Educational Implication For Adopting Open-Ended Response Systems In Higher Education: The Scenario Of Wa Polytechnic, Ghana.

摘要

Teaching and learning is fundamentally a two-way affair: the teacher transferring knowledge and the learner making meaning from the knowledge. Teaching becomes complete when the learner acquires the knowledge transferred and applies it appropriately to real life situations. However, in Ghana, teaching and learning has undergone a lot of alteration coupled with both negative and positive effects. In Wa Polytechnic, teaching and learning has seen little or no improvement, with regards to information and communication Technology (ICT), making it difficult for students to acquire 21st century skills and be part of the digitally connected ecosystem. Active classroom participation and engagement, information sharing, communication collaboration coupled with large class sizes have been a problem for teachers and students in Wa Polytechnic; hence, the need to conduct a study to identify productive solutions that enhance students' participation and engagement in the classroom. The study investigates the role of ICT in augmenting active participation and engagement of students in the classroom via open-ended response systems. The study was conducted using Educational Design Research (EDR) methods. A critical analysis was done by studying the responses of the respondents which identified three forms of students' classroom participation and engagement: verbal classroom participation, non-verbal classroom participation and after classroom teaching and learning activities. Smart phones, laptop, tablet, iPad and regular cellular phone were the predominant devices used by students for other purpose rather than teacher-led class activities. When students were made to actively participate in the classroom using the devices as open-ended response system, students' engagement and their ability to contribute during lectures appreciated comparatively. It was, however, evident that open-ended response system was effective tool to manage large class sizes as students who were timid could contribute creatively in class which altered their character of learning.