Researchers: Dr. Esther Laryea and Dr. Josephine Djan
Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry Grant

Project Summary:

Problem-solving and critical thinking skills of students largely remain an untapped gold mine even after senior high school education. Typically, the teaching style in Ghanaian secondary schools encourages rote learning and rewards memorization over analytical skills. However, the case method has been heralded as an effective student-centered approach to teaching that encourages students to own their learning and become lifelong learners. The case method also serves as an experiential tool which better prepares students for the complex problems of the working world and also aids in the development of student problem solving and critical reasoning skills. Observations over our teaching years on the effectiveness of cases in achieving students’ learning outcomes have not been empirically tested and integrated into teaching modes. Such knowledge currently mainly remains conjecture and observations. Channels by which students’ appreciation of case studies as learning performance and outcomes are maximized are yet to be properly understood and fully integrated into case teaching.  

Agenda 2063, a set of initiatives proposed in 2015 and currently under implementation by the African Union, envisages a prosperous, innovation-driven Africa supported by well-educated citizens and strong corruption-resistant institutions. To achieve this goal, it is paramount that Africa develops a human resource pool that possesses strong critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, and teamwork skills. Therefore, there must be a critical examination of current teaching styles, pedagogy, and an evaluation of how effective they are in moulding students capable of transforming Africa into a global powerhouse.  

The objectives of this study are threefold:  

1. To assess the effectiveness of case teaching in improving learning performance.  
2. To evaluate the effectiveness of case teaching in achieving learning outcomes.  
3. To explore the mediating channels through which case teaching affects learning performance and learning outcomes.  

Dissemination Activities 

1. Poster Presentation at EuroSoTL 2022 in Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester UK June 2022 
2. Laryea, E. A., & Djan J. (2023) The Effects of Case-Based Learning on Students’ Learning Performance, SoTL Africa (Currently submitted to SoTL Africa) 

Researchers: Dr. Esther Laryea and Dr. Josephine Djan
Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry Grant

Project Summary:

For this paper, these universal skills/outcomes: critical thinking, problem-solving and communication, and interpersonal skills, will be referred to as the SLOs (Deller et al., 2015) (Danaher & Schoepp, 2020). While the impact of academic overload on student learning has been empirically proven, little to no research has been carried out on academic overload and its effect on accepted pervasiveness on the achievement of the SLOs. This study defines an overloaded course primarily in terms of the number of assessments and seeks to address the following research question: 

1. What is the relationship between the number of assessments and student achievement of SLOs? 

Dissemination Activities 

1. Conference Presentation: 2022 SoTL Commons Conference February 2022 in Savannah-Georgia, USA
2. Accepted for Conference Presentation: ISSOTL 2022 in Kelowna, British Columbia. November 2022 

Researcher: Stephen Emmanuel Armah
Grant Category: SOTL Seed Grant

Project Summary: For over a decade, I have provided opportunities for development economics students to engage in cross-cultural interaction on foreign aid with Michigan State University students. However, I am not sure I understand fully the extent to which students are benefiting from my efforts. How are Ashesi students learning from MSU students and what specifically are they learning from them? Is the initiative as beneficial to my students as I think, or is it rather disproportionately beneficial to the MSU students? I want to investigate this to evaluate whether to target better, improve, expand, or discontinue the project. Apart from the fact that the cross-cultural interaction enriches the college experience for students in a manner unique in the Ghanaian context, what I learn from the students may help me modify and enrich my teaching. This is possible by incorporating teaching strategies, information, websites, data sources, software, etc. that students find useful through engagement with their MSU peers. I will publish the result of my research to help others considering cross-cultural interaction.

Researchers: Miriam Abade-Abugre and Alhassan Sullaiman

Grant Category: SOTL Seed Grant
Project Summary:
We seek to understand whether our teaching/classroom engagement strategies have any significant impact on the flow state (joy in learning) of students.  In previous classes, we have observed that students tend to be grade-focused and are totally detached from a flow state. To mitigate these issues, we have recently and intentionally incorporated teaching/classroom engagement strategies, such as the use of analogies, the use of stories, speaking in a friendly manner and small group discussions. These are to create a joyful space during teaching and learning. However, the impact of these strategies on students’ flow state has not been measured.  

Researchers: Sena Agbodjah and Esther Afoley Laryea

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

Traditional teaching methods have played their role in imparting knowledge and skills that have led to the incredible transformations in education today. However, the world is constantly changing, and if it can address present needs, education must also change in response. According to the World Bank (2022), global megatrends, such as the rising role of technology, climate change, demographic shifts, urbanisation, and the globalisation of value chains, are changing work and skill demands. To tackle these challenges, quality and relevant education that provides comprehensive cognitive, technical, socio-emotional, and digital skills is required (World Bank, 2022). The skill sets needed to remedy these complex problems are beyond what traditional education offers. The didactic lecture method encourages rote learning, reduces student confidence, and discourages participation and reflection (Banning, 2005). Live projects, a type of project-based learning, provide opportunities for students to engage with a real-world problem through which they develop their problem-solving skills (Culpin & Scott, 2001; Simkins, 2011). According to these authors, live projects are more effective in preparing learners to tackle realworld issues. Despite its effectiveness, live projects have not gained much popularity in Africa. Additionally, though a few studies have investigated the efficacy of live project learning, none has been based within the African context. It is essential to understand how live projects as pedagogical tools fare and are used within the unique African context. This study fills the gap by providing evidence for the African context and creating awareness of live projects in Africa. The evidence provided will help design live projects in classes, while improving the design of existing live projects. The objectives of the study are as follows: 

1. To investigate the impact of live projects on student competencies. 
2. To investigate factors that impact student learning outcomes 

Researchers: David Ebo Adjepon-Yamoah and Stephane Nwolley

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

Specific desired outcomes of this project are: 

1. To gain insights on effective teaching methods for project-based courses (i.e., Software Engineering, Project Management, Cloud Computing, Web Technologies, Mobile Application Development, E-commerce, System Analysis & Design, Internet of Things, Networking, Human Computer Interaction, Information & Systems Security, Data Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, etc.) that are transferable across discipline courses. 
2. To publish research paper(s) at the end of this project. 
3. To build research capacity among faculty and especially faculty interns. 
4. To identify the impact of this experiential learning approach on how students undertake capstone projects (An auxiliary desired outcome, which may be out of the immediate scope of this project). 

Researchers: Danyuo Yiporo, Miriam Abade-Abugre and Alhassan Sullaiman

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

The most significant thing missing in African education, especially Ghanaian education, is insufficient practical and hands-on training, typically in engineering education. Computer simulations have been reported to activate multiple skills in science learners (Mhamed et al., 2021), such as observing, measuring, predicting, controlling variables, formulating hypotheses, and interpreting results (Droui and Hajjami, 2014; Mahdi et al., 2018). These simulations give learners the opportunity to explicitly develop understanding, help them reflect on their learning (Droui and Hajjami, 2014), improve motivation, and increase their interest in the class (Martinez-Jimenez et. al., 2003). Moreover, the simulation presents itself as an effective prediction tool (Lavoie and Good, 1988). It has been reported that learners with low prior knowledge learned better when supported by examples (Olga et al., 2020). Project-based simulations on engineering concepts will be introduced to offer students the opportunity to practise in manufacturing processes labs. This plays a key role in developing equitable teaching practices. Continuous evaluation will seek to ask students if they’re learning more than they would have in a traditional class setting that lacks lab activities. With weekly continuous evaluations, one can expect the evaluations to have a direct impact on the course, and recommendations from students will be incorporated to facilitate effective learning. It is also expected that students’ suggestions will help faculties and faculty interns taking engineering courses to rediscover their unknown dark areas for improvement. We are hopeful that the outcomes from this research shall be presented at SoTL/educational conferences. The data obtained shall also be analysed, and the results will be discussed for scholarly teaching and learning. The scientific paper shall be submitted to a peer review journal for reviews and publication. Publishing the data shall contribute to knowledge on scholarly teaching and learning of engineering subjects.

Researchers: Elena Rosca, Judith Ainsworth, Anthony E. Spio

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

Research Question 

What are the effects on student learning of using TBL and PBL in courses in Business, Engineering, and Humanities and the Social Sciences? 

Additional questions to investigate: 

1. Is PBL or TBL better suited to one discipline than another?
2. Do students have the same performance outcomes using PBL or TBL?
3. Do teaching style and personality have an impact on student learning, engagement, satisfaction, etc.? 

The study will evaluate the pedagogical methods in terms of the following constructs: 

1. engagement 
2. accountability (preparedness) 
3. Satisfaction 
4. teamwork skills (communication, conflict resolution, etc.) 
5. student achievement of learning goals (grades and student reflection paper) 

Researchers: Elena Rosca, Judith Ainsworth, Anthony E. Spio

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

Research Question 

What are the effects on student learning of using TBL and PBL in courses in Business, Engineering, and Humanities and the Social Sciences? 

Additional questions to investigate: 

1. Is PBL or TBL better suited to one discipline than another?
2. Do students have the same performance outcomes using PBL or TBL?
3. Do teaching style and personality have an impact on student learning, engagement, satisfaction, etc.? 

The study will evaluate the pedagogical methods in terms of the following constructs: 

1. engagement 
2. accountability (preparedness) 
3. Satisfaction 
4. teamwork skills (communication, conflict resolution, etc.) 
5. student achievement of learning goals (grades and student reflection paper) 

Researchers: Heather Beem

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

Many educational institutions on the continent shied away from the unknown territory of transitioning their courses online, opting to wait for the pandemic to die down. Even within educational institutions that did step boldly into online teaching, not all educators pursued means of offering hands-on/lab components of their courses online. By detailing EC/PEN’s experience in offering hands-on STEM content online, two outcomes will be achieved. First, by understanding the key dynamics in online offering and the differences in learning outcomes between the in-person and online modalities, better hands–on online programs can be designed. Second, by documenting the transition process, other institutions can learn how to do the same for their own hands-on experiential content. This example will support Ashesi faculty (Dr. Beem included) and African institutions, broadly, to strategically implement online/blended approaches of facilitating hands-on learning events in their classes.

Researchers: Jewel Thompson and Freda Addu

Grant Category: SOTL Formal Inquiry

Project Summary:

This study seeks to identify the key strategies or tools that facilitate or hamper effective collaboration among student teams to enhance their project outputs. A deeper understanding of such facilitators and barriers will increase project outcomes and serve as the foundation for effective collaboration among teams and the development of leadership skills. Classroom engagement with students will also be greatly enhanced. Emotional intelligence (EI), one of the key skills needed to thrive in the corporate environment, will be developed. Furthermore, we hope to develop a unique module on enhancing team dynamics among students, for replication in other universities across the world. These learnings can help influence the creation of a team building module that students can take to help them manage team dynamics. This module can be integrated into either a Leadership or Organizational Behaviour Course at Ashesi. There can be online/blended approaches of facilitating hands-on learning events in their classes.