BLEND - Blended Learning for Educators in a (global) Network for Development

Title: BLEND
Location: KwaZulu-Natal
Timing: 2022-2024 (18 months)
Budget: € 1,260,646
Donor: The Lego Foundation
Sector: Foundation Phase (Grades R-3)
Focus:

• Learning Through Play (LtP) methodologies

• Mathematics education

• Teacher professional development

• Blended learning (online and PLC)

Introduction

BLEND, an acronym for “Blended Learning for Educators in a (global) Network for Development” is a project in response to school closures due to COVID-19, having left a mark by severely disrupted learning, disproportionately affecting learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. KwaZulu-Natal was particularly hard-hit. Amid intermittent school closures, many shifted towards remote and online education and teacher and school leadership professional development. Often, school leaders and teachers were not well prepared for this transition. They found themselves lacking either the necessary digital infrastructure or the required skills to effectively facilitate remote and online learning and to participate in continuous professional development. Other challenges include having to safeguard equally and mutually their own as well as learner well-being. Having to teach a trimmed curriculum, having had to teach remotely and strengthening parental involvement, have all proved to be challenging. 

Objective

Through blended professional development trajectories that embed learning through play approaches, school leaders and teachers are strengthened to provide continuous responsive and engaging learning experiences to their learners in uncertain times. VVOB and partners aim to develop and pilot new online learning modules for mathematics instruction that considers COVID-19 – related challenges and strengthen teachers’ play-based pedagogies and mathematics content skills in the foundation phase. (Grade R -3)  

This will be administered through the development of an online course targeting two modalities, which will be Synchronous or Blended  (Blended learning combines both engaging in-person and online lessons and activities that often allow teachers more control over pace, duration, location, and ultimately their path of learning) and Asynchronous which allow teachers to complete course work or participate in discussion at different times with the hope of offering real advantages in the remote environment. 

Target

Four Education districts have been selected in collaboration with the KZN DoE, viz. Ugu, Amajuba, King Cetshawyo and Uthukela.  The pilot project is targeting 250 schools and 1000 Foundation Phase Educators from Grade R-3. 

By the end of the project, foundation phase teachers have strengthened knowledge and skills to embed learning through play in mathematics; and take part in professional learning communities (PLC’s) to discuss their newly gained knowledge. An ancillary consequential aim is to strengthen the capacity of at least 5 South African CSO’s to develop open resource materials for teacher professional development (TPD) purposes. 

Pilot

This pilot study will encompass 250 schools incorporating rural and urban schools across the 4 education districts i.e. uGu, Amajuba, King Cetshwayo and uThukela; originating in Kwa-Zulu Natal only. The pilot project is a small-scale preliminary study influencing approximately 1000 Foundation Phase and Grade R educators; with the ambition of conducting to evaluate feasibility, duration, cost, adverse events, and improve upon the study design prior to performance of a full-scale project. Upon culmination, it is envisaged that policymakers at national level are informed about the opportunities for scaling of micro-learning materials and blended learning approaches; and expectantly to encourage educators nation-wide to sign up to their learning platform and access the materials.