Dr Anthony 'Skip' Basiel – Blended Learning Solutions

British Council STEM Training Proposal 07/01/2025

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This is a draft proposal to the British Council to host a STEM Training Event for international delegates for a 2-month period. The first week would be held in the UK. The last part held in the partner country.
I am happy to open a dialogue about collaboration. Please email Dr Anthony Basiel at abasiel@gmail.com subject: British Council or WhatsApp +44(0)7771998799.

The British Council and the Higher Education Commission would like to invite proposals from organisation/institutes and Universities from the United Kingdom/consortium partners including other international organizations/institutes in the higher education sector, which have relevant expertise and partnerships to work with UK (as lead partner) and Pakistan institutes on delivering STEM Faculty UK training and exposure visits.
Please use the form below to submit your proposal.
The project aims to strengthen and develop human resource capital through improved quality of higher education and skills development in Pakistan with a particular focus on training the STEM faculty across Higher Education Institutes in Pakistan.
The proposal should address the Applicant Guideline document being shared separately.

Name of organisation (Lead Partner)	Solent University, United Kingdom.
Address of organisation	E Park Terrace, Southampton SO14 0YN
Contact information	Name, Title	Dr Anthony ‘Skip’ Basiel
	Telephone	+44 7771 998799
	E-mail	abasiel@gmail.com; abasiel@bournemouth.ac.uk
	Website/Facebook	https://abasiel.uk;
Name of organisation (Co-Partner)
Address of organisation
Contact information	Name, Title
	Telephone
	E-mail
	Website/Facebook
Total Budget Requested (in GBP/PKR)	£181,100 / Rs? – (Confirm and finalise)

Detailed Project Description

Project Objective [166/500 words ]

STEM Faculty UK training:

This proposal aims to enhance teaching and assessment practices through conceptual understanding and exposure to new methodologies and high-impact pedagogies. This results in suitable approaches in interactive teaching STEM disciplines in Pakistan.

This project proposal will enable better student engagement through the use of:

• blended learning technologies such as learning simulations (blended role-play scenarios),
• artificial intelligence (AI) generators (e.g. https://teachermatic.com/),
• visual collaboration platform (e.g. https://klaxoon.com/ )
• augmented reality (e.g. 360* immersive video)

to develop and implement a blended learning curriculum and AI assisted assessment STEM training model.

Exposure visit for Pakistan:

The aim of the visit to the UK host organisation is to provide the Pakistan delegates with a face-to-face training experience. Through this training the STEM academics will have first-hand experience using a range of learning technologies through several innovative instructional designs.

Additionally, the exposure visit aims to meet the British Council’s mission statements to engender trust by building connections and creating understanding between the project partners.

Wider stakeholder analysis and consultation [304/500 words ]

The key stakeholders of our project are British Council Pakistan, Higher Education Commission Pakistan, Solent University UK, University of Peshawar Pakistan, students from Public and Private Universities of Pakistan, and STEM faculty members of Public and Private Universities of Pakistan.

We will engage with the project stakeholders on a weekly basis using Microsoft Teams, cloud storage of resources protected within the protection of the university firewall.

The challenge is to conduct the STEM training while working within the organisations’ ethical guidelines[1] and the data protection act[2] as well as GDPR[3].

Several stakeholder groups have been consulted in the design of this project. The host organisation, Solent University, has worked with Dr Anthony Basiel, Marc Molinari, Deputy Head for Research & Knowledge Exchange and Education and members of the Research Team.

In Pakistan Dr. Amjad Reba, Director CHRCD with the University of Peshawar has worked with Dr Seemab Ishaq, Research Assistant, Agha Khan University in consultation with the local British Council representative to organise regional STEM organisations to participate in the training.

Partner organisations that have also contributed to this proposal include:

• Teachermatic – AI generators for education: Esam Baboukhan, Director of Transform Education LTD
• Klaxoon – visual collaboration platform – Sam Cliff, Head of International Outbound.

The project partners and stakeholders have been engaged by using an agile project management approach through the use of a blend of communication and collaboration software and platforms:

• Microsoft Office 365 – platform, email, Teams, SharePoint, etc.
• Google Platform – email, cloud drive, web video meeting, etc.
• Klaxoon – mind maps, brainstorming, etc.

These partners have been active with Dr Anthony Basiel over the past few years on a variety of education research and development projects such as 360* augmented reality international conference keynote interactive presentations, webinar workshops on AI, international publications, etc.  

Project Outputs [ 497/500]

The project’s proposed outputs are aligned with the British Council’s (BC) mission statement[4]:

1. Create understanding between the people of the UK and other countries:
   This will be achieved through the identification and implementation of suitable innovative blended approaches in teaching STEM disciplines. For example, the AI Learning Simulation Model outlined below.
2. Make a positive contribution to the UK and the countries they work with:
   The two-way contribution of this project comes from the collaboration of the stakeholders in sharing and evaluating the use of learning technologies to support blended STEM teaching.
3. Change lives by creating opportunities, building connections, and engendering trust:
   This BC project proposal is a follow-up to previous collaborations between the UK and Pakistan universities. Dr Basiel was a keynote speaker at an international conference hosted by the University of Peshawar. This was followed up by further research proposals and academic publications. This professional network has contributed to the success of stakeholder’s PhDs and career progression.
4. The project aims to enhance teaching and assessment practices through conceptual understanding, and exposure to new methodologies and high-impact pedagogies:
   Through the training provided in this project using a variety of blended learning solutions, Pakistan Tutors can enable better student engagement. research knowledge and skills across the curriculum.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Learning Simulation Model

This Project proposes to use AI to develop a curriculum assessment model. We explore ways to use AI integrated in a learning simulation. The aim is to inform the impact of AI on the confidence level of students and satisfaction of the Tutors in their learning and assessment process. Assessment events are recorded and auto-transcribed during a 4-stage process:

Stage 1 Pre-test: First we establish the learner’s prior knowledge. Students complete a quiz that sets the baseline of the academic and tacit (hands-on) knowledge. 

Stage 2 Simulation: A real-world scenario or role-play simulation based on the module learning objectives is used to test the application of their knowledge and skills.

Stage 3 Debriefing: After the role-play simulation a pair of Facilitators moderate a discussion group circle.

Stage 4 Evaluation. The learning outcome are validated. A mapping of the simulation transcript to the learning outcomes’ provides evidence to determine the level of attainment.

Our project challenges current learning and assessment methods in education and the application of AI. Institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) use learning assurance procedures to produce evidence of a learner’s academic knowledge, capabilities or skills (Hoecht, A 2006). Our learning model can factor-in the learner’s prior and professional experiential, or tacit, knowledge. This model uses a pre-test comparison to the final evaluation known as an ipsative assessment design (Hughes 2011). First, a baseline of the learner’s knowledge and skills is set. Next, stakeholders progress through the curriculum. A summative assessment then measures the difference between the pre-test to the endpoint.

Our proposed learning and assessment model is a trans-disciplinary approach that aims to promote the development of procedural knowledge, creativity and the demonstration of specific skills.

Project Activities [404/500]

Each output described is linked to these specific activities:

1. Create understanding between the people of the UK and other countries:
   The activities supporting this output are done in two stages. First, a set of blended learning ‘ice breakers’ help the stakeholders to form a common language. These interactive tasks build a bond between the learners to promote peer-support. The relationships made in the project will be sustained when the learners return to their home institutions. Second, a pre-test is used to establish the prior knowledge of the trainees. A Web 2.0 learner-generated approach is used to create the online multiple choice question (MCQ) quiz. Students are given instruction on how to write the questions, provide the answers and identify the correct solutions. References are given to validate the correct choice.
2. Make a positive contribution to the UK and the countries they work with:
   This applied learning model is supported by the simulation learning activities. After induction sessions provide the foundation of procedural knowledge to stakeholders, online learning simulations put the information into practice. Contributions to both the UK and Pakistan organisations come from the scenario debriefing reflections and analysis.
3. Change lives by creating opportunities, building connections, and engendering trust:
   The training sessions use an interactive blended learning instructional design. The ‘study-partner/group’ approach applies a social learning pedagogy. Each session has activities for the stakeholders to share perspectives, professional tacit knowledge and build relationships.
4. The project aims to enhance teaching and assessment practices through conceptual understanding, and exposure to new methodologies and high-impact pedagogies:
   The activities associated with this output are linked to the learning technologies used. For example, learning simulations (blended role-play scenarios) will involve using AI to help with script creation and video recording for transcript analysis. Artificial intelligence (AI) generators (e.g. https://teachermatic.com/) will be used by stakeholders to save time with lesson planning.Augmented reality (e.g. 360* immersive video) records the simulation debriefing sessions to allow self-assessment by reviewing the discussions from different perspectives.

Pre-Post evaluation of the Tutors’ and Learners’ confidence level

We establish the expectations of the stakeholders going into the learning event through online surveys and interviews.

At the end, reflections of the success of the STEM training is captured to determine Tutor satisfaction. Student confidence levels are compared pre-and-post assessment to evaluate the STEM sessions.

We are applying a computing science user experience design approach known as a 5-part sprint methodology (Ferreira et al. 2020).

Risks and challenges

Challenge / Risk	Management
Risk / Challenge 1 – Loss of data or files	All data and files will be stored at several locations and devices under a firewall security platform.
Risk / Challenge 2 – Communication breakdown	Weekly online meetings will be held following an agile project management approach. Each meeting will have an agenda with set objectives. Project progress tracking will be logged and compared to the Gantt chart. Adaptions will be made as needed. Milestones will be set in the orientation meeting.
Risk / Challenge 3 – British Council mission and project objectives not met.	A more detailed SWOT analysis will be done at the start of the project. Gantt chart progress will be monitored regularly. Any objectives not met will be analysed to determine the cause. Recommendations will be made to provide interventions for further projects.

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[1] https://students.solent.ac.uk/official-documents/quality-management/academic-handbook/2s-solent-university-ethics-policy.pdf

[2] https://www.gov.uk/data-protection

[3] https://gdpr-info.eu/

[4] https://england.britishcouncil.org/about

Project Management

Project Team: roles & responsibilities

Describe the specific roles and responsibilities of the project team members and provide an organisation chart of the project team (500 words max + chart).

PD – UK – Oversee entire project, Chair regular meetings with stakeholders and team members

PMs – Meet with local team members to monitor progress

PA/F – Design and monitor project admin and finance, travel details, materials, software etc.

PCD – Works with PD / PM / SAs to draft, develop, deliver training. They are also Tutors

PTS – Tech support

Sas – Stakeholders, PK Academics

PP – Project 3^rd party partners e.g. Teachermatic (AI generators), Klaxoon (collaborative platform), 2 Education Consultants to review all outputs and lead on write-up and dissemination (e.g. website, conferences, publications, applications for awards events – to be added to the work plan.)

Personnel proposed

Present the names and relevant experience of the key experts who will be engaged in the project delivery. Please add CVs at the end of the form.

Dr Anthony Basiel – Solent University (UG/PG) Module Leader and Project Supervisor

I have been Project Manager for several British Council projects in the past such as; CEDEFOP Study Visit Programme – I was an attendee and managed 2 London UK training events with +12 European delegates for a week-long training which included corporate visits and hands-on computer software labs.  I was Project Manager for a British Council training series with the University of Gaza. We were not able to facilitate the project in person, so we researched – designed – delivered and evaluated a series of training workshops to help university academics design online curriculum. Finally, I have also written a book chapter on English Language Teaching and Assessment online for the British Council. I have over 2 decades of experience as a Senior UK University Academic and Manager in roles such as Associate Dean and Head of Academic Operations. As an Adobe International Education Leader I have worked as a Blended Learning Solutions Consultant for a wide range of organisations such as Oxofrd University and the Natural History Museum, London. My Doctorate is in Learning Technology Design. I have beek keynote speaker at many international education conferences. Since 1996, I have written over 60 learning technology publications. I have a good balance of academic, leadership and project management capabilities to be successful in this project.

[ add biography and CV ]

Management plan [ 347 words – no limit ]

Management Plan for British Council Project

The Project Managers communicate on/off-line in regularly scheduled meetings in line with the Gantt chart. Action points are identified with each meeting agenda with progress tracking done each week. Risk analysis identifies the threats with a prevention strategy implemented to stop critical incidents before project failure.

Objective:
To strengthen STEM education in Pakistan by fostering capacity building through UK-Pakistan collaborations, empowering faculty with innovative teaching methodologies, and enabling sustainable knowledge transfer.

Implementation Framework:

1. Project Phases:

Phase 1: Needs Analysis and Planning
Conduct stakeholder consultations to identify skill gaps and contextualise training modules for Pakistani faculty. Finalise partner institutions in the UK for training and collaboration.

Phase 2: Faculty Training in the UK
Organise an institutional visit to Solent University for 25 faculty members, exposing them to cutting-edge teaching and assessment practices. Deliver focused training on:

1. Effective Teaching and Assessment Practices
2. High-Impact Pedagogical Techniques
3. Technological Integration in STEM Education
4. Microteaching and STEM Practicum at higher education levels

Phase 3: Cascading Model Development
Develop training materials and guidelines for 25 trained UK delegates to cascade knowledge to 75 additional faculty in Pakistan.

2. Deliverables:
   • Establishment of a professional STEM education network of 100 trained faculty.
   • Twinning and collaboration between UK and Pakistani institutions.
   • Faculty trained in high-impact pedagogies, research integration, and digital teaching tools.
   • Sustainability through cascading training and materials.
3. Evaluation and Monitoring:
   • Develop clear KPIs to track progress, including the number of faculty trained, knowledge dissemination success, and student outcomes.
   • Regular feedback sessions with participants to refine training approaches.
   • Post-training follow-ups to ensure application of learned methodologies in classroom practices.
4. Technology Integration:
   Promote the use of digital tools in professional practice, including virtual collaboration platforms, e-learning resources, artificial intelligence generators, blended learning simulations and assessment software.
5. Sustainability:
   • Foster long-term UK-Pakistan institutional collaborations for ongoing knowledge exchange.
   • Create a repository of training materials and digital resources accessible to STEM educators in Pakistan.

This management plan ensures impactful delivery and sustainable improvement of STEM education in Pakistan.