Knowledge Building & Research Review 2009

Mary Hooker, Research ManagerKenya, February 2010

Outcome ChallengeThe programme would like to see north/ south south/south research

communities sharing information on research models for ICT integration. They collaborate with GeSCI to participate in workshops, peer exchanges, meetings in which they explore common interests for research collaboration.They participate in GeSCI's regional workshop programmes to share research and to better understand the needs and issues of partners. They work with GeSCI on joint research funding proposals which are based on and fit in with priorities identified in GeSCI's engagments and research agenda. They focus on a continuous research process which runs from identifying issues; to building southern research capability through partner networks; to using research results for influencing policy and practice from national to institutional to practitioner levels. They are disseminating research results across regional and global communities. They are seeking on-going funding to upscale good practice research models across regional programmes.

Progress Indicators

Expect to see• Research partner committment to participate

in and facilitate reflection on north/south south/south research networks

• Partners sharing outreach of experiences on existing research models

• At least one partner working with Gesci on negotiating joint research funding proposal focused on GeSCI's research agenda

Progress Indicators

Like to see• Partners participating in GeSCI regional

programmes to idendtify issues and share research models

• Partners focusing on research that moves beyond evaluation of impact to building capacity

• Partners (ministry officials/ policy makers) using research findings to support decision making for selecting appropriate choices for ICT integration

Progress Indicators

Love to see• Partners upsacling good practice research models

across the region• Partners developing new theory that is based on

cutting-edge joint research in the development context

• Partners engaged in north-south/ south-south robust research communities that are open to mutual learning and are adding to the knowledge base

Organizational Learning

• Biggest challenges in 2009 was to develop mechanisms to monitor programmes and promote cross programme reflection and organizational learning

• Focus was to capture the continuous dynamic engendered by horizontal synergies in a manner which is systematic and which will foster learning and development.

• In collaboration with the Communication function the programme tested Outcome Mapping (OM) M&E tools for programme review and created a virtual environment for manager support and interaction.

GeSCI OM Programme Manager Planning 2009

Organizational Learning: Opportunities & Challenges

• Institutionalize the OM M&E process as a cross cutting platform for programme review, interaction, collaboration and expansive learning

• Deepen culture for internal research, evaluation and team review which can promote learning opportunities both for the individual programme managers and for the team

• Focus on systematic programme review inclusive of team review of tools, frameworks and papers produced by programmes based on pre-defined criteria

• Dissemination via site and journal publication, global forums and regional/ international conferences.

ResearchGlobal Scanning

• First phase in GeSCI’s Knowledge Building and Research programme involved a global scanning of the ICT–Education landscape.

• Researching, brainstorming and consulting with a wide range of research partner providers and users so as to develop and refine the conceptual framework that would underpin our research and development strategy.

• January 2009 GeSCI commissioned a Meta-review Research Project on ICT in Education (Le Baron & Mc Donough 2009) to map the wider picture of ICT developments in education systems globally.

• April 2009 GeSCI organized a North/South Research Partnerships Workshop to brainstorm partnership models for ICT-Education research.

• July 2009 a survey of the opinions of partner stakeholders who participated in GeSCI’s third African Knowledge Exchange (AKE) Regional Workshop was carried out to ascertain which issues partners believed should be researched for the improvement of ICT integration in each of GeSCI’s thematic areas.

• IN: GeSCI Publications; ERIC Collection id: ED506553

Major P1 themes

• ICT success depends on transformed practice• ICT needs better alignment with learning practice• Holistic development trumps piece meal• No disruption – no change• Massive educational technology investments: little evidence of success• Business models and analysis of benefits of ICT inadequate to needs of

education• Implementation must respond to local culture• Educational leaders poorly equipped to lead ICT integration• Policy needs multi-sector, cross hierarchial coordination• Equity means more than hardware

Meta-Review

Major P2 themes

ICT & Leadership - metaphors of traditional educational administration & delivery (‘grammar of schooling’) that inhibit the transformational promise of ICT

ICT & Educational Transformation & Relevance - potential of technology to

support • older 20th Century progressive educational trends • newer 21st Century heutagogic (authentic self determination) educational ‐

trends

ICT & Equity –traditionally addressed through machine counts – rather than what happens in the classroom and questions of curriculum design and school structure to support inclusive agendas for quality access

Meta-Review

Unexpected P2 findings

• an apparent disconnect between ICT in Education and mainstream research

• a general absence of the southern voice in the ICT-Education literature

Meta-Review

what is needed?• Bridging the gap between research, policy and practice• Coordinated and complementary efforts• Re-examination of assumptions• Fundamental re-thinking of educational purpose and

practice• Multi-disciplinary approaches and multiple perspectives • Creation of innovative approaches which are

contextually relevant • Transformational models and strategies• Sustainable capacities and capabilities in developing

countries to develop own solutions

ICT-Education Research

Second Phase• GeSCI facilitates the research, policy and practice triad in

order to maximize the potential of ICT innovations for transformational impact in education systems.

• Creating a research community that is dedicated to develop ICT4E in developing country context

• Innovative practices are developed by different stakeholders but can be verified and generalized only through evaluation and R&D process

• Research links to Practice & Policy making: All Regional Programmes (ARPs) and Country programmes can directly link the innovative verified practices and research results to policy making and build the capacity of policymakers to understand research in policymaking process

GeSCI Response

a living lab approach

• to foster highly innovative action research in different application areas of ICT

• to experiment the potential value of new models that can lead to breakthrough innovations in learning

• to promote educational transformation through interaction between experimental change and mainstream action domains

Policy making

Research

Education Development

GeSCIAction Domain

Living labChange Domain

Research Conceptual Framework

Research Collaboration Networks

• UNGAID: Multi-stakeholder Partnership on Quality Education for All and MDG Achievement in the Digital Age. Partnership focus on creating “enabling environments” for large-scale ICT integration in education and learning systems in the Developing world. Partnership agreement for GeSCI to expand research and policy facilitation program to include ten large-scale evaluation engagements and a number of small innovative joint research programs, for the purpose of evaluating what innovations work in practice.

• PanAf Observatory project: Open-access knowledge-sharing space for African researchers on the Pedagogical Integration of ICT -

multi-institutional partnership project with a focus on tertiary level research institutions, attached to universities in participating countries in Africa. Partnership discourse for coordination on research programmes to support evidence-based policy

• Education Research Network for West and Central Africa (ERNWACA) – Network focus on increasing research capacity, strengthen collaboration among researchers and practitioners, and promote African expertise on education so as to positively impact educational practices and policies.

• Association of African Universities (AAU) Research and Education Networking Unit (RENU ) – focus on building high quality networks for generative discourse on the integration of ICT into teaching, learning, research, information dissemination and management activities in African Higher Education

• UNESCO: Partnership collaboration established on cross country regional SSA project to pilot ICT indicators and related research collaboration on ICT4E - including TCO development, evaluation and monitoring tools, teacher capacities on ICT, ICT integration policy frameworks in developing counties.

Possible Initial Proposals for Funding

• Helsinki University – Botswana University – WITFOR Network: Expansive School Transformation in SADC Region - Pilot study of training, application, adaptation and development in the use of ICT using Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and other methodologies in the context of school and community transformation.

• Trinity College Dublin – SUAS Network: Bridge2College - Informal ICT in Education programme promoting an inclusive model to provide students from under-resourced communities with a quality education using technology to facilitate a dynamic, creative and cross-curricular project based learning.

• Dublin City University: Learning Innovation and Knowledge (LINK) Research Centre – 4C Initiative, a pilot capacity building project,

using a WEBEX Training Center to deliver online sessions and seminars on aspects of searching, evaluating, licensing (including copyright), viewing/playing, modifying, integrating, describing and exposing/sharing digital content.

• H2, Digital Hub, Ireland: Development and piloting of roadmap toolkit to facilitate institutional planning and strategy for ICT integration in Teacher Professional Development.

• Umeå University – Swedish Programme for ICT in Developing Countries (SPIDER) Network: Distance Education design for open

learning environments using social media and e-Learning 2.0. Focus on educational action research for professional development with the aim of empowering teachers and community leaders as agents of change in their own workplaces and communities.

• Center for Research in Cognitive Systems, NIIT Campus, New Delhi, India: TCO for renowned ‘hole-in-wall’ playground computer kiosk

pilots facilitating child-to-child learning in key curricular areas in environments of teacher shortages.

A Joint Research and Innovation Fund

Administered by GeSCI

Open for donations

Open for joint research proposals

Fund Steering Committee

Research framework prepared by GeSCI

Funding

Applications approved annually

Only joint research is funded

Only 50-80 % of direct project costs can be funded

Research results must be published in peer reviewed publications

Research results peer-reviewed a month before publishing

Funding Charter

Strategy MappingIndividuals & Groups

CausalCause a direct effect

PersuasiveArouse new thinking/ expert drive/ single

purpose

SupportiveBuild a support network…

Build on a supporter/mentor who guides change over time

Organize workshop of university partnership/ networks to

obrainstorm research models for ICT in Education

oexplore options for joint research

Commission meta-research analysis to

oidentify issues

o knowledge gaps pertinent to GeSCI’s engagements

Identify partner research needs through survey and consultation

Introduce research as neutral and persuasive advice to policy makers in specific GeSCI policy forums and capacity building programmes –

oMobile Learning models in Teacher Professional Development framework workshop

oDevelopment Path Matrix in OLPC meet

Facilitate dialogue for north south / south south twinning to promote ICT use in Teacher Professional Development -

DCU-KIE-NUR

UNGAID

Private Partners

Strategy MappingEnvironment

Causal

Change physical/ policy environment

Persuasive

Disseminate information/ messages

Supportive

Create a learning/ action network

Create a rain fund mechanism to attract public-private funds for researching ICT potential to generate access, quality, and cost-benefits

Disseminate meta-research / findings through :

Ning forum

WebEx/ eLA/ ICT & Mainstream conferencing

Workshopping (AKE/ ARP/RAP/LAM) in collaboration with partners in the field such as IDRC partner

Facilitate an annual open call for innovative research models/ project s/ network proposals aligned to emerging partner needs to be funded by GeSCI rain fund

Like to seeResearch partner committment to participate in and facilitate reflection on north/south south/south research networksPartners sharing outreach of experiences on existing research modelsAt least one partner working with Gesci on negotiating joint research funding proposal focused on GeSCI's research agenda Love to see Partners participating in GeSCI regional programmes to iendtify issues and share research modelsPartners focusing on research that moves beyond evaluation of impact to building capacityPartners (ministry officials/ policy makers) using research findings to support decision making for selecting appropriate choices for ICT integration Love to seePartners upsacling good practice research models across the regionPartners developing new theory that is based on cutting-edge joint research in the development contextPartners engaged in north-south/ south-south robust research communities that are open to mutual learning and are adding to the knowledge base

Tracking Progress