Assessment of a peer mentoring program to build capacity for course development and delivery

Abstract

Building capacity in higher education in developing countries is critical for meeting many of the country development objectives. There have been numerous approaches to improve the abilities of professors to prepare 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 the capacity of water resources and environmental engineering professors in Pakistan. The program is delivered using an online learning management system, Canvas. The peer mentoring is conducted through weekly interactions via video conferencing with additional learning facilitated through Canvas. Structured instruments guide mentor review and feedback on the creation of syllabi, lesson plans, learning activities, assessments, and teaching. 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. Mentor and instructor assessments and reflections from 2.5 years of the program are analyzed to identify effective program elements and areas for improvement. Ideas were compiled and used to design a transition of the program to a semi-autonomous course-development and delivery-mentoring platform that will be available online.