CXC Retreats Again: But is There More in the Mortar?

Last Updated on August 6, 2022 12:07 pm by Editor

For the third time in two years, CXC has been pressured by its constituents to modify its exam structure or exam dates. For the third time, the constituents have “won”.  At least that is the simplistic notion that some would have us believe.

But some parents are a little more appreciative of the issues involved. One parent expressed the view that such a delay would push back the availability of results and hence the matriculation of students to the UWI and other institutions of that type.  That is a logistical fact and we wait to hear if the teachers’ unions will say anything about that when it does occur although CXC has already addressed it.

In 2020, the year the pandemic lockdowns began, CXC not only rescheduled its exams but made adjustments to the structure of the exam its itself. As I recall, this was followed by strenuous protests against the grades attained in some quarters.  On that occasion, CXC made some accommodation under the unrelenting pressure of some of its most vociferous stakeholders.

One student achieved fame for being an outspoken critic of the regional body headquartered here in Barbados. So much so, that that individual was sometime after catapulted to the status of “anointed” for a seat in our most august body of governance.  

Back then, no one (including that student) gave any critical thought to the impact on grades (apart from the effect on weighting) of eliminating  an examination component in which the more analytical candidates would have normally excelled as against retention of the less strenuous multiple choice question (MCQ) component for which even the weaker candidates could more easily prepare. Perhaps that individual knows something about M&E (Measurement and Evaluation) that the professionals are not aware of.  But I digress.

On this occasion in 2022, the regional examination body has postponed the May – June exams by three weeks. According to public statements by president of the Barbados Secondary Teachers Union, Mary Anne Redman, they were hoping for a month. However, she intimated that they would work with the three weeks allowance given.

In her most recent outpourings, Ms. Redman has upped the pressure on the regional examination body by asking it to bring forward the time of its release of the topics to be covered in each subject. 

Presumably CXC is releasing topics to be covered in each subject as a favour because it genuinely wants to help. However, the reader should note that it is under no moral obligation to do so.

There is a saying that too far east is west. In my humble opinion, the region is fast approaching the city centre of the west on the matter of CXC.

Unfinished Syllabi

Left out of the discussion, perhaps conveniently so, is the lack of uniformity of professionalism among teachers with regard to the preparation of candidates for these examinations.  I am referring here to the fact that in some cases, teachers in some schools do not complete the syllabus for some subjects. This is true not only of Barbados but of several territories in the region.

This state of affairs did not start with the advent of the Spiked Monster in 2020.  It was true long before that time. In fact, there is evidence that in some cases, some components of some syllabi are seldom ever covered.  I decline to give examples. Lack of teacher competence in these components is cited as the main reason.

There are naturally other reasons for such non-completion. In some cases, it may be that the syllabus is too long.  It is entirely within the bounds of expectation that teachers’ bodies will make representation to CXC on these matters and that, in any period of time, the length and structure of syllabus will be in a state of dynamic equilibrium.

It is a fact that CXC regularly reviews and updates its syllabi. We expect nothing less from a professional outfit operating on the cutting edge in the vibrant field of education.

However, the other side of the coin – the persistent non-completion of the syllabus in some subjects – needs to be addressed.   The reader is advised that this state of affairs cannot be laid totally at the feet of the Spiked Monster. As one can easily understand, however, the alien intruder served to exacerbate the situation.

Technology

It is no understatement to say that when the Spiked Monster struck in 2020 the teaching profession in the region was cat-spraddled. There then followed a period which has been referred to somewhat euphemistically as “Emergency Remote Teaching” (ERT) or more cynically as “panicogy”.

Being interpreted, that means a period in which teachers simply substituted one of the available electronic communication interventions: Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, Big Blue Button or Zoom for being face-to-face.  In other words, it was still for the most part, “talk and chalk” or rather “talk and whiteboard”.

We have become all too aware of the problems with ERT: the lack of appropriate devices and Internet access, lack of engagement among students, lack of parental support and last, but by no means the least, the lack of competence of teachers with the available technological tools. 

These problems were(are) not unique to this region. Those interested in a more detailed study of the problems can peruse this review of some research done in Ireland here.

With regard to the main constituents of whom we speak – CXC candidates – there is anecdotal evidence that some students felt that teachers were not as competent as they ought to be with the technology.

An additional problem was(is) that the incapacity of schools to scale up the technology to accommodate the numbers of teachers using the online platform, a situation which leads to frequent breaks in the service.  Parallel problems occurred in homes with multiple school attendees.

After two years of lockdowns, it does not appear that a critical mass of teachers has warmed to the idea of online learning – true online learning, I might add.  Some have outright rejected and repudiated it.  The same can be said of some students and parents.

On the other hand, there are those teachers – and some parents- who dread the return to school.  I do not blame them.  Schools are all too often disruptive of any deep learning what with their distractions, noise, violence and the sheer logistical issue of getting to and from them.     

Rapprochement

To say that the rejection of online learning by some teachers is unproductive is to understate the case.  If the current administration in Barbados has its way, technology will infuse every part of our existence. We will have to deal with smart cards, online filing of documents, electronic signatures and more.

The simple fact of the matter is that technology is a tool and one which we have to use to our advantage while mitigating its impact on the reduction of privacy and safety to name the most salient disadvantages.   

Nevertheless, the rejection of online learning by a seemingly significant number of teachers is a cause for concern.  Clearly the use of remote learning among nursery and primary school children is problematic for several reasons which should be obvious and which we will not address here.

But in the case of the preparation of candidates for CXC, the report we should be hearing is that syllabi are being finished sooner rather than later, not the opposite. 

The problem lies therefore, in the instructional design for online learning (ISDOL/IDOL).  Put simply, online learning that does not make provision for significant asynchronous learning as part of the design is a waste of opportunity.

By “asynchronous” we mean occasions when the student can enter the space defined by the technology as the virtual classroom at anytime and interact with learning materials without the presence or supervision of the teacher or the distraction of other learners if so desired.  These learning materials can range from written to audio to video material to practice and self-assessment activities. 

What teachers for the most part have done is to use the virtual classroom’s instant, real time, digital communication as a substitute for face-to-face teaching, nicely neglecting the potential for virtual group work using “breakout rooms” for example, and as suggested in the previous paragraph, for asynchronous work.

When the more enlightened approach is used, the teacher can spend more of the synchronous (real-time) contact addressing both individual and group challenges with the subject matter.  This is part of what is meant by the phrase “the flipped classroom”.

Flipping the classroom is not something intended for emergencies such as covid-19 but for ordinary, everyday teaching.  Moreover, it has been around long enough for proactive teachers’ professional bodies to infuse it into the teaching culture.

Speaking from my own experience, there can be no doubt that that approach can not only slash syllabus coverage time but facilitate Mastery Learning which is the antidote to the poor CXC grades often obtained.

We are by no means hoping for another pandemic but there are other emergencies (national elections not included) which my render the use of one or more schools inoperable for an extended period. Therefore, there is no time to waste in embracing the best that online learning can offer.

Exploiting the benefits of asynchronous learning requires an investment in online repositories of learning and testing material.  That is nothing new; it has been work-in-progress in other parts of the world for a considerable time.  Provision for such repositories has been built deliberately into Moodle, a free and pedagogically powerful LMS (Learning Management System) designed by teachers for teachers.  The problem is that such materials are specific to the learning objectives and teaching approaches in different locales.  

The fact that the teaching profession in the Caribbean has not yet come close to enfranchising itself of these provisions is definitely not CXC’s fault but a failure in teacher continuing professional development (CPD).

Case of Competence

It came as no surprise to learn that one of the reasons for the poor inculcation of proficiency in the use of the technology as desired and indicated above, in the lockdown period, was(is) the alleged lack of appropriate training given by the educational authorities in Barbados.  I presume that this was the was experience, more or less, across the Caribbean region.  Of course, there are always three sides to a story.

But it cannot be any fun for teachers to be faced with students who are more au fait with digital communications technology than they are themselves!

What needs to be taken into account is the fact that so-called “techies” can only help with access to and the basic technical use of the educational software. Techies are more comfortable with installing WIFI and software, fixing networking problems and managing hardware. They are not equipped (no pun intended) to deal with the heavy instructional design and pedagogical issues in which professional teachers are expected to excel. I emphasize “expected”.

In the limit, I do not expect such “techies” to know of Gagne’s Nine Steps of Instruction – which is a well-known basic instructional design – far less be able to relate it to Microsoft Teams or the world famous Moodle LMS!

The Blame Game

Therefore, who is to blame for the current state of affairs? Is it the government, the teachers unions, teachers’ professional organizations?

There will always be individual teachers who will proactively equip and resource themselves of all that technology has to offer them in their quest to be true professionals. I know a few of them.

Teachers unions in the Caribbean, for the most part, are still enmeshed in fighting about “bread and butter” issues.  There is nothing unseemly about that.  I can still remember being a member of BUT in the 70s and 80s and returning to school “late” with my union letter explaining my “lateness”. Those were certainly the days of spontaneous combustion.

But it seems to me that the unions will have to reinvent themselves if they are going to make any meaningful contribution to professional development matters; in particular, to the enlightened use of online learning described above.

In this context, the reader may find it instructive to read the reported statements of president of the CUT reported here. Emphasis should be on “reading” not only the lines but between and beyond the lines as the late journalist Gladstone Holder would advise.

In the absence of the unions’ reinvention of themselves, the professional thrust of which I speak will have to be advanced by teachers themselves through professional associations such as those found in foreign languages and mathematics to give a few examples.

This leaves us with the role of government.  In the environment in which we move and have our being in the Caribbean, it is a certitude that onus is going to be placed on government to push the envelope of this professionalism which I have been describing.  

Clearly one of governments’ critical roles will be the provision of the enabling technology and training to advance us towards this more efficient and effective technology-enabled way of teaching. 

Summing Up

Having worked with CXC at one of the highest levels of the assessment process for more than ten years, this author can say that although it is not a perfect organization, it certainly has much to be proud of.  

As a Marketing specialist, I do understand why the organization must appease its constituents, especially since it is funded by the people through their governments. However, it is a myth held by those not familiar with the intricacies of Marketing to argue that “the customer is always right”.  What we should say and what is true, is that the customer is always king (or queen). 

On this matter of Marketing, I am a little baffled as to why CXC does not bring its public relations machinery to bear on the issue more forcefully. Perhaps, there is more here than meets the eye.  Perhaps, there are some technical things about M&E the public (and most teachers) will never understand.

That aside, there is definitely more in the mortar than the pestle with regard to CXC’s serial retreats.

In the opinion of this author, it is that teachers’ unions, teachers’ professional organizations and government need to get their act together and stop frustrating the efforts of the professionals at CXC who are working to ensure that the region’s children come out on top of the global educational ladder and retain the hard-earned respect this region has for its educational prowess. 

Blessings and much respect to all candidates writing this year’s exams. 

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Dr. Aldon Tull is a retired educator. He can be reached on 246-846-3191 or at admin@thecme.org

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