The ZIMCHE in partnership with stakeholders will be hosting a webinar entitled, the ‘Best Practices of Online Learning with a focus on online assessments for Life and Health Science Programmes. This will bring together local speakers with others from across the global higher education sector to share and discuss the experiences and challenges of online learning in life sciences.
Due to the global pandemic, the past years have seen a massive rise in online and remote learning, something which was completely alien to many HE -teaching professionals. This transition inevitably led to challenges and lessons being learned about the best way to conduct remote learning sessions to maintain teaching effectiveness. The practical and clinical nature of life and health science teaching adds another layer of complexity to an already difficult transition. This webinar seeks to share the lessons learned with the global HE sectors along with practical examples of conducting assessments remotely.
The session will focus on the challenges faced by academics and students in online assessments and examinations. Considering the disruption of COVID 19 and the resurgence of the utility of the affordances of ICTs, what is the future of assessment and examinations in our system especially in STEM disciplines and the Life and Health Sciences in particular. What are the best practices that can be shared with faculty? To ensure that all faculty in charge of teaching and learning life and health sciences a webinar will be held on the 18th of May 2022. Participants will be required to register starting at 930am. The talks will start at 10am until 1230pm.
The following categories of staff are encouraged to attend:
- PVC (Academic programmes)
- Internal Quality Assurance staff
- Deans of Life and Health Science Programmes
- Administrative staff in Life and Health Science programmes
- Chairpersons and coordinators of Departments in the following departments,
- Clinical Science degrees
- Biomedical Science degrees
- Rehabilitative Science degrees
- Medical laboratory Science degrees
- Veterinary Sciences degrees
- Pharmaceutical Sciences degrees
- Nursing Sciences
- Faculty teaching Life and Health Science programmes.
Each relevant degree programme must be represented in all the Universities accredited by the ZIMCHE.
The provisional program is as follows:
| TIME | TOPICS | SPEAKERS | FACILITATORS |
| 0930-0955 | Registration of participants | Dr Hapanyengwi | |
| 1000-1020 | Flexible pedagogies for technology-enhanced learning | Professor Dzvimbo | Dr Hapanyengwi |
| 1025-1045 | Overview of assessments in life and health sciences | Dr. Mangezi | Prof Gumbo |
| 1050-1110 | Online assessments of the COSECSA experience | Mr. Samukange | Prof Gumbo |
| 1115-1135 | Best practices for online assessments in the life sciences | Prof Nyazema | Prof Chireshe |
| 1140-1210 | Resources and available technologies for virtual assessments in life and health sciences | Prof Pitts | Prof Chireshe |
| 1210-1230 | Question and answer | All presenters | Prof Gumbo |