Assessment of a Peer Mentoring Program to Build Capacity for Course Development and Delivery

Abstract

Building capacity in higher education in under-developed countries is critical for meeting many of the local development objectives. There have been numerous approaches to improve the abilities of professors to develop and deliver courses. Structured independent learning using published resources (e.g., books, online), workshops, seminars, and mentoring are among the most common. This paper describes a peer mentoring program to build capacity of professors in Pakistan teaching water resources and environmental engineering courses. The program is delivered remotely using an online learning management system, Canvas. The peer mentoring is conducted at weekly intervals with the structured learning facilitated through Canvas. Structured instruments guide mentor review and feedback on the creation of syllabus, lesson plans, learning activities, and assessments. The program has been delivered each semester since Fall 2015. This paper will present an assessment of the impact of the program on course development and delivery. Student evaluations, mentor reflections, and instructor reflections from 2.5 years of the program are analyzed to identify effective and ineffective program elements. Ideas for evolving the program to an autonomous course development and delivery mentoring available online were compiled and used to transition the program to one being made available through the Internet

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