MESA Universities Programme

1. MESA Universities Programme Educate the Educators ESD Innovation Course, Nairobi, 3-9 May 2006 Innovations in Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation • Samuel Ayonghe (Environmental Geologist/Geophysicist) • University of Buea, Cameroon • PRESENTATION PLAN • ??? • ?? • ?

2. An example of an innovation and its effects • Patrick Abbott, in the preface of his book “Natural Disasters” (1999), states that in the early 1970s, he and his colleaque developed a course in Environmental Geology at San Diego State University (USA) which touched on: - Geological hazards - Resource utilization and disposal, and - Environmental planning • Enrollment: 25 to 35 students per semester for over a decade! • 1987: Course name changed to “Natural Disasters” but content unchanged. • Enrollment skyrocketed in the 1990s to 3,000 classroom seats which were still insufficient!

3. Facts • Students: • Are fascinated by course titles, not necessarily the course contents, • Are generally appreciate courses of more applied nature, • Enjoy practical/field aspects (applications) of the courses, and • Love to register for courses they will succeed in.

4. Definitions • Assessment is used to test knowledge of the syllabus, i e judge its worth.

5. Monitoring, is keeping a continuous record of something.

6. Evaluation is ascertaining (appraising, judging, assessing) its worth (amount, value).

7. Reasons for assessments • Assessing students constitutes the end point of teaching and this could be based on different approaches of monitoring and evaluation. • The process is equivalent to assessing the lecturer as well. • A high rate of failures reflects the failure of the lecturer, although anomalously high scores could be indicative of watered-down assessments.

8. What we assess • Knowledge of the syllabus as shown in the curriculum. • The most valued aspects of the course. • Highlight why particular aspects are considered as priorities. • Give the student some homework after graduation (e.g. Real subject content, ESD components, etc.)

9. Methods of Assessments • Use several approaches: tests, essays, assignments, practicals, field work, examinations, etc. • Place emphasis on the course content coverage, objectives, goals and applications. • The students could also contribute to the assessment process.

10. However, ensure that the assessment is designed to test their knowledge and understanding. • In the present context, it should, from a practical point of view, clearly examine the ESD inputs into the curriculum.

11. An example • Desertification in the northern parts of Kenya. (25 marks) • A) Describe the rate, extent, and impacts of desertification in the northern parts of Kenya. (15 marks). • B) What mitigation approaches could be designed and implemented by policy makers to reduce its effects on the population? (10 marks).

12. Conclusions • The University system will definitely be revitalized for obvious reasons if: • The curricula are innovated with ESD inputs, and • Aspects of ESD constitute an important aspect of assessment.

13. Conclusions (contd) • The present MESA Universities Partnership seeks to establish an “open door dialogue” towards the introduction (and realization) of ESD to its curricula and all of us constitute part of the “door” to that dialogue. • That is our challenge!

14. Question What strategies would you use to innovate your approach to monitoring, evaluating, and assessing students with the aim of making them conscious of the relevance of components of ESD in a course you teach?

15. FIN • Sam Ayonghe ( “Natural Disasters”) • University of Buea, Cameroon • Merci !