First Study of Education module published

The Study of Education Project is developing ten mixed-media modules in general education theory and teaching methodology. The first module, Understanding Outcomes-based Education, which explores OBE under the headings "Assessment", "Curriculum" and "Knowledge", has at last arrived.

Co-published by SAIDE and Oxford University Press (Southern Africa), this is a revised, mixed-media version of the pilot module, which was widely distributed to teacher education institutions in mid-1997. It is essentially aimed at a first-year Diploma in Education audience, but, with additional readings, it, like the other modules in the Becoming Competent and Getting Practical series, is capable of being used at the Higher Diploma in Education (HDE) and Further Diploma in Education (FDE) levels, or in undergraduate or even B Ed courses. It could also be used for in-service staff development courses.

The module was written by Cass Lubisi, Ben Parker, and Volker Wedekind of the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. Kagiso Educational Television (the makers of Educator Express on SABC) produced the video, and Ulwazi Educational Radio produced the audiotape. The audio-visual components do not seek to repeat the material presented in the learning guide. Consisting of panel discussions, interviews with both prominent educationists and ordinary teachers, scenes in classrooms, and a visit to a Mamelodi Sundowns soccer practice, the video and audiotape supplement the print material, bringing theories to life and heightening their relevance by highlighting issues and controversies from various angles.

The Project also intends to publish:
•Creating People-centred Schools: An Outcomes Approach to School Organization (suggested year level 2) in June;
•Getting Practical 3: Using Popular Media in the Classroom (any year level) in August; and
•Being a Teacher (suggested year level 2) in September.

Other modules are in the pipeline for publication in the first half of 1999. They are:
•Understanding Learners and Learning (suggested year level 1)
•Working in Classrooms (suggested year level 3)
•The Curriculum (suggested year level 2 or 3)
•Getting Practical 1: Teaching and Assessing Outcomes-based Education (any year level)
•Getting Practical 2: Structuring Disciplined Learning Environments (any year level)
•Teaching in a Changing World: The Challenges of Teaching in Africa in the New Millennium (suggested year level 3)

This series attempts to model the development of issue-based, interactive learning materials, which combine accessibility with the challenge of reading (edited) academic texts.

One of our aims in developing such a series is to enable the learners, who are themselves teachers or teachers-to-be, to demonstrate competence with the completion of each module. Learners have to understand the content of the course, but at the same time they need to be able to demonstrate the understanding and skills they have achieved; that is, they need to be seen to be getting practical. To this end, the modules have a competence-led structure, which enables learners as well as lecturers to assess their own progress towards this achievement. Thus, although they are designed to be used in conjunction with learner support (if used in distance education), they will also be of value to individual teachers and other educators who are not enrolled in any particular course.

Each module consists of a Learning Guide (100-140 pages), a Reader (80-120 pages), a 60-minute audiotape, a 40-minute video cassette and a 16-page Audio-visual Guide. The first module is priced at R200 for the entire package, and R150 without the videotape - the various components may also be purchased separately. It is available from academic bookshops, or directly from Oxford University Press (phone 021 595 4400).

The Project is generously funded by the Kellogg Foundation.