Curriculum Development and Instructional Materials

 

Original Mission

The Carnegie Corporation of New York founded CUDIMAC through a grant for an initial period of three years. Â It was formally established in June 1972 to be a service centre for the Faculty of Education and through this Faculty to serve other faculties in the University.

Original mission: Â Originally, CUDIMAC was founded to provide service to education in Nigeria generally and in the South-East and South-South Zones particularly, by joining forces with all concerned to tackle the need to assist in the task of making education more relevant, realistic and functional.

CUDIMAC was in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s known for its contribution in the development of school curriculum at the primary and secondary school level by way of actually drawing up the syllabus for these levels in the South-East and South-West Zones of Nigeria.  The Centre was also the only recognized body that handled workshops for teachers at these levels of education in these zones too.  Unfortunately from the late 90’s, The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Centre (NERDC) had come into the forefront of curriculum development in Nigeria.  Again, many other bodies in the different states were entrusted with the job of handling workshops for teachers.  A new profile for CUDIMAC was put together by the then Director, Prof. Elsie Chizua Umeano and defended in November 2008.  Thus, the then administration gave CUDIMAC a new mandate to drive e-learning in the University.  All faculties and units were mandated to nominate at least three competent members of staff from their faculty to be in the e-learning team though more staff of the Faculty of Education joined the team since CUDIMAC is housed in the Faculty of Education.  Seven members o staff of the Library were in the team too.  It was a 76-people team.  The UNN e-learning was officially launched on Wednesday, November 26, 2008.  The Vice-Chancellor and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) were there at the flag off.

New members of staff were employed in CUDIMAC to be able to face the task; and with their help, the new CUDIMAC vision and mission statements were put together in line with the University’s new vision and mission statements.

Current Vision: Â To be a functional, competitive and research-based Education Centre in Nigeria that will serve as an educational consulting clinic empowered towards the development of curriculum and instructional materials and training in the use thereof.

Current Mission Statement:

To place CUDIMAC in the forefront of evidence-based innovations in the development of curriculum and instructional materials and the introduction of new methodologies in pedagogy that will be genuinely useful in Nigerian institutions of learning, while meeting the global standards yet promoting the core values of the University which will ensure the restoration of the dignity of man.

CUDIMAC Targets for 2010-2015

– To develop prototypes of different three dimensional instructional materials and packages for difficult  subject areas such as English, Mathematics, Primary Science, Life skills, and Chemistry.

– To partner with private outfits that will mass-produce these teaching/learning materials.

– To develop e-instructional media (CDs, Audio tapes, and DVDs), which will target difficult concepts in difficult subject areas.

– In view of the fact that the logic model (one of those on which CUDIMAC bases its activities) presupposes that the steps should be taken as think, plan, execute and assess. Â CUDIMAC intends to go to assessment to find out to what extent these instructional materials have been of help to the teaching-learning process.

– To train and equip in-service teachers with the right skills/methods and tools/ materials through workshops bearing in mind the world-class standards.

– To establish a micro-teaching laboratory with state-of-the-art multi-media educational equipment for the training of student-teachers and re-training of Nigerian teachers at all levels of education.

– To avail student teachers and in-service teachers at all levels of education of the opportunity of trying out new skills and modern educational technologies in teaching.

– To organize conferences/seminars with a view to creating awareness in the areas of emerging innovations in curriculum as well as teaching methods/strategies.

Names of Academic Staff

1. Prof. Uchenna M. Nzewi:  B.Sc(Ed), M.Ed, PhD(Nig) – Professor and Director

2. Dr. Frank E. Akubilo:  B.SC, MBA, PhD – Lecturer 1

3. Dr. (Mrs.) Dorothy Ebere Adimora: Â NCE, B.Ed, M.Ed, PhD- Lecturer 11

4. Mr.Utibe Uduak James:  HND, M.Sc – Lecturer 11

5. Mrs. Gloria Tbechukwu Onwuka:  BA.ED, M.ED – Lecturer 11

6. Mr. Agah John Joseph:  BS.C (ED), M.ED – Lecturer 11

7. Mr. Okon Etim Okon:  MA (ED) – Lecturer 11

8. Mr. Eugene Ucheya Okorie:  NCE, B.SC, M.Ed – Lecturer 11

9. Mrs. Annah Chinyeaka Uloh-Bethels:  BA.ED – Graduate Assistant

10. Mr. Emmanuel Chukwuweike Nwangwu:  NCE, BS.C – Lecturer 11

11. Mr. Uchenna Fabian Ude:  NCE, BA (Ed) – Graduate Assistant