Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Address Specific Learning Challenges and Derive Authentic Learning in Mathematics for Business at Africa University - Zimbabwe

Abstract

Emerging Technologies have been put forward by many theorists and researchers in the field of education as the key to 21^st century pedagogy alternative, with promise to address learning challenges and provide a platform for authentic learning. This paper reports on use of Emerging Technologies to address learning challenges and derive authentic learning in a Mathematics for Business undergraduate course at Africa University. The research was motivated by an authentic learning challenge based on assessment results and  feedback from current and past participants of the course. Following the identification of the learning challenge and  educational goal an affordance analysis matching learning tasks with technologies was performed using an affordance analysis model by Bower(2000). The research objectives were to Observe the interest of emerging technologies, Assess student  motivation to adopt and use  emerging technologies, and  Evaluate pedagogical impact of using emerging technologies. The key findings were students were generally  keen and motivated to the use of emerging technologies, however the pedagogical impact could not be ascertained in this early and first phase of the research. Further research is required to determine the pedagogical impact, this will involve taking the students through full semester learning cycle up to assessment and compare the results and also administer a suitable framework  to evaluate authentic learning.