Invitation to an Inter-College Lecture - College of Education

Date: 
Thursday, December 2, 2021 - 16:30
Venue: 
ISSER Conference Room

 

Members of the University community are hereby invited to an Inter-College Lecture being organised by the College of Education as follows:

 

Topic: “e-Portfolios and Reflective Learning: A Pedagogical Tool for Assessment and Innovative Strategy for Telling the African Story”

Lecturer: Prof. Yaw Oheneba - Sakyi (Professor of Sociology and Founding Dean, SCDE, College of Education, University of Ghana, Legon)

 

Date: Thursday, December 2, 2021.

Time: 4:30 p.m.

Venue: ISSER Conference Room

 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://wacren.zoom.us/j/66570154984?pwd=eHliRm5IRElsUUY4VEhFK0R0VFZ6UT09

Meeting ID: 665 7015 4984

Passcode: 062432

 

Chairman: Professor Martin Oteng-Ababio, Ag. Provost of the College of Education.

 

All are cordially invited

 

 

Abstract

In exploring innovative shifts in the educational landscape and evaluating the opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and beyond, first year students in the Ph.D. programme in the Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies, School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana, Legon have to enroll in a core course titled, ADLT 704: Educational Technology and Innovation. Focusing on creativity, critical thinking, communication, collaboration, problem-solving and computational learning skills, the course uses technology to expose students to innovative approaches in teaching, learning and conducting research for problem solving in the Africa context. These approaches include active teaching and learning strategies, innovative pedagogy, and effective use of learning management systems, open educational electronic resources, and internet multimedia applications for academic and professional work in the digital age. Students would engage in individual and team assignments that provide opportunities to apply the

knowledge, creative mindset, and skills of innovative thinking to comprehend practical, action-oriented approach for imparting digital skills in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Ghana in particular, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals of providing quality education, promoting decent work and economic growth, and building industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

One of the flagship projects for assessing learning in this course is the development and showcasing of ePortfolios using Google Sites, Blogging, YouTube Channels, Social Media Tools and Video Production to demonstrate their acquisition of knowledge, skills, and core competencies in their personal, academic and professional journey. ePortfolios are digitized collection of artifacts such as personal philosophies, class assignments, samples of scholarly works (e.g., on-going research, conference/workshop presentations, and published and unpublished scholarly works), photos, observations, postings in the chat-room, individual/team projects, audio/video productions, examinations, blogs, tweets, workplace interaction, websites and discussion forum that document participants’ unique learning journey over time. Using Inquiry, Reflection, and Integration (I-R-I) principles, students worked as individuals and in teams to select artifacts that best represent the acquisition of knowledge, uniquely human skills, and core competencies in their personal and professional career to develop and present e-Portfolios.

In this lecture and presentation, the value of an ePortfolio as a pedagogical tool for assessment and innovative strategy for telling the African story will be discussed, followed by presentations of ePortfolios of the 2020-2021 first year students in the Ph.D. programme in the Department of Adult Education and Human Resource Studies, School of Continuing and Distance Education, College of Education, University of Ghana, Legon.

 

Profile

Professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi (Ph.D.) is a Professor of Sociology and the Founding Dean of the School of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana, a position he held from August 2014 to July 2016. Prior to that, he was the Director, Institute of Continuing and Distance Education, University of Ghana from 2008 to 2014. His tenure as the Director and Dean witnessed a tremendous growth of the university’s Distance Education programme with the transformation of the paper/print-based modules and face-to-face mode of delivery to blended learning and eventually to fully online during the COVID-19 era using the university’s Sakai Learning Management System (LMS), ZOOM conferencing and other emerging technologies. His professional expertise and leadership in bringing technological innovation to impact the University’s academic and professional development led to his appointment as Chairman of the University of Ghana’s E-Learning Quality Control Committee that is overseeing the University’s transition from face-to-face teaching and learning mode to online delivery using the Sakai LMS since March 2020 with the outbreak of COVID-19. He is also the Convener for faculty and student training on the effective use of the Sakai LMS Tools for online course design, online facilitation and online assessment strategies that promote 21st Century skills and competencies for the learner. Currently, Professor Oheneba-Sakyi serves the University in various capacities including Head, Teaching Excellence Unit of the Centre for Teaching and Learning Innovation (CTLI); member of the Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PedaL) Implementation Team; member, Online Teaching and Learning Policy Committee; member, College of Education academic Board; and member, University of Ghana Academic Board.

Professor Oheneba-Sakyi’s skills and expertise are in Distance Education, Educational Technology, Curriculum Design and Development, Open, Blended and Online Education, Professional Development and Training, Adult Education and Lifelong Learning. An experienced professional teacher-scholar, he has over 30 years of professional experience working at two of the largest comprehensive systems of higher education in the United States (State University of New York and California State University), as well as Ghana’s Premier University, the University of Ghana, Legon. He holds a Ph.D. from Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA; an M.A. degree from the State University of New York at Albany, USA; and a B.A. (Honors) degree from the University of Ghana, Legon. He is the author of four books and monographs, has contributed several book chapters and has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals.

His scholarship has been recognized internationally and generously supported with grants from several sources including the U.S. Department of Education; the Rockefeller Foundation; National Endowment for the Humanities; Fulbright New Century Scholars Programme; Nuala McGann Dresher Fellowship; eScholars Programme; California State University; the London School of Economics and Political Science grant, among others. Prof. Oheneba-Sakyi has extensive international and multi-cultural experiences through study abroad, student exchange programmes, conferences and other professional engagements.