Four affiliate institutions of the University of Cape Coast have participated in a workshop organised by the Institutional Affiliation Office (IAO) and the Centre for Teaching Support (CTS).
The workshop which is the third in a series for UCC affiliate institutions was held concurrently in Kumasi and Yendi. It was aimed at building the capacities of lecturers in the four affiliate institutions on assessment and research.
In Kumasi, lecturers of the Ghana Baptist University College (GBUC) and Spiritan University College (SUC) participated in the workshop whiles tutors of Yendi College of Health Sciences, and Animal Health and Production College, Pong-Tamale took part in that of Yendi.
Topics treated during the four-day workshop were “Types of Assessment (Feedback Mechanisms)”; “Multiple Choice Items”; “Research Methodology”; “Effective Project Work Supervision” and “Learning Outcomes/Blooms Taxonomy of Cognitive Learning”. Others were “Table of Specification (TOS)”; “Essay Type Questions and “Preparation of Marking Schemes and Rubrics”, and “Preparation of Course Outline.”
Facilitators for the Kumasi workshop were Prof. Douglas D. Agyei, Dr. Kofi Acheaw Owusu and Dr. Christopher Y. Kwaah whereas Dr. Samuel Essien-Baidoo, Dr. Isaac Buabeng and Dr. Godwin K. Aboagye led presentations in Yendi.
Opening the workshop in Kumasi, the Director of CTS, Prof. Douglas D. Agyei, said the facilitators would not impose their knowledge on the lecturers but engage them on new trends in assessment and research. He noted that feedback from the previous training programmes indicated that the workshop was very beneficial stressing that “Most of your colleagues from other institutions who participated in the last two workshops were really happy for the depth of knowledge they had acquired which they said will help them to improve on their teaching skills, setting of examinations, designing course outline and supervising students research work.”
He indicated that through the workshop, the facilitators had also gained a lot of experience from the rich contributions of participants. He urged the participants to cooperate with the facilitators to share experiences and knowledge in the topics to be treated during the four day workshop.
Addressing participants at Yendi, Dr. Essien-Baidoo underscored the importance of the workshop and indicated UCC’s commitment to provide the best mentorship to its affiliate institutions so that they would also be recognized as quality tertiary institutions in Ghana and beyond. He said “UCC is known for its quality of training and so any institution which is being mentored by UCC should also be recognized as such.”
The Head of IAO, Mr. Justice Agyenim Boateng, who was present at the opening ceremony in Kumasi and later visited Yendi, noted that the workshop was one of the responsibilities of UCC as the mentoring institution. “The Memorandum of Understanding UCC signed with the affiliate institutions mandates UCC to perform certain responsibilities which include building the capacity of staff in affiliate institutions” he elaborated.
At the end of the workshop, the participants called on UCC to regularly organise such workshops to enhance their skills and help them build a successful career in academia.