Evaluating Authentic Learning in South Africa through the Sociocultural Lens in the Current Crisis

Sociocultural theory

According to Vygotsky’s (1978) higher order of thinking skills and human responses in general are mediated by technical tools and psychological tools. Individuals learn with a wide variety of tools, and people that help them carry out their goal-oriented activities in a sociocultural setting (Figure 1). Tools serve an extensive purpose and can be employed by individuals for interactions with their peers and subsequent creation of knowledge or contents. Thus, tools are infused with cultural meaning and influence human actions (Hasu and Engeström, 1999). See details of this theory in another post in this Blog (Sociocultural Theory).
Figure 1: Sociocultural theory of development
Considering the fact that learning is a social process and teaching and learning do not take place in isolation (Lim, 2002), a similitude between culture and garden was drawn by Cole (1995) (Figure 2). According to this illustration, one “must attend concurrently to two sets of concerns: what happens inside the system (“garden”) where learning activity is taking place and what happens around this sphere. Each area of concern cannot be addressed individually. While a garden is carefully nurtured by the owner, it is still subjected to other phenomena such as seasons, cross-pollination from the surroundings that need to be responded to accordingly.  Changes that are instigated by any component of an activity system inevitably affect the components of the other activity systems. The concentric model depicts the interdependence of different activity systems and their continuous interactions (Figure 2). Each system can change in response to another system over time (Cole, 1995). Using the garden metaphor, teaching practice in the context of the current pandemic of COVID-19 is depicted in Figure 2. How different systems interact and respond to the emergency in South Africa is described.
Figure 2: Applying the garden metaphor to teaching and learning in the context of COVID-19 emergency (Adapted from Lim, 2002)

Society at Large (South Africa)

In order to slow the initial spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown on 24 March which commenced on 27 March, 2020. While a gradual easing of the lockdown came into effect on May 1. Universities are still closed and have to resort to online teaching and learning. In response to this and the ruling made by the Competition Commission of South Africa, to make online access cheaper, the major mobile operators in South Africa, MTN, Vodacom and Telkom announced zero rating (i.e. no fee) to access education internet sites (Business Day, 2020; Biz community, 2020). Families also need to adjust with parents and other family members playing multiple roles as caregivers and teachers. This is a new territory in difficult circumstances, these “teachers” are left without proper guidelines. This has emotional and financial ramifications, as community members need to deal with several issues at once and spend more money for utilities (internet, electricity, water) and food.

Education System (DHET: Department of Higher Education and Training)

The school calendar has been disrupted and there is a high level of uncertainty and anxiety. While waiting for directives from the DHET (department of higher education and training), some Universities (UCT, Wits, UP, UJ etc), took proactive initiatives in migrating from physical to virtual classrooms and provided palliative measures for the learners and teachers. These institutions have established agreements with South Africa’s mobile network operators to provide students free allocation of mobile data of 10GB or more to their students if they are registered with any of the country’s four main networks – MTN, Vodacom, Cell C or Telkom (Mybroadband, 2020). CPUT where I lecture is still grasping with sorting out the groundwork to mediate online teaching and learning activities. The Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande, issued the following directives on 30 April 2020;

1. NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) funding for qualifying students will continue.

2. Students are encouraged to update their cell phone numbers on record with their institution to facilitate funding disbursement.

3. The 2020 academic year would be reorganised to allow for multi-modal learning and flexible teaching options.

4. All staff and students would be COVID-19 screened before being allowed back onto campus when operations resume.

5. All facilities will be deep cleaned.

School (CPUT: Cape Peninsula  University of Technology)

CPUT being an historically disadvantaged institution (HDI), admits a large number of previously disadvantaged groups. A large cohort of students are also from French speaking African countries. The above intrinsically cause lack of language competency, as many of the students struggle to express themselves in the English language. Many of the students, when admitted into the University have limited knowledge on the use of ICT facilities, limited access to ICT facilities. This can also be said of their parents and caregivers. Some of the lecturers at CPUT are already taking individual steps based on what we see other institutions do. These interventions have however been limited by previous communiques from the CPUT executive management (EM), who instructed that all virtual teaching and learning (T and L) activities should be halted until fundamental issues are resolved. This placed many of us in a dilemma. The issues highlighted by the EM, informing their decisions included accessibility to ICTS, equipping students with tools affordances and maintaining integrity during online assessments. However, after the directive of the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the CPUT management responded by committing to the following;

1. Making agreements with all mobile network operators, as negotiated by USAf (Universities South Africa) and DHET, to assist students with connectivity access to learning material.

2. All students are advised to update their cell phone numbers online to take advantage of future data deals that is being negotiated by the institution.

3. The month of May, will be used to prepare for a state of readiness towards 1 June, including getting all facilities and academic support plans COVID-19 ready.

4. Different avenues will be explored to assist all deserving students, without exclusions, who may need support during this time.

Course of study (Final Year Chemical Engineering)

I lecture final year subjects at the department of chemical engineering where all T and L activities need to be in alignment with codes and conduct stipulated by ECSA (Engineering Council of South Africa). My subjects of emphasis are project (PCE400S) and production engineering (PIC400S).  PCE400S exposes students to the basic concepts of research (fundamental and applied) and aims to develop the process of doing research and research methodology. PIC400S introduces students to the economic evaluation of industrial processes equipped with knowledge of the assessment of potential harm to the health and safety of people and damage to the environment associated with industrial processes. Considering the current situation and the limitations from the School indicated above, it is difficult to gather required evidence of T and L activities, for the ECSA regular accreditation visits. Further, we are currently at a stage of recurriculation, where our current BTech program (final year) is being phased out. It is thus challenging to achieve this with the current situation. I have adopted the use of low-tech tools to ease the challenges highlighted by the EM, at the School activity system above. I hold regular meetings with my students on WhatsApp, not just for T and L activities but to provide psychosocial support. I have created screencasts which are available for learners on YouTube (Oluwaseun Oyekola's YouTube Teaching Channel)). Further, I have been carrying out both summative and formative assessments by giving regular assignments which are submitted via email. I ensure these assessments align with the graduate attributes (GA) and their associated exit level outcomes (ELO) stipulated by ECSA.  The targeted ones include the following;

GA (Problem solving): Identify, formulate, analyse and solve complex engineering problems creatively and innovatively.

ELO: Apply chemical engineering principles to critically evaluate and solve complex engineering problems.

GA: Individual, Team and Multidisciplinary Working: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of engineering management principles.

ELO: Work effectively as a member of a team.
Screencast for online Teaching (Oluwaseun Oyekola's YouTube Teaching Channel)

References

Bizcommunity (2020). “Kids can keep learning even during a lockdown. Here’s how”. Retrieved May 02, 2020, from https://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/371/202058.html
 
Business Day (2020). “This is how Telkom, Cell C, Vodacom and MTN can help during Covid-19 shutdown”. Retrieved May 02, 2020, from https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/companies/2020-03-25-this-is-how-telkom-cell-c-vodacom-and-mtn-can-help-during-covid-19-shutdown/
 
Cole M (1985). The zone of proximal development: where culture and cognition create each other in Wertsch J V (ed) Culture, Communication and Cognition: Vygotskian Perspectives Cambridge University Press, New York.
 
Hasu M and Engeström R (1999) Measurement in action: an activity-theoretical perspective on producer-user interaction Working Paper of University of Helsinki, University of Helsinki, Helsinki.
 
Lim, C.P (2002). A theoretical framework for the study of ICT in schools: a proposal. British Journal of Educational Technology. 33(4):411-421
 
Mybroadband (2020). “Free data for university students in South Africa”. By Vermeulen, J”. Retrieved May 02, 2020, from https://mybroadband.co.za/news/cellular/349109-free-data-for-university-students-in-south-africa.html
 
Vygotsky L S (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA.

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