ACE- ACEITLMS- IP September 2016 FINAL SEPT 16

List of abbreviationsAU: African Union ACEITLMS: African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science AKU: Aga Khan University DLI: Disbursement Link

African Centre of Excellence East and Southern Africa

African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS)

[ACE II ESC82]

Implementation Plan

2016– 2020 (June 2016)

Table of contents

9

4.1 Guiding rules and regulations 22

4.2 Governance structure 22

4.3 Academic management 23

4.4 Financial management and procurement 23

4.5 Incentive structures 24

4.6 Project team Roles and responsibilities 26

4.7 Environment safeguards 30

5 PERFORMANCE MONITORING 31 6 DETAILED ACTIVITY SHEETS (one for each activity in year 1) 37 7 DETAILED ACTIVITY SHEETS (one for each activity in year 1) Error! Bookmark not defined List of tables Table 1: A summary of planned activities (2016-2021) 6

Table 2: Overview of the first project year 9

Table 3: Overview of the first year distribution of the financial means among partners 12

Table 4: Work plan for the project 16

Table 5: Overview of core project team 26

Table 6: Disbursement Linked Indicators 31

List of abbreviations

AU: African Union

ACEITLMS: African Centre of Excellence for Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science

AKU: Aga Khan University

DLI: Disbursement Linked Indicators

DLR: Disbursement Linked Results

EAC: East African Community

ENS: Ecole Normale Superieure, Burundi

IUCEA: Inter University Council for East Africa

ICMI: International Commission of Mathematical Instruction

ICT: Information, Communication and Technology

IMU: International Mathematical Union

KU: Kenyatta University, Kenya

MMUST: Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology,

MU: Makerere University, Uganda

MUST: Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda

REB: Rwanda Education Board, Rwanda

RFU: Regional Facilitation Unit

RIT: Rochester Institute of Technology, USA

SUZ: State University of Zanzibar, Tanzania

UB: University of Bristol, UK

UC: University of Copenhagen, Dandemark

UDSM: University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

UKZN: University of Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

UNIK: University of Kibungo, Rwanda

UR: University of Rwanda, Rwanda

UR-CASS: University of Rwanda-College of Arts and Social Sciences, Rwanda UR-CE: University of Rwanda- College of Education, Rwanda

MSPE: Mathematics, Science and Physical Education Rwanda

NARST: National Association for Research in Science Teaching

1 BRIEF NARRATIVE SUMMARY

The African Union (AU) envisions science, technology and innovation as one of the major drivers in achieving its vision of becoming a prosperous continent by 2063 In line with this, East African Community (EAC) member states that include Rwanda are convinced that any economic development could be achieved by promoting quality and effective teaching of sciences and mathematics It is commonly believed that effective teaching and learning of mathematics and sciences is the basic foundation in building human capacity for an innovative and knowledge-based economy As Africa tries to position itself as an emerging economy, effective teaching of mathematics and science will play a critical role in the much needed technology for societal economic development.

However, like in many other developing countries across the Africa continent, Rwanda has limited capacity in all sectors including education that has continued to

be a big challenge in achieving national economic targets It is observed that the current teaching is dominated by traditional methods that do not promote scientific literacy and positive attitudes towards science and mathematics In addition, there is lack of sufficient integration of ICT in teaching and learning Consequently, students emerge from learning institutions with serious gaps in competencies and skills required to address both individual and societal needs as far as economic development is concerned Major challenges include (i) a significant curriculum disconnect between outcomes and real world experiences, (ii) poor research outcomes to inform policy, (iii) shortage of professional science and mathematics educators in higher learning institutions, (iv) non-existence of systematic in-service training programme, (v) low level of integration of new technologies in teaching and learning, (vi) insufficient number of students at postgraduate level, and (vii) gender imbalance in both staff and students

To address the above challenges, the University of Rwanda-College of Education (UR-CE) proposes the creation of Innovative Teaching and Learning Mathematics and Science (ACEITLMS) The centre will aim at strengthening human capacity to

deliver research-based quality teaching and learning of mathematics and science Specifically it will offer postgraduate educational reform program that will produce graduates at international standards and local relevance The centre’s activities will expand beyond Rwanda in partnership with other institutions across the region and worldwide It will be governed by a steering committee that will be the supreme authority of the project in decision making and will meet twice a year

Methodology and target outputs

The centre will run three activities namely bringing innovation into teaching and learning, research and training, and community engagement In all these, the centre will consider integration of ICT and inclusiveness This will have a multiplier effect both in Rwanda and in the region

i) For teaching and learning, ACEITLMS consortium will design anddevelop outstanding PhD and MEd courses in mathematics and science education for UR-

CE and other regional partner Universities The design and development of curricula will target the delivery of innovative pedagogical approaches that explicitly address the competency gap among graduates

ii) Concerning research and trainings, the centre will conduct and support research aiming at addressing societal needs It will deliver indispensable training and support

in building capacity of educators in the region to conduct relevant and quality research through Masters, PhD and Post-Doctoral fellowship projects The centre will also run short-term training programs for university and secondary school teachers in the region This training of trainers (TOT) activity of the centre will focus

on curriculum development of mathematics, science and use of ICT

iii) In serving the community, the Centre will organize science and mathematics outreach programs targeting all educational levels across the region These outreach activities will be done through public presentations, seminars, road shows and science demonstrations using “Mobile Labs.

Regional and international partnership

The centre plans to expand research, trainings and learning opportunities on innovative mathematics and science education across national and regional academic partners, both private and public institutions National and regional academic partners have been identified for partnership and collaboration At national level, the link will be closely made with schools serving as centres of excellence in teaching and learning science and mathematics

At regional level researchers of ACEITLMS will collaborate with their counterparts from identified regional academic partners through joint research projects This will include co- supervision of Postgraduate research projects, co-authoring papers,

presenting papers in conferences, publications as well as students and staff exchange

Regional partners include Kenyatta University (KU), MasindeMuliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST), State University of Zanzibar (SUZ),Aga Khan University(AKU), Makerere University (MU) and, University of Dar-es Salaam (UDM), etc.

International partners of the centre are among others, the University of Bristol (UB), the University of Copenhagen (UC), and the University of Kwazulu Natal (UKZN).

By the end of the proposed ACEITLMS project period, the following outputs are expected:

 Five Postdoctoral fellows recruited, 32 PhDs and 80 MEd Maths/Science enrolled of which 30% will be from regional partner institutions To ensure gender inclusivity, (at least 35%) of all students will be females.

 Three well equipped science laboratories, one (1) ICT Lab, about 500 books and subscription of about 20 e-journals for Library and one video-conference

 Four accredited curricula for ACEITLMS developed, implemented and reviewed locally and across the region

 Three capacity building trainings/workshops on innovative methods for teaching mathematics and science including use of ICT organised

 One hundred twenty university and schoolteachers trained as ToTs to serve in training centres across the region.

 Four international/regional research conferences and three regional workshops organized.

 At least 40 faculty staff and students will be supported to participate in regional/international conferences.

 Five collaborative research projects on innovative methods in mathematics and science education supported and accomplished

 Thirty-five research papers published in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings

 Five MoUs signed and operationalized for collaboration.

Table 1: A summary of planned activities (2016-2021) Target group/

educational level Teaching /and leaning Training Research Outreach

-Members of Faculty -Get trained on -Design research

-Key academic

partners

innovative pedagogy in Maths &

science -Training on efficient use of ICT in Science

& Maths -Training on research methods, data analysis and postgraduate supervision -Organization

of workshops

funded projects -Engage in collaborative research -Supervision -Research conferences Publications

innovative pedagogy in Maths &

science -Training on efficient use of ICT in Science

& Maths -Training on research methods, data analysis Organization of workshops

-Engage in collaborative research -Research conferences Publications

Postgraduate PhD

programs - Programs

design, evaluation and review

-Training on Curriculum revision &

evaluation -Workshops

-Research projects -Research collaboration

Postgraduate PhD

students -Design accredited PhD

programs -Programs evaluation and review

-Delivery of PhD courses -Delivery of seminars

-summer schools -workshops -internships

Fellowships support for action research

-Postgraduate MEd

programs Programs design ,evaluati

on and review

-Training on Curriculum revision &

evaluation -Workshops

-Research projects -Research collaboration

Postgraduate MEd

students

-summer schools -workshops -internships

Fellowships support for action research

-Undergraduate

programs - Curriculum revision &

evaluation

-Training on Curriculum revision &

evaluation -Workshops on innovative pedagogy

-Research on existing curricula -Testing

/Experimenting programs developed by ACEITLMS project

TTCs / Secondary

schools/teachers/

students

- Curriculum revision &

evaluation

-Training on Curriculum revision &

evaluation -Workshops on innovative pedagogy -Various ToTs

-Research on existing curricula -Testing

/Experimenting programs developed by ACEITLMS project

-Outreach activities (e.g.

On innovative teaching /learning methods , popularization

of science, etc.).

2 OVERVIEW OF PLANNED OUTPUTS,ACTIVITIES AND COST FOR FIRST YEAR

Table 2: Overview of the first project year

ACE Leader

partner s

Total

Activity 1 Learning & Training Excellence

to attend international conferences

academic staff and researchers to conduct research in mathematics and sciences Education

Activity 5 Attracting academic staff &

students from the region

inception workshop

seminars at national and regional level

6.5 1 Support for regional and international

academic using video conference

Activity 11 Monitoring & evaluation

Table 3: Overview of the first year distribution of the financial means among partners

Budget Estimate (US$) Code Result/Activity/Task SUZ,UDM

1.6 Training of academic staff in

2.5 Support PhD students to go to

international conferences

2.6 Support academic staff and postdocs

2.7 Support national and regional

academic staff and researchers to

Activity

3 Quality Assurance

Attracting academic staff &

students from the region

5.2 Regional resource mapping and

inception workshop

5.3 Conduct outreach programs and

seminars at national and regional level

Activity

6 National & Regional academic partners

Workshop with academic from the

6.4 Support for regional and international

Activity

10 Sustainable financing

10.4 Purchase and equip a guest house 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Activity

11 Setting up a monitoring and evaluation system

11.1 Setting up monitoring and evaluation

3 TIMING OF PLANNED ACTIVITIES FOR ENTIRE PROJECT PERIOD

Table 4: Work plan for the project

(2016-2017) (2017-2018)Year 2 (2018-2019)Year 3 (2019-2020)Year 4

Priority Activity Year 1

(2016-2017)

Year 2(2017-2018)

Year 3(2018-2019)

Year 4(2019-2020)

students to go to international conferences

and postdocs to attend internationalconferences

Priority Activity Year 1

(2016-2017)

Year 2(2017-2018)

Year 3(2018-2019)

Year 4(2019-2020)

programs and seminars at national and regional level

Priority Activity Year 1

(2016-2017)

Year 2(2017-2018)

Year 3(2018-2019)

Year 4(2019-2020)

x

academics from the region

Priority Activity Year 1

(2016-2017)

Year 2(2017-2018)

Year 3(2018-2019)

Year 4(2019-2020)

Priority Activity Year 1

(2016-2017)

Year 2 2018)

(2017-Year 3 2019)

(2018-Year 4 2020)

4 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS

4.1 Guiding rules and regulations

The ACEITLMS will operate as an academic unit within the University Of Rwanda, College Of Education with the primary mandate of bringing innovation into teaching and learning mathematics and science in Rwanda and across the East African region All activities of the centre will comply with the University of Rwanda governance, academic programs, research conduct and ethics, faculty and staff placement and development, and financial management and procurement The activities ofnational, regional and international partners that are funded, as part of collaboration with the centre such as payments for goods and services will be paid directly from the University of Rwanda In this respect funds will not be transferred to partner institutions for disbursement To ensure timely and accurate movement of finances as well as procurement of goods and services meet quality standards, the canter will conform to university organizational structures and World Bank’s policies.

To facilitate this internal accounts and procurement officers will be hired by the centre.

The ACEITLMS Steering Committee will be the supreme authority of the project.This committee will be composed of the Principal of UR-CE (Chair), Director and Deputy Director of ACEITLMS, the Dean of School of Education, Directors of Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, and Centre for Teaching and Learning Enhancement; five representatives from partners (four regional partners and one international partner), etc The Committee will be the main decision making body on proposed programs and major activities, and will be meeting twice a year TheACEITLMS Project will meet the costs of representatives of the partners attending the Steering Committee meetings.The ACEITLMS will be managed by a Director and a Deputy will be assisted by chairpersons of five sub-committees: the teaching and learning sub-committee, research and training sub-committee, community engagement sub-committee, finance and logistics, and quality assurance sub-committee

The Director will report to the Principal of the College.ICT will play a great role in ensuring accountability and transparency of the centre with regard to both financial and human resources management Like any other academic programme offered by

the UR-CE, research, trainings and other programs of the centre will be evaluated and approved by the academic quality assurance unit of the University of Rwanda

4.3 Academic management

The centre will be part of the UR-CE The UR-CE has two campuses: Remera Campus and Rukara Campus The UR-CE Remera campus has three schools, namely the School of Education, the School of Open and Distance Learning and the School of Inclusive and Special Needs Education UR-CE Rukara Campus has one school of lower secondary education Both campuses will be involved in running the centre activities The centre will function as semi-autonomous entity and will operate closely with the Department of Mathematics, Science and Physical Education (MSPE) of the School of Education in the Remera Campus and the Department of Science in the UR-CE Rukara Campus The Centre will be sharing laboratories with the Department of MSPE, Senior Lab Technicians within the MSPE department will

be assigned the responsibility of managing the equipment and Laboratory resources

of the Centre.

The office of the Director will coordinate all academic activities of the centre assisted

by the deputy leader The teaching and learning sub-committee will be responsible for all teaching and learning related activities including student recruitment and assessments The research and training sub-committee will be in charge of proposals writing for network projects and grants negotiation, organization of workshops and conferences, publications and ethical consideration The community engagement sub-committee will be responsible of all outreach programs and seminars The quality assurance sub-committee will be responsible to ensure that curricula, research and other academic activities meet the standards of higher education regionally and internationally Through the quality assurance sub- committee, the centre will conduct regular semi-annual self-assessment This exercise will serve to motivate the internal mechanisms by identifying weaknesses and strengths A self-assessment report will provide comprehensive information regarding objectives, structure and content of the academic programmes, learning and teaching environment, and research and curriculum organization The sub- committee will work closely with the Monitoring and Evaluation Officer of the Centre and the UR-CE Centre for Teaching and Learning Enhancement Academic partners shall be involved in ACEITLMS academic management through the Steering Committee.

4.4 Financial management and procurement

The UR-CE directorate of finance is responsible for providing administration and management services and other support services to its faculty, staff and students The Directorate has the needed human resource capacity to support the implementation of the ACEITLMS project The logistics and finance sub-committee will be responsible for procurement, infrastructure management, etc The centre account and finance office rand procurement officer will serve as the link between the centre and directorates of finance of UR and UR-CE for accountability and timely

execution of financial transactions and reporting and procurement The University of Rwanda and UR-CE have in place financial regulations and structures to ensure proper management of donor funds In addition the Directorate has a tracking system for monitoring the use of project funds All requests for disbursement are made with supporting documentation, which are processed and approved according budget provisions Grantees are also required to report on the progress of their projects by submitting regular reports to the UR-directorate of finance Monitoring on the use of project funds is further enhanced by the use of ICT, which allows for easy tracking of expenditures against project budgets and also for the preparation of regular financial statements to funders

The University’s procurement methods for goods and services include Single or Sole Sourcing (where justified), Restricted or Selective Tendering (where justified), National Competitive Tendering, Price Quotation and International Competitive Tendering These processes are well aligned with the World Bank procurement guidelines ACEITLMS will strictly adhere to the highest standards of ethics and integrity in all its financial and procurement transactions to meet World Bank’s Policy

on Corruption and Fraudulent Practices

4.5 Incentive structures

Staff and management of the centre will be entitled to compensation that is consistent with the guidelines for University of Rwanda staff The centre Leader, and Deputy Centre Leader, may be entitled to responsibility allowances corresponding to that of UR-CE Directors Individuals appointed as full-time teaching/research staff of the centre will be appropriately placed within the University’s salary structure according to their qualifications (e.g lecturer, associate professor etc) The chairpersons for different sub-committees will be entitled to responsibility allowances prescribed for heads of departments These allowances w ill be paid by other sources of funding (May be the University of Rwanda) other than the ACE II Project as per World Bank funding guidelines

Regional partners will have incentives to work with the centre as it will have equipment and staff to support additional projects as well as the students to complete these projects Additionally, students from regional partners would have relative admission priority to meet target goal of 30 %( regional students) National partners will have incentive to work with the centre by accessing trainings and use of equipment.

Project title /role Discipline Motivating factors Incentive required/

offered

Leader Physics, Physics

education For co-ordinating all ACEITLMS activities Required / The University of Rwanda

may pay allowances Deputy Leader Mathematics,

Mathematics education For assisting the Leader in the

co-ordination of all ACEITLMS activities

Required / The University of Rwanda may pay allowances Head, Teaching &

learning sub-committee Physics Astrophysics Responsible of all teaching & learning

activities of the centre

Required / The University of Rwanda may pay allowances

Head, Research&

training sub-committee Mathematics education Responsible for co- ordinating research

and trainings in the centre and satellites offices

Chemistry For co-ordinating

outreach, research and knowledge

dissemination in the centre

Salary payment will be shared between 4 ACEs of UR Project monitoring and

evaluation officer To be recruited Project staff shared between 4 ACEs of

UR.

Salary payment will be shared between 4 ACEs of UR Project procurement

officer

To be recruited Project staff shared

between 4 ACEs of UR.

Salary payment will be shared between 4 ACEs of UR

4.6 Project team Roles and responsibilities

Table 5: Overview of core project team POSITION Discipline Person/

Qualifications Responsibility

Centre

Leader Physics, Science

Education

Prof.LakhanLalYadav The Centre Leader will lead and

manage all aspects of the activities of the Centre Deputy

Centre

Leader

Mathematics, Mathematics Education

Prof.Nzotungicimpaye Joachim

The Deputy Centre Leader will assist the Centre Leader in running the Centre

Available to cover for the Centre Leader

Exploration of ideas and decision making

Assuming delegated responsibilities (examples:

partnership meetings, review reports from internal

procurement and financial officers) Head of

Research &

Training

Mathematics Education, ICT in education

Dr Alphonse Uworwabayeho

Chair of Research sub-committee will be in charge of:

-researchproposals writing -grants negotiation,

- organization of workshops and conferences,

- publications and ethical consideration

Head of

Teaching and

Learning

Physics, Science Education

Dr.PheneasNkundabakura Chair of Teaching and Training

sub-committee will be responsible for:

- all teaching and learning related activities

- lead curriculum design,

- coordinating student recruitment

Head of

Academic

Quality

Physics, Science Education

Dr.Jean Uwamahoro Chair of Academic Quality

sub-committee, Operationalize centre ideas related to quality of teaching and learning:

Monitors student performance for progress

will closely work with the Directorate of Academic quality in conducting regular self-

assessment twice a year

will arrange external examination and evaluation of the all programs and the examinations

administrated Head of Chemistry, Dr Edwige Kampire Chair of Community Engagement

And finance

officer

Bachelors Degree level in Accounting

Will assist the centre Leader in accounting duties of the Centre, and will liaise with the Accountant and Director of Finance at UR level

Project

Administrative

Officer

Bachelor degree level Assist leader and deputy Leader

in coordinating the activities of the centre.

Communications on behalf of the centre (letters, emails)

Receive external communications (applications, etc)

Procurement

Officer Bachelors degree level Will assist the Head of Finance and Logistics sub-committee

Will liaise with the

University/UR-CE Procurement Officer to:

Placing advertisements for national competitive tender

ACEITLMS Steering Committee

Prof.Nzotungicimpaye Joachim ACEITLMS /Deputy Centre Leader

Learning Enhancement

and Postgraduate Studies

Students Representative UR-CE/MEd & PhD students