Innovation in teaching & learning - delivering lectures via YouTube
Open and Distance Learning, College of Education and
External Studies
The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the way teaching and learning is conducted. The world glares to technology as the new normal in education. Institutions of higher learning need to s prepare themselves by innovating new pedagogies to confront the teaching and learning crisis and provide more inclusive and creative learning models. This will ensure access to learning for all without widening the already existing inequality in education gap.
As a way of innovating new pedagogies, Dr. Lydiah Wambugu, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Open and Distance, College of Education and External Studies, Learning opened a You Tube Channel titled, 'Research Methods Class with Dr. Lydiah Wambugu'. This channel is modelled as a class where research methods content is presented in lessons from the basic to complex concepts. The lessons are sequenced as per the Social Science Research Methods Course Outline.
This is what Dr. Wambugu had to say about her initiative.
Why YouTube?
YouTube is a free open source software that is accessible to anyone with a Gmail account. YouTube creates an opportunity for remote delivery as well as providing a means for students to learn at their own pace and to have materials to come back and refer to when they need to. This channel is an additional academic resource for all students.
Why Research Methods?
Research Methods Unit is a foundational and compulsory course unit in the majority of courses offered at the university. Research Methods determines the progression of a student to graduation especially for the disciplines that require students to write a project or theses as part of their course work. However, a number of students get stuck at this point because they are not able to link theory and practice.
Presentation of Lessons:
- Lessons are numbered for ease of access. The flow of lessons is from the basic introduction of the concept of research to the complex concepts;
- The previous and the current lessons are linked through a recap of the concepts learnt in the previous lesson. This ensures that there is coherence in the flow of content;
- Each lesson has learning outcomes to be achieved which a learner uses to gauge his or her understanding of the lesson;
- The lessons incorporate interactive elements. Some of these are conversational language, practical examples where applicable and question and answer method;
- Each lesson ends with a summary to remind the learners of what they have covered as well as alert them of what will be covered in the next lesson;
- Learners are free to ask any question regarding the lesson in the comment section of the channel. In addition, the students are free to privately seek further clarification on the lesson by sending WhatsApp messages (in this case, Research Methods Questions) to 0799 632491which is a number attached to this channel;
The Research Methods lessons are also available on the following social channels:
- www.researchmethodsclass.com
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lydiah-wambugu/
- https://www.facebook.com/researchmethodsclass
So far the response to the channel has been very positive. This is because it offers an easy and flexible access to course content and lecture notes. Dr. Wambugu believes that the university should encourage all lecturers to create digital content where learning is removed from being teacher/lecturer centered to learner centered.
