program in the higher education field. Gibbs [1] model of reflection provides a framework for sharing lessons originating from the field. Gibbs [1] argues that there is a need to reflect on experience to ensure that lessons are recalled for learning purposes. Hence, the importance of reflecting upon an experience. Most importantly, it is from the feelings and thoughts emerging from the reflections that generalizations or concepts can be generated and it is generalizations that allow new situations to be tackled effectively [1]. Reading the work of one of the great philosophers, Dewey [2] influenced the writing and thinking about reflection. Dewey describes reflective practice [as] the ability to reflect on one’s actions, so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. He points out that it involves paying critical attention to the practical values and theories that inform everyday actions. He points to the value of examining practice reflectively and reflexively. Although the decision to use reflective practice in the field was not systematic, the idea facilitated employing reflection in thinking about experience based on teaching in the National University of Lesotho Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGDHE) Program. In describing the background, information is drawn from the PhD thesis and the Lesotho higher education context.

1.1 The Lesotho council on higher education policy

Undertaking a study, in the context of PhD, focusing on higher education teachers, means piloting the idea of researching higher education in Lesotho. Teachers in the Faculty of Education at the National University of Lesotho were invited to participate in my study. Two teachers in each of the three departments of this faculty were purposively selected. The major question for the study was: What are the sources and application of professional knowledge among teacher educators. This study [3] revealed, among other findings, that a common feature for all teacher educators given that they all started teaching before acquiring a postgraduate qualification in higher education is that they were immersed in the teaching of student teachers; they learned the art of teaching in the actual context of a teacher education program. It is therefore significant that the other sources of professional knowledge for teacher educators are practical, experiential, and/or phronesis but they lack epistemic knowledge. Upon completion of the PhD study and equipped with the findings, the challenge was on addressing the problem and embarking on facilitating the training of higher education teachers. The completion of the PhD study coincided with new developments in the context of higher education.

1.2 The impact of PhD thesis

The Government of Lesotho, through the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) launched the council on higher education (CHE) to assume the role of the regulator in the subsector. One of the major regulatory requirements of the CHE is that higher education teachers should have credentials for teaching at the higher education level. Consideration was made regarding this development; this was an opportunity to develop a new program: Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education (PGD-HE) for higher education teachers. This would be the best input for PhD work in the Lesotho higher education context. The idea required following the University and the CHE procedures and protocols. Reflection on the process alludes to lessons and numerous challenges at both levels.

At the university level, there was realization that implementation of innovations follows procedures. Procedures include presenting the program to various university committees: department board, academic programs committee (APC), and the Senate for the latter, being the highest body in the university, to consider and approve the program. Engaging the University Senate requires developing a program document to ensure acceptance. Developing the program document presented challenges, including having a credible rationale, good program philosophy, and good courses, which would attract higher education teachers to enroll in the program. The Center for Teaching and Learning settled for seven courses, including Lesotho higher education in context, teaching and learning in higher education, assessment in higher education, curriculum design and development, scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education, e-learning in higher education, and quality assurance in higher education. Although, as one of the CHE requirements, a needs analysis for the program had been conducted, this was an ambitious program with too many courses to be taught in one program. However, the university committees considered and approved the submission presented by the Center for Teaching and Learning for onward submission to CHE. This was an opportunity to contribute to the discourse of teaching and learning in higher education in Lesotho.

1.3 Requirements and developments

The key step required by the Council on Higher Education was to ensure that the procedures were followed. Such procedures were guided by numerous documents, which had to be followed if the program was to be accredited by CHE. Key among the documents was the CHE self-assessment document. This document had to be comprehensive and has to ensure quality. It serves as the document that the CHE uses in assessing and thereafter accrediting programs. While following the procedures for approval presented challenges the various stages dully presented immense lessons, including upholding quality requirements when presenting a new program for accreditation.

1.4 Development of the program for accreditation purposes

The implementation of the program necessitates following procedures for mounting it. Reflecting on critical issues experienced in the field during the implementation of the program presents positive and negative encounters. Four subthemes emerge.

2. Teaching and learning

The initial plan was to follow a blended learning approach. Pillay and Gerrard [4] citing Garrison and Vaughan, [5] describe blended learning as “the thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online learning experiences” (p.965). Stacey and Gerbic [6] also share Pillay and Gerrard cited description. An unexpected decision to use online teaching and learning approach was due to the COVID-19 disruption. Facilitators for teaching in the program were minimally prepared for using the online mode. Yet, using online teaching and learning approach is a process that requires designing a course using a credible approach. Most importantly, good teaching in the new era of online teaching would benefit from practicing reflection systematically.

2.1 The program duration

The initial plan was to offer the program for a period of 2 years. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, a decision to change to one year was proposed, approved, and implemented. This meant negotiating with the Council on Higher Education to change the mode of delivery. Although CHE agreed, the decision caused the university M30 000. Agreeing to change a mode of delivery was costly since the university had already paid M100 000 for initial accreditation. Yet, ensuring that the new decision was properly articulated was not assessed. The situation means that professional experience could not bear the new developments.

Nevertheless, this development meant implementing the program using a different mode, but most importantly, ensuring that those who teach in the program receive training for e-learning. However, equipping the teaching staff with e-learning skills was not catered. In this regard, besides offering a shortened program in terms of time, expertise was minimized. Each course was, regardless of the number of credits, taught for a period of 3 months with an allocation of 2 days a week for the 15 credits courses and 3 days a week for the 20 credits courses. The students who were enrolled in the programme were employed in their institutions as teachers. Hence, challenges inflicted by studying online. Sharing their experiences in their portfolio of evidence, students revealed that time allocated for their studies was insufficient. Most significantly, the study workload was too heavy, especially coupled with their teaching workloads. This means a tool to measure their views could have been developed in order to measure the students’ feelings. Measuring their feelings could help with reflections both at the facilitators and the institution levels.

2.2 Teaching online

Teaching online was a new encounter for a majority of the facilitators and the institution. The facilitators had to teach online using the university platform; Thuto or Sakai (developed by lecturers in the University’s Faculty of Science and Technology and adopted from the University of Cape Town). Both participants, on the one hand, and facilitators on the other, had to learn how to learn and how to facilitate online effectively. The actual teaching, especially for synchronous lessons, took place in the evenings. Most significant is that teaching online entailed embracing the new terminology: synchronous and asynchronous sessions. Bailey and Card [7] purport that using technology when teaching online requires adapting pedagogical practices that are compatible with the technology. According to these authors, online facilitators have to be cognizant of a number of key areas, including creating, developing, and managing their online courses, as well as how to effectively communicate with their students. Another significant message shared by Alman and Tomer [8] is the time since, in their view, time has different patterns. The participants’ views about workload refer to time and seeking their views through assessment could reveal the consequences of time on their part.

2.2.1 Asynchronous sessions

Asynchronous sessions entailed assigning participants to engage in the task at their own time. In practice, unless one was able to determine how participants were spending time allocated for asynchronous sessions, it was difficult to measure how the participants were engaged in such sessions regardless of the schedule and readings allocated to them. Reflection-in-action came as a result of low participation in such sessions. A test was through asking participants to share their views on articles read and low participation by some of them. A solution to address the challenge had to be found through engaging in reflection-in-action. Reflection-in-action is described [9] as an interaction with a live problem as it unfolds. In such an incidence, Schön argues that the capacity to reflect-in-action assumes that the problem-solver has the capacity to illustrate their knowing-in-action. In real practice, this means hidden or tacit knowledge that practitioners use to deal with particular tasks [9], Hawkridge, [10]. Reflection-in-action also refers to thinking about what one is doing while doing it; it is typically stimulated by surprise, which sometimes puzzles the practitioner concerned [11]. Schön [9] further argues that this gives the practitioner a chance to redesign what is being done while it is being done.

In addressing the problem and in preparation for asynchronous lessons, participants were assigned tasks of reading on specified areas in preparation for the different sessions that were to follow. However, an advanced tool for monitoring the use of time during asynchronous sessions could help. In search for potential solutions, it was discovered that there are technological ways of establishing the extent to which participants are engaged in assigned activities during an asynchronous session. This strategy that would use a specific tool is yet to be explored. Exploring the new technologically developed tool using course-specific strategies might be necessary and there has to be a strategy to use for establishing the extent to which participants undertake assigned activities, such as reading an article, and indicating the time used for doing so during an asynchronous session.

2.2.2 Synchronous sessions

An opportunity for meeting participants virtually was during scheduled synchronous sessions. Specifically, the availability of platforms, such as ZOOM, were used to facilitate synchronous sessions. Lessons presentations were carried out during scheduled ZOOM sessions. Participants participated by responding or asking questions and through group work assignments. As an internal facilitator, there were moments of reflection on challenges encountered using the various platforms. These included WIFI service provision, which was unreliable. Schön [12] and Hawkridge [10] describe reflection-on-action as the process that takes place after an event. In such an occurrence, the practitioner explicitly evaluates an action used to solve a particular problem.

According to Fitzgerald [13], this form of reflection refers to the retrospective contemplation of practice undertaken in order to uncover the knowledge used in practical situations, by analyzing and interpreting the information recalled. It is also believed that this kind of reflection not only increase one’s knowledge but it also challenges the theories and concepts held by a person [14]. There were moments during which the internet connectivity presented serious problems and did so during some sessions. This meant failing to present some scheduled lessons and making up for the lost time. Yet, participants fully enjoyed synchronous sessions, particularly the break-away sessions, whereby they discussed topics in groups and presented the outcome of their group work in plenary sessions. Going forward and reflecting for-action; questions such as other than using the service provider’s Wi-Fi is there any other formal technical facility that the institution can provide for its part-time facilitators? are asked. Reflection-for-action is a concept which, according to Killion and Todnem [15], Grushka et al. [16] was developed from Schön’s work. Reflection-for-action is thinking about future actions with the intention of improving or changing practice. The disruption caused by the internet facility could affect good teaching practice.

Good teaching benefits from making professional choices about teaching. It also benefits from having participants’ input on one’s teaching. Therefore, good teaching in the program could have benefited from designing a tool and asking participants to have input on potential improvements for the program. This missing point impinges on the modules used in the program.

3. Modules

3.1 Module writing

The PGDHE is a new program that, according to the program document [17] is modularized. Therefore, teaching in the PGDHE program necessitated the availability of modules. It was therefore mandatory to develop modules to use in the teaching of courses, such as Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: PGDHE-502. Yet, at the initial stage, there were no modules to guide the teaching. Most importantly, the program facilitators had a very short training on developing modules.

Most difficult is that the program facilitators not only lacked experience in teaching online but they also lacked skills for using modules for this mode of teaching. This means that the National University of Lesotho (NUL) did not have a guide for developing a postgraduate program module for an online teaching. However, search for information on writing a module revealed that there are module guides and Rhodes University pamphlets on writing a module. The attractive modules and module guides were of the following universities and institutions: University of the Free State, University of Namibia—Center for Teaching and Learning; Dublin-Ireland University, and an All-Ireland Society for Higher Education Academic Practice Guides (AISHE academic practice guides) by Huntley-Moore and Panter [18].

All the module guides had good practical examples. However, reflecting-in-action, there was a realization that the Ireland AISHE academic practice module and the Technological University Dublin module guides would provide a good guide for drafting the National University of Lesotho module guide for postgraduate programs. Nevertheless, the AISHE academic practice module guide proved to be the best since it entailed topics that seemed familiar to higher education educators.

Therefore, on the bases, of the course outlines, modules were drafted. However, there were numerous challenges encountered in producing such modules. Modularizing programs are not a common activity in the institution. Nevertheless, the use of the module guide for developing the draft module and for teaching the courses proved helpful. It took at least 3 months to draft the module on teaching and learning in higher education. Reflecting on producing this draft module, it can be noted that it required time to develop and have these edited before they could be used for teaching. However, draft modules were adopted by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and they served as good guides at the initial stages of teaching in the program. A credible module is one that has been professionally edited; yet, these program modules were not. Hence, the need for engaging program participants in assessing the modules.

3.2 Evaluation of the module

Teaching using the draft module provided an opportunity to consider revising and improving the draft module. The plan to engage in reviewing the module means reflecting-for-action in the context of module production. Continuing to use the module having not assessed, it has serious implications for the quality of the program. There is a need to engage in ensuring that the modules meet the quality standard for teaching online.

4. Assessment

In teaching in the program, various forms of assessment were used. These included assessing participants during asynchronous and synchronous sessions. Participants were given individual tests, group assignments, individual assignments, and portfolio of evidence, which was used as a final form of assessment.

4.1 Forms of assessment

In order to ensure that participants had studied the recommended reading material/s, they were engaged in various forms of assessment, including chart/discussion forums. Marking the assignments proved challenging.

In online teaching, the idea of group assignment had to be tackled with great caution. The traditional practice of assigning participants a task to discuss in a set could not be followed. Participants had to arrange their virtual meetings. However, while there may have been internet challenges, the group presentation based on virtual group meetings went very well. They learned to prepare PowerPoint presentations and to talk about their papers as opposed to reading their submissions.

Essays were another form of assessment used. Instruction for the first essay was that it should be 360 words and the second be 2000 words respectfully. The third and final essay was a portfolio of evidence, which required 3500 words. Asking participants to follow a word count was a challenge. This meant abandoning the idea of asking participants to present their essays in a certain number of pages. Many participants were not familiar with the idea of word count, which is why some exceeded the stipulated number of words. Yet, this was much easier work on assignment in which participants used word count instead of number of pages.

Three forms of rubrics were used for assessing the participants’ assignments: rubric for assessing group work presentations, rubric for assessing chat/discussion response to a question during a synchronous session, rubric for marking an essay, and rubric for marking a portfolio of evidence. These were drawn from the internet and they proved helpful.

4.2 Portfolio of evidence

The participants registered in the program came from a wide range of disciplines. These were law, pharmacy, nursing, teacher education, information technology, accounting, and humanities in the area of linguistics. They were higher education teachers employed in institutions of higher learning in Lesotho. Assigning participants to write a portfolio of evidence as a form of final assessment presented an opportunity for professional learning for both the participants and the facilitators. The participants used the same format in producing the portfolio. It comprised three folios: development/professional growth, discovery, and reflection.

It was through the reflection folio that comments alluding to the need for change were presented. These included sequencing of the courses such that the teaching and learning in higher education course, which in their view can be taught before others due to its significance; there was a need to include virtual teaching practice since it was planned for but could not be implemented; capacity building and consistent training of facilitators; development of tools to assess facilitators’ teaching in the program; and the quality of the modules. These broad views are a direct hind for the institution to have assessed the implementation of the program using the first cohort.

5. Conclusion and recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

This chapter begins by highlighting the historical background to the initiation of the PGDHE program at the National University of Lesotho. It has presented lessons learned based on reflecting on the field since the implementation of the PGDHE program. These reflections have revealed that there are numerous lessons emanating from presenting each part of the program. An analysis of the encounters throughout the implementation of the program seems to provide an opportunity for professional development based on the experiences gathered in the field to improve the offering of the program in future. It is important to systematically engage in reflective practice throughout an academic year and consistently develop strategies to address challenges as they emerge.

5.2 Recommendations

1. The reflections articulated in the various parts of this paper point to the potential for improving the offering of the program. In particular, there is a need for establishing systems, such as having good modules to use for teaching and ensuring that they are edited.

2. Having intensive professional development for facilitators teaching in the program. They, for purposes of ensuring quality, need to be appraised.

3. The professional development should cover significant areas, such as teaching online and production of modules.

4. There is a need to develop a tool that should be used by students to assess facilitators.

Acknowledgments

A message of appreciation goes directly to the National University of Lesotho particularly its Center for Teaching and Learning, since the materials used in working on the chapter are institutional.

Conflict of interest

Being a member of the staff teaching in the program means I accumulated experience through reflection. I, therefore, do not feel there is any conflict of interest in writing about the program I conceptualized. Instead, I feel there is more that could be done to help improve the program.

Declaration

I declare that the information shared in this chapter is based on my experience working at the National University of Lesotho. Using my PhD thesis to develop, plan, and implement a program is an achievement that I am proud of.

CHE	Council on higher education
MOET	Ministry of Education and Training
PGDHE	Post Graduate Diploma in Higher Education