Summary of project status and achievements:
During July, the LISa coordinator concluded Promotion 10 of computer classes at the beginning of the month, on 3 July. The next intake of computer classes, Promotion 11, began on 6 July and concluded on 31 July, having offered 51 students 20 days of instruction in computer use.
For this intake, class duration was extended from 1.5 hours to 2 hours per class. With three class sessions operating simultaneously, this meant that during July, computer lessons were offered for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Class duration was extended in order to allow students additional practice time incorporated into the lesson itself. The instructor provided 1.5 hour-long lessons, and then granted students 30 minutes to practice material covered during the lesson as well as during other lessons, circulating to answer questions and to provide support. The decision was made to incorporate practice into the lesson in response to feedback from female students, who explained that it could be difficult for them to come to class in the morning and then to leave home and their work there again in the afternoon in order to wait for practice hours. Students were of course still welcome to return to the computer lab for additional practice later in the day if they chose.
Additionally, the extended lesson time may be a factor in improved student performance on post-tests. Both median student knowledge increase and median student skill increase improved from intake 10 to intake 11. In general, students from this intake seemed satisfied with their instruction. Many females dropped out, but this may have been due in part to issues with distribution this month, as it occurred several times. There was also a chitenge distribution program for the women in the camp that may have caused absence from class.
The PM had a meeting with the LISa coordinator and LISa Assistant to discuss computer lab rules and policies during July. All LISa staff were reminded of the importance of adhering to and enforcing these policies.
Indicators and Statistics:
Included in the indicators spreadsheet.
Future goals:
The PM would like to work with the LISa coordinator to evaluate post-test results. Few students are completing the post-test without errors. The PM would like to see if there are any patterns as to which questions students fail to answer correctly, and to see if the curriculum can be adjusted in order to make sure that students are learning as much as possible.
Substantial problems or issues:
None.
Wishes or request:
None.
Budget status:
Included in the expense monitor.
