Description

There has been a paradigm shift in the use and evaluation of pedagogical skills of learners and teachers with reference to the recent pandemic. Learning has gone beyond mere memorization of facts to practical application, including but not limited to effective communication, problem solving, creative thinking and building team work. The idea is that, there is a blend of face-to-face learning and on-line learning which is driven by technology and its tools. Hybrid learning (a fancy name for blended learning) creates a platform for learners to utilize digital tools with a lot of malleability. This learning concept is currently changing its meaning with external environment and time; with major concepts; such as combination of diverse teaching methods to produce optimal learning outcomes through various teaching techniques; integrating multiple networked technologies (such as classrooms, collaborative learning, real-time virtual self-paced learning, streaming video, audio, and text) to achieve educational goals. This also includes mixing instructional technologies with real work tasks to ensure consistency between learning and work; and synergistically combining various instructional technologies (e.g., video and movies) with face-to-face teacher-led education (Qianqian Xie et al., 2021).

Blended learning has the capacity to boost the experience of learners by promoting both virtual and physical learning domains. With regards to statistical literacy, what exactly is blended learner? What are the digital tools for delivering online learning? How far have schools in Africa incorporated blended learning into their syllabuses? What is the cost benefit compared to the classical methods of learning? What are the main challenges and the opportunities that this provides? In the light of the pandemic, how should government and educational administrators revise their curriculum in order to maximize the gains from the use of technological tools? This is a major factor that contributes to economic growth and development and should be of interest to institutions, international organizations, and members of the academia, sponsors and professional bodies.

This IPS session is intended to dwell on the different ways of achieving blended learning as a means of improving statistical literacy in Africa. Four speakers from different universities in Africa will speak on how blended learning has been implemented and how much impact it has had on academic performance with a focus on statistics programmes in their respective institutions.

Justification

Covid-19 pandemic and the aftermath have reinforced the need to further incorporate the efficient utilization of digital tools. There are threats to incorporating blended learning as a result of the negative disposition of a few critical stakeholders. If this trend is not addressed, the gains from adopting blended learning may not be actualized. A combination of virtual and in-person learning complement each other and it is expected that significant value should be added to learners’ experience; because hybrid learning makes it possible for students to determine the pace of learning. Literature shows that the rate of failure has significantly reduced and learning has been reportedly become more interactive and enjoyable. In terms of model, there are four models of blended learning (see https://www.panopto.com/blog/4-models-of-blended-learning/).

With the hype about big data analytics and the opportunities provided by social media platforms, it is important to seek for ways to improve analytical and programming skills of graduating statistics students. In addition, Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Massive Open and Online Courses (MOOC) are huge resources and platforms for statistical learning. The cost benefit of engaging in a hybrid format of learning is another motivation for this proposal. The robustness of this approach will be tested in comparison to other alternative approaches.

Organiser: Mr Peter Ohue 

Chair: Prof. Olusanya E. Olubusoye 

Speaker: Faustina Agordah 

Speaker: Sofia Bourhim 

Speaker: Oluyemi Adewole Okunlola 

Discussant:  Olalekan Akintande