Victor Pangani Phiri1, Wezi Kancheche Banda2, Modester Simwaka Malisita3, Martin Elifala4, 1Centre for Research and Consultancy, Nalikule College of Education, Lilongwe, Malawi, 2Centre for Continuing Education, Nalikule College of Education, Lilongwe, Malawi, 3Centre for Research and Consultancy, Nalikule Colle of Education, Lilongwe, Malawi, 4Faculty of Education Foundations, Nalikule College of Education, Lilongwe, Malawi
This paper investigated the effectiveness of Open distance and e-learning (ODeL) instruction in Malawi’s Open Secondary School (OSS). Employing TPACK framework and concurrent mixed methods, the study sampled six OSS, involving 6 head teachers, 6 ODeL coordinators and 24 teachers. Differentiated instruction is credited for enhancing student’s motivation, performance, and self-efficacy. However, findings indicated over-reliance of teacher-centered methods. Eighty-six percent of coordinators and 72% of teachers attached this to overcrowded classes and limited contact time. The study underscored the necessity to integrate technology into differentiated instructions to address these constraints. In response to the challenges, COMADI framework was developed to advance use of technology in differentiated instruction. It is envisaged that the developed instructional framework would revolutionize the existing OSS instructional practices in open schools. This initiative aligns with Regional ODL Strategic Plan 2022–2030 and Malawi Vision 2063, promoting inclusive, self-reliant national development through effective education reform.
effectiveness, OSS, TPACK model, differentiated instruction, COMADI framework
Cornelius N. Grove, Ed.D, Independent Ethnologist of Education, New York, USA
In this meditation on children’s learning from prehistoric times until today, Grove contrasts traditional child-rearing with child-rearing in our modern world. In the former, parents are not responsible for the rearing and learning of their children, who are cared for by an older sibling. Youngsters learn everything they need to know by observation and imitation of adults. How did humans get from that to modern education and technology? Grove imagines a prehistoric scene in which a child queries an aunt who had devised a way of record-keeping. She had begun to think using abstractions. If the child’s going to learn that, his aunt must formally instruct him. In microcosm, this is the story of today’s highly technological world, the product of abstract and symbolic thought. Too cerebral to be learned by observation and imitation, it must be learned via formal instruction. Without formal instruction, technologically advanced societies would not exist.
Children’s learning, Applied anthropology of education, Child-rearing practices, Ethnology, Cultural history
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