Until the covid 19 pandemic in 2020, learning in African universities was pretty traditional.

Students register for classes and attend lectures in a classroom. Studying was mainly from handbooks, lecturer’s notes/slides, and textbooks. And in many schools, there’s an attendance cutoff mark before students can write exams.

Many (non-private) universities and tertiary institutions didn’t consider or include the Internet and other e-learning methods in their curriculum. Not until 2020.

Even right now, education in these institutions has returned to what it was pre-pandemic. While it is the norm, this method of learning is exclusionary, outdated, and needs to be improved on.

Why?

Problems With the Traditional way of Learning in African Universities

How’s Heels and Tech is Changing The Traditional Learning Method

At Heels and Tech, all our courses are taught using a digital cohort learning system.

(It’s important to note here that while we aren’t a university, we provide Boot Camp and certification training for women looking to learn tech skills.)

Our cohort system involves communal learning for all our students – a limited number per course – where it’s easier for them to not only join in from wherever, but also engage with each other and learn from each other.

Students and their teachers also have a relationship so it’s easy for teachers to follow up with and carry along each student. A cohort learning system ensures everyone is learning at the same pace and nobody is left behind.

Our system also includes a lot of practicals and presentations. This way students are practicing and implementing all they learn while also learning how to defend their processes in a professional setting.

You can read more about cohort learning here.

How African Universities Can Implement A Cohort Learning System

Running an EdTech startup and a university differ. While typically those who sign up for and join our courses have access to digital tools like phones and laptops, not every university student in Africa has the same fortune.

That’s why cohort learning can also be implemented offline.

If you’re an education consultant or even a lecturer looking to improve the learning process in your schools and classrooms, here are some things you can do:

Changing the way learning happens in our tertiary institutions will require a lot of processes. But as an educator, you can start small by implementing some of the above steps in your classrooms.

When learning is more engaging, it’s easier for students to learn and also a more rewarding activity for teachers.