Working Together: Perceptions of the Role of the Tutor in a Postgraduate Online Learning Programme (original) (raw)
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E-Learning and Digital Media, 2012
This article reports research into online learning in a part-time postgraduate programme in clinical education, which is delivered by means of supported online learning. The aim of this study is to obtain insights into the perceptions and experiences of tutors and students regarding the role of the tutor within the context of the online learning environment, and to identify the influence of the tutor on the development of true dialogue in online discussion. A simple model is proposed, which classifies students' expectations of tutor intervention and support into four broad categories, represented graphically as quadrants of a square diagram. This offers a way of differentiating the highly divergent needs and expectations of students within the e-learning context, with regard to tutor input and support. The ever-present challenge for tutors is how to intervene in order to achieve optimum engagement by all participants. The emerging implications of this differential model and possible lessons for practice are discussed.
Styles of discussion: online facilitation factors
Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Networked Learning, 2006
Whilst tutoring a supported online programme in Clinical Education over the last six years, we have become aware that there are significant differences in the ways in which both groups of students -"online learning sets" and individual students, engage in "online discussion" using a VLE discussion board. We have carried out research at various points in the history of the programme to identify different types of "learners". In order to develop our understanding we have now embarked on a major research programme as part of the SOLSTICE Centre for Excellence for Teaching and Learning, to explore the different dimensions of "online discussion", and the role that both design and tutor intervention has in shaping this discussion. This paper reports on the first stage of this analysis. By studying the postings of four separate learning sets simultaneously following the same ten-week module, it identifies two "active" discussion sets and two comparatively "passive" discussion sets. It also identifies different types of discussion and discussants within these four learning sets. This analysis leads to reflections on the reasons for such different styles of discussion, and identifies opportunities for further research into the relative importance of design and tutoring in promoting online discussion.
2015
This case-study is set within the context of a new online Masters Programme for teachers within Hibernia College, the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning (MATL). It explores how tutors and students interact using synchronous computer mediated conferencing (SCMC) technologies during live tutorial sessions. The study found that students and tutors did not have an agreed set of ground rules for these online events and thus there was a need for a signature pedagogy to clarify this. It was observed, using the Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) and tutor interviews, that the level of interaction during these tutorials was predominantly teacher led with little evidence of student voice. The study developed a toolkit to allow tutors engage in professional practice discussions. The toolkit is designed to enable tutors to reflect on their tutorial practice. Using a cyclical process tutors can capture, codify and analyse their existing knowledge with a view to developing more...
Reconsidering the role of online tutors in asynchronous online discussions
A number of publications in the field of e-learning highlight the importance of the "moderator's" approach to developing students' online learning. They identify that the major challenges for online teachers arise from the diversity of roles which moderators are required to undertake. However, little is reported about the roles e-moderators actually adopt in different learning contexts, and how these range between 'teaching' and 'facilitating'. This research focused on the ways in which several different e-moderators in higher education approached the online learning with students. The research involved four case studies of higher education tutors in the role of e-moderators. A grounded theory approach was used to analyse and interpret the data. This generated a comparative insight into diverse moderation practices, and the consequent actions and reactions of e-moderators and students. The study found that there were pre-established relationships between the various actors involved in the discussions, which directly influenced how moderators intervened, and how students reacted. Distinct differences were identified in the ways individual moderators decided when and how to intervene. This resulted in a learner or teacher centred approach with a concentration on process or content. One of the main aspects of the moderation practice was therefore identified as 'the dichotomy of moderation', which is discussed in this paper.
This case-study is set within the context of a new online Masters Programme for teachers within Hibernia College, the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning (MATL). It explores how tutors and students interact using synchronous computer mediated conferencing (SCMC) technologies during live tutorial sessions. The study found that students and tutors did not have an agreed set of ground rules for these online events and thus there was a need for a signature pedagogy to clarify this. It was observed, using the Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) and tutor interviews, that the level of interaction during these tutorials was predominantly teacher led with little evidence of student voice. Further analysis found that there was also limited evidence of critical discussion. The study has developed a toolkit comprising an expanded FIAC framework and an adapted version of Brookfield and Preskill’s Dispositions for Critical Discussion. The toolkit is designed to enable tutors to reflect on their tutorial practice. Using a cyclical process tutors can capture, codify and analyse their existing knowledge with a view to developing critical discussion as the signature pedagogy for their online tutorials. In this way Hibernia College can assist tutors in building their own professional practice knowledge with the ultimate goal of enhancing student learning on the programme. The study is set against a backdrop where higher education institutions are placing greater significance on online interactions and this is placing new demands on the pedagogical repertoire of their faculty.
The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning , 2021
Online tutorials (e-tutorials) have the potential to address challenges that higher education has grappled with for many years, and even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, increased access to higher education by members of previously disadvantaged groups has caused severe strain on existing infrastructure and posed new challenges for lecturers in the classroom. E-tutorials do not only address infrastructure challenges related to the shortage of physical learning space in universities but also create a platform where students can engage with learning content outside the classroom. This study seeks to investigate the experiences of tutors engaged in an online tutorial programme at a rural university campus in South Africa. We deploy a qualitative approach to make sense of the experiences of the tutors for purposes of developing a focused online tutorial training programme. Data were gathered from selected participants using structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were analysed using the five stages of Salmon's e-moderating framework. The limitations of the study include the limited population sample and the rural context in which the study was conducted. As a result, the findings of the study may not be generalisable to other, non-rural contexts. The findings indicate that tutors need specific training to effectively facilitate learning in an online environment. 1
Computers & Education, 2008
In the present study cross-age peer tutoring was implemented in a higher education context. Fourth-year students 11 (N = 39) operated as online tutors to support freshmen in discussing cases and solving authentic problems. This study con-12 tributes to a better understanding of the supportive interventions of tutors in asynchronous discussion groups. Peer tutor 13 interventions were studied by means of a content analysis scheme based on the e-moderating model of Salmon [Salmon, G. 14 (2000). A model for CMC in education and training. E-moderating. The key to teaching and learning online. London: 15 Kogan Page]. The descriptive results reveal that the type of tutor activities varies over the consecutive discussion themes. 16 No evidence was however found for a significant evolution from introductory and social talk to contributions eliciting cog-17 nitive processing and critical thinking along the themes. Tutors' social support seems to be of continuous importance. Fur-18 ther, cluster analysis resulted in a classification of the tutors into three different subtypes or tutor styles ('motivators', 19 'informers' and 'knowledge constructors'), which was interpreted as confirmation of tutordependent online peer tutoring 20 behaviour. 21
Based on a study conducted in a core module of the Postgraduate Diploma in Education program at the National Institute of Education (Singapore), this paper provides an account of the perceptions and experiences of pre-service teachers on the roles of their tutors in the online discussion board. The research methods included a questionnaire survey, two focus group interviews and an analysis of the discussion records. The findings suggest that there are gaps between the experiences and perceptions of the pre-service teachers on the roles of their tutors. These identified gaps have various implications for the role of the online tutor in practice: (1) setting meaningful task, (2) guiding participants in the “technicalities” of online discussion, (3) participating actively in discussions by answering queries, providing feedback and posing conflicting views to elicit thinking/reflection, (4) keeping the discussion focused, (5) drawing conclusions and providing content expertise, and (6) recommending resources for extension of learning.
The role of the tutor in the university context and in distance learning: an exploratory research
2020
The contribution focuses on the role of the tutor in online courses also in relationship to recent Italian regulation Ministerial Decree n. 6/2019 ("Auto-evaluation, evaluation, initial and periodic accreditation of the venues and courses of study"), that has introduced concrete indications on the presence of tutors in distance learning courses. In the first part, the study examines the evolution and skills of the tutor, with relation to the international debate on the spreading of distance learning. The second part concerns an exploratory survey conducted with the aim of collect the opinions and satisfaction levels of instructors and tutors on the tools used to monitor learning and support students in online courses (MOOCs) on EduOpen portal (https://learn.eduopen.org/). The need to strengthen and rethink the role of the tutor (greater professional recognition) has increased, particularly in the context of distance learning; in many cases the tutor is the main interlocutor of the students and as a support figure for the team of instructors is at the core of processes of didactic innovation.