This course provides an excellent professional
development opportunity for practitioners in institutions of open and distance
learning (DE). It covers everything from understanding our learners in DE, support
roles that tutors play, organizing communal learning online, and the place of
assessment in DE. Tutors will find the course practical and a hands-on tool
that will greatly enhance their practice as they carry out their duties.
Tutors provide
essential support to students and in this way contribute to the success of the
DE program. Without tutors, most DE programs would be impossible to implement.
For that reason, it is important that we pay attention to how tutors work as
well as the context in which they perform their duties. Many tutors may not be
aware of the skills they need to carry out their tutorial duties; they may be
lacking in the technology skills that could enhance their work. This course
will be hands-on, taking tutors through various forms of media and spelling out
deliverables at each level. Work will simulate real tutorial duties so that
tutors can take away a skill that they can implement right away. As well,
emphasis will be placed on the positive impact of good performance feedback.
Upon
recruitment, potential tutors are inducted in the knowledge and skills of
conducting tutorials for distance learners. The purpose of this professional
course is to enhance tutors' knowledge and skills following on those imparted
at the induction stage.
Although
tutorials mainly involve learners and tutors, they take place in contexts whose
main business is not necessarily DE. It is therefore necessary to evaluate the
conduciveness of these contexts.
In this course,
we shall look at the interaction of tutors and learners in the tutorial
context, the learning materials, and media as facilitators of teaching and
learning.
The
great news is that you need only be a practitioner in DE to attend this course.
We will build on what you already know about DE, and we will differentiate
face-to-face teaching skills from DE tutoring skills.
As
a course participant, you will have your instructor, and a number of support
staff helping you with your course work and with any questions you may
have. Plus you can contact our Student Advisors by email or phone for all
the practical advice you may need – so we really are with you 100%.
What's
more, you'll have access to the UNM online Student Community, where you can
interact with other students, browse our resource library and manage your
account
Distance education is defined as any
formal approach to learning in which a majority of the instruction occurs while
educator and learner are at a distance from one another.
Making use of both printed course materials
and online interaction, DE includes both synchronous and asynchronous
instruction, with the latter forming the core attraction of working adults.
Adult learners are goal-oriented; therefore, DE
programs should provide learning environments in which
they can accomplish their goals.
Attrition rates in DE result when learners do
not or cannot accomplish their goals.
When they do not perceive that they are acquiring the knowledge and
skills that they wanted, learners very likely quit learning.[1]
The overall goal in DE and its
significance is to provide further training. However, distance learners are a
mixed bag. Some are returning to school to further their education, others to
change careers, and still others are coming in straight out of high
school. As such their needs are varied.
Here is what you as tutors will demonstrate by
the end of the course:
Team
building skills, transfer skills, valuable employee, trainer, sought-after
Josephine
Walwema
UMI,
232 Circle Square, Mann
Tel:
202-244-5715
Office: Continuing
Ed, 206
Policy Statement
This class will
focus on tutors of distance education to address in an adroit way the many questions
that arise in tutors’ minds as they move from their role as lecturer to that of
tutor. We will examine the role of tutors in DE and the skills and knowledge
they need. We will review the skills and experience from other educational
contexts that are transferable to tutoring in DE, and suggest how you can
create your own DE tutor-skills development plan. Ultimately, we will explore
ways in which tutor evaluation involving students, administrators, and the
tutors themselves can take place.
Having agreed to sign up for this course, you
need to explore your goals viz those of the course. To help you frame
your goals and to allow the course instructor to align your goals with those of
the course, you may want to ask yourself the following questions:
§
What
would you like to learn about DE?
§
What
would you like to learn about specific aspects of tutoring?
§
What
would you hope to be able to do better as a result of this learning?
What
you already know. Are you:
§
a
tutor with sole responsibility for your students
§
one
of a group of tutors working under a senior tutor
§
a
course author
§
someone
who supervises and/or trains tutors
§
someone
who manages an ODL program?
The
course will introduce the principles and practice of the essential interactions
of tutoring DE. It will enable you to develop and practice the skills you will
need for tutoring, as well as help in using specific technologies.
Strategies for Effective Independent Learning
To benefit from this course as an independent
learner, you will need to actively engage in the fowling strategies:
Learning
through activities and assessment—When you read through the learning materials
and complete the activities, you are in a comparable situation to your
learners. Each of the activities is designed so that you can complete it on
your own, or as part of a group. When self-assessing or reflecting on your work
on each activity, you can ask yourself the following questions.
§
Did
I complete this activity as thoroughly as I could?
§
What
have I learned from this activity?
§
What
questions arose from this activity? How can I find answers to these questions?
§
If
I were using this activity to tutor, what changes would I make?
Required Texts:
Jennifer O’Rourke, Tutoring
in Open and Distance Learning: A Handbook for Tutors.
ISBN: 1-895369-87-8,
Available online at http://www.col.org/colweb/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/docs/odltutoringHB.pdf
Grade Distribution:
|
|
Grade
% |
|
Close
readings and completing the activities |
30% |
|
Individual
led discussions |
15% |
|
2
Course-long Projects |
45% |
|
Self-reflection
posts and blogs |
15% |
|
Active
participation/attendance |
10% |
Your
final grade will be calculated according to the above percentages.
Tools—You will need ...
q
your
copy of the text with you in class each day
q
regular
access to a computer and Internet
q
the
ability to check your email and course links daily before and after each class
You do need basic technological knowledge to
take this course as you will need to use computers in a classroom environment
and for course work. We will use Internet, email, and the web
regularly, both inside and outside of class. I'll explain each of our class
computer procedures; if you run into difficulty, let me know and we'll work it
out.
This is only a five day course. To get the
most out of it, you will attend every session without fail. You will also interact
frequently with your peers. Some of the interaction will happen online
through your postings but much will take place in class discussions. Do not
arrive late to class out of courtesy and to demonstrate the seriousness with
which you take this course. If an unavoidable problem prevents you from
attending class, please let me know so we can determine if your absence in fact
may preclude you from the class.
Timely Assignments:
Assignments will
be turned in on the due date without fail.
Course Content
The course content will be imparted through lecturing,
along with participants' activities and group work. You will individually complete the activities
at the end of each unit. You will also make notes on your reading and to write
down your responses in the light of how the ideas and activities could be
applied to your tutoring situation. These notes will form the bulk of your blogs.
As well, frame your responses to the discussion topics to be posted to the
daily group discussions forum.
Ideally, participants should prepare for the
session by reading the relevant section of the handbook.
|
DE Professional Development
Course Schedule |
|
|
Class Activity |
Required |
|
topics
|
readings:
|
|
topics
|
readings
|
|
topics
|
readings
|
|
topics
|
readings
|
|
topics
|
readings Unit 4: Assessment
in ODL |
These will be course long projects. I advise
that you start soon so you can leave enough time to write up your reports.
Theme: building a learning community with new
media
Take part in a short computer, or audio
conference. If you are working on your own, you may need to make arrangements
to participate in a conferencing session with your organization.
Purpose: To practice audio
and online conference tutorials during an online tutorial workshop.
a. evaluate each
activity, the structure and effectiveness of the session as a whole, and other
issues relevant to your situation
b. explain how you would
adapt your planning and facilitation strategies for a tutorial conference
c. identify what you have
learned, individually and collectively, from the experience, and what you would
do differently the next time.
Deliverables
What other forms of
media do you see yourself using effectively?
Theme: Assessment in DE
Design an assignment for the course you are
tutoring. This assignment will be delivered entirely online. In your
assignment, include the following:
q
the
rationale for the assignment
q
the
goals or skills you wish to convey
q
how
these goals align with the course goals
q
the
resources learners need to accomplish this assignment
q
duration
q
assessment
criteria, grading rubric
You will also need to outline how this
assignment is beneficial to learners' work.
An important component of your assignment is
for you to show in concrete ways how to assess whether students have met the
objectives of the course.
To help learners get started on their
assignment, form an online discussion forum. You could write a prompt to which
learners can respond; allow them to brainstorm the different angles from which
to undertake the task. In the brainstorming sessions, allow for email,
discussion forums, and threaded discussions.
Deliverables:
Submission—this assignment will be uploaded using
the assignment tool in the web platform and will be graded by
instructors other than me. Knowing that your assignment will be graded by
someone you may never meet,
1. write a reflection— in 11/2 pages in which
you express your expectations on the kind of feedback you will receive from
your work.
Tutors have countless opportunities to receive
professional development training. Most of that training, however, goes to
waste in that tutors hardly, if ever, implement the added training they have
received. Often, this training comprises a lot of paper work and research
articles with no practical application. Professionals seeking professional
development courses tend to focus on learning about new areas in their field
rather than on skills needed for everyday tasks. This preference reflects the
desire by professionals to explore something new rather than revisit known
territory. However, it is crucial that professionals deepen and refresh their
everyday skills lest they grind into a rut.
This is a professional development course
whose purpose is not just busy work but to equip tutors with the skills they
need as they apply themselves in their tutoring duties. It is important to me that
I assign tasks that are directly related to what tutors do. In one sense, I
choose to cast them as learners so that from that position of vulnerability,
they can develop the necessary empathy for their learners. Also, from the
hands-on position of setting up tasks, my hope is that tutors can transfer
those same skills to their work in the tutoring classroom.
The instructor’s role changes dramatically in
an online distance learning course. Accordingly, the instructor's Pedagogical functions will involve
developing and implementing sound instructional design that includes designing
the assignments, structuring and organizing the content, promoting a learner- centered
environment, and ensuring overall pedagogical success of the course.
Literacies: justification
My strategy in this course is to give
opportunity to participants to identify in less overt terms the skills they
require to carry out their tutoring tasks. My aim is to have them
transfer theoretical skills to everyday practice. To this end, I have decided
that for the first assignment, I will take a business communication approach.
For one thing, my participants are already accomplished professionals in their respective
fields. For another, a good number of their learners are not straight out of
high school; they too are professionals. Communication is therefore essential
for both parties. It makes sense to not only adopt professionalism but also to
adopt a business stance to our communication outlook. And business always
invokes economics—cost effectiveness, transactions, efficiency, time
management, maximizing output through quality input. This is the same outlook
I'd like tutors to have as their communication model with distance learners.
Clarity and conciseness are valuable skills,
and so is tone and ethical conduct. These are the same skills associated with
business communication. And learners can benefit from clear and concise
instructions as they make sense of the content, seek clarification from
their instructors, etc. As well, the level of formality afforded by business
communication punctuated by personhood can go a long way in building relations
between tutor and learners. A business communication approach also allows for conversational
and personal but direct e-mail.
Asking participants to reflect on their
practices is a concept from Plato, which suggests that reflection allows for
refutation. It made it possible for the rhetor to strengthen her argument so
she can go beyond the use to system. Reflection also erodes the binary between
research and practice, bringing about a move from usability to the design
process itself.
In
the light of rhetorical literary skills, I wish to have participants develop
An awareness of these skills can contribute to
a building of a persuasive aspect in inquiry and instruction.
Selber establishes three separate areas of
digital literacy: functional literacy, critical literacy, and rhetorical
literacy. In assigning my first task, I begin with functional literacy. I would
like my participants to acquire the basics in terms of setting up the
components that allow the functionality of the tools themselves so I can
empower participants to overcome what Selber calls "performance-oriented
impasses" (Selber 72). Tutors need technical skills. They need to learn
how to operate and participate in video-conferencing technology. They need to
learn how to create and facilitate online-group discussions so their learners
can remotely log on from and still participate in and benefit from the group
discussions.
Rhetorical literacy is more than a functional
skill. It’s about praxis—which calls for a deliberate and constant
rearticulating of the course goals in relation to the technology, coupled with
the ability to articulate and address in clear terms learners' concerns. Like
Selber, I use rhetorical literacy to engage participants, who I hope will in
turn engage their learners in an increased understanding and perception of technology
use. But according to Selber, rhetorical
literacy is also about critiquing the technology in rhetorical contexts and
then rearticulating that in positive ways. How do I do that in a DE mode?
I would like to tap into all the positive
aspects of orality espoused by Ong. I realize that teaching is fundamentally
oral and that it is only enhanced by the "secondary" technologies
privileged by Ong, such as reading. Learners in face-to-face modes listen to their professor, engage in
discussions, speak up on issues, seek
clarification by questioning
assumptions, etc, all of which are oral skills. The DE environment, however, is
an attempt to (deliberately or not)do away with orality, if you will. It is
purely driven by reading and writing practices, and it is only when tutor and
learner meet in person, or use audio that they can exchange views in aural and
oral ways. Perhaps Ong is right. He writes that writing distances the
originator of a thought from the receiver by enabling the existence of
discourse "which cannot be directly questioned or contested as oral speech
can be because written discourse is detached from the writer (78). Should there
be a contentious issue then, a learner does not have opportunity to dispute it,
thereby tutor and learner sticking to deliberative discourse without being
agonistic. However, thanks to Internet, synchronous text-based communication
between learners and tutors is made possible. Chat room technology, or even
instant/text messaging, and discussion threads support the dialectic, a form that
has an oral aspect to it. They each use oral rather than written constructs in
construction.
An important concept of acquiring literacy is
collaboration. The advantage in DE is that it has already been set up as a
technology driven pedagogy. For this reason, I would like my participants to, in the words of Stuart Selber understand
computer literacy as a social practice.
I would like my participants to move on from
just being functionally adept computer users but I am uncertain how to make
them become fully aware, fully critical interface designers.
On critical literacy, Selber makes the case
that students should be asking why and how technology institutions such as
websites, campus computer labs, software packages, etc., have been set
up to persuade, control, direct and use them. I am uncertain how to incorporate
this in my course. And for DE who rely entirely on this pedagogical medium,
wouldn't be doing them a disservice, taking away from their precious time
otherwise dedicated to studying?
Distance
learning
means that students learn in their own time by reading course material, working
on course activities, writing assignments, joining regulated forums, and
perhaps working with other students. There is also the added provision of tutor
support in the form of tutorials, assessment and feedback.
My first assignment involves group learning
using technologies such as audio-conferencing, online and group discussions,
and using email as learning tools. Planning and facilitating group learning in
DE differs from conventional classroom instruction because of the differences
in learner needs and the context and the resources available. Group learning in
DE involves making the best use of the resources
available. In addition to materials and technologies, these resources include
the tutors’ and the learners’ experience, their skills and time. Group learning
in DE usually has more time constraints than in the classroom, so group
learning sessions should enable learners to use focused activities to achieve
specific goals. The facilitation strategies I have chosen should enable
participants to use group activities to build on what they have learned from
their preparatory studies, and from what they have engaged in during
face-to-face modes rather than be passive recipients of direct instruction.
Also, I want them to see these technologies as complementary, rather than
overriding, the goals, processes and outcomes of group learning in DE. In other
words, just because learners cannot always meet face-to-face does not mean they
cannot keep the discussion going by using the available technologies.
In the first assignment, I engaged tutors in
group work that by necessity mandated discussions, sharing of experiences,
consulting one another, and collaborating. This assignment also allowed tutors
to contribute to the discussions as individuals, and as a group. Either way,
each participant has opportunity to interact meaningfully. Acquiring this skill
from a participatory approach cements learning in ways different from conveying
information from a podium. While learners may see the merits of the content
transmitted from a lectern, they may well lack the confidence to apply it in
real terms once they depart from the course.
This assignment has elements of coordination
between learners, trainers, and administrators. I would like tutors
to develop a sense of business communication, which emphasizes practicality and
precision.
DE learners learn in isolation—group
discussions have an element of bringing people together, which erodes that
isolation, or at least simulates an element of collaborative learning both within
the ranks and from the instructor. The instructor can be seen as a pillar, the
guiding force to ensure that learners do not gear off track. Material developed
through groups in which learners are the focus foregrounds a sense of
learner-centeredness.
Along with the technology of
video-conferencing is using other forms of business communication such as
email. In using email, my aim is to entrench instruction in both etiquette and pedagogy—a
learning-tutoring tool. Email has largely been used as a form of
personal communication and often people neglect the proper etiquette when the
subject is business. Tutors will develop a sense of writing timely and responsive
emails that address their learners' queries so learners do not feel they are
being blown off but that their concerns are being addressed in meaningful and
useful ways.
I want tutors to develop a sense of balance in
writing emails. Understandably, they do not have the time to
write long detailed emails to individual students and very likely, learners do
not have the time to dig through even more text alongside their course
material. Tutors will practice ways of
writing succinctly and precisely, outlining important information, and
addressing multiple learners with similar concerns in a single correspondence.
In the process of communicating with their
learners, tutors can transmit this business oriented skill to their learners by
demonstrating how to have a clear objective in correspondence through using
meaningful subject lines that aren't vague or unfocused. Both learners and
tutors will learn to consider their readers' needs so they can write in ways
that motivate a response. Positive ways include making the negative positive,
empowering rather than disempowering the reader through disparaging language,
fostering a sense of interaction, which in turn translates into good feedback
on assignments. Emphasis will be on feedback that motivates learners rather
than discourages them or backs them into a corner.
Communication technology, though available has
been maximized more by the business world than educational
institutions. I want tutors to develop a sense of ease and etiquette with this
technology. Email, for example, is fast, easy and leaves a footprint. Tutors
can exploit the threading ability in emails that allows a discussion to be
tracked from its inception to its conclusion. Tutors can begin to see that
taking time to respond to emails is good practice; that because it can be
evoked, learners can refer to that discussion for clarity, or even forward it
to other learners who may be experiencing similar concerns regarding their
assignments or the topic of discussion.
Tutors will use proper salutation methods that
reflect, for example, the relationship between tutor and learners. The
etiquette will focus on getting tutors ways of giving learners feedback on
assignments in a constructive manner that leaves their credibility as tutors
intact and accords their learners dignity.
When teaching at a distance, educators must
address a different teaching challenge than when teaching in a
traditional classroom.
Assessment is
one of the key facets of any instructional design program. Assessment provides
continued growth in learning if the instructor can develop strong criteria for
learning material. In a DE environment,
learners' need for clarity and consistent communication regarding the assessment
criteria is critical. When time and distance are factors, it is incumbent upon the instructor to
communicate early and often about expectations regarding learners' creative undertakings
in the coursework, hence the brainstorming sessions.
Learners too must work autonomously at a
computer to construct their own knowledge without an instructor present to
guide the learning process. They want learner-centered material and a
collaborative environment in which to work. One of the most important approaches
to successful online instruction is to ensure a high degree of interactivity
and participation. This means developing learning activities that engage the
learners in authentic tasks and problem-solving strategies. Hands-on projects
help students to work together on relevant and timely investigations.
Providing timely feedback is crucial for
learners. Learners need to receive
feedback about an assignment or posting before going on to the next
assignment. They need much more support and feedback in the online environment
than in a traditional class because of the feeling of alienation often
experienced by distance learners. Using effective feedback strategies helps to
ensure that learners' needs are being met and that students are encouraged to
participate and continue learning at a high-quality level.
The underlying goals I have for this course is
to train participants in how to moderate and facilitate discussion forums, how
to provide feedback, how to facilitate building an online community, and how to
deliver an online course.
I would like to assess my participants'
readiness for teaching online by getting feedback on the following
items:
Will I be able to:
q
Project my presence in an online environment?
q
Cope with delayed feedback?
Do I know:
q
What I'm trying to achieve with my instruction?
q
What knowledge, skills and attitudes need to be taught?
q
How much content I need in my instruction?
q
What resources and strategies I can/will use?
q
How I'll structure the content?
Do I have good writing skills?
q
Can I communicate clearly and effectively through email
An
instructor who has these skills will gain a major advantage in an online
environment.
Problematic
Students should be able to assess
the adequacy of their responses to assessment exercises.
Students need:
q
to know how the right answer was reached
q
information on their own performance, particularly where they may
have gone wrong
q
a clear picture of what they should do next; in what order
q
confidence in assessing their own performance and thus becoming more
self-directed in their learning
In this task, my aim is to
assess tutors' knowledge and understanding in functioning in online
environments. I would like tutors to design an assignment in which they detail their
classroom practices and report on them. This kind of student assignment makes it possible for the tutor both to guide
the student and to assess how far knowledge has in fact been applied to
practice.
I would like to see how far
tutors are applying what they have learned in the workshop. Just as managing and supervising classroom practice presents
particular difficulties for distance learning so does its assessment.
Asking participants to reflect on
their expectations regarding their assignment is my way of getting them to
think of learners in those terms. I hope that tutors will transfer those same expectations to their grading; expectations such as
respect, comprehensive feedback that provides guidance and suggestions to
enable learners achieve their goals. The other expectation is timeliness
with which learners receive feedback to their work.
I have focused on media and its use in this
course. I am mindful that the widespread availability of computers does not
necessarily translate into their widespread use. My question is: how do people
use computers to write and read? I am with Denis Baron, in sort of charting
"the stages of literacy technology"(15). What works, what is hype?
While tutors ordinarily do not write but informate, I wish to have them
generate text as they reflect on their experiences.
I am thinking too of Eilola-Johnson's
articulation—which put simply is a workable social theory for postmodernist
cultures. As a way for of redefining oneself, articulation allows
experimentation, collaboration, and even abstraction.
Collaboration is crucial here. Tutors will be
from different disciplines. That does not mean they cannot work together. In
fact, they can collaborate by bringing to the table what they each know and see
how to make that a learning process for them all.
As Gunther Kress writes, ethos in the digital
technologies today has to do with understanding what skills, aptitudes,
know-how and attitudes of communication that users need in the 21st
century.
My goal is to make learners technologically
literate so they can effect change in technological systems; so students can
move from being users to becoming reflective users of technology. This calls
for their functional/critical abilities. It is a rhetorical activity because it
involves deliberation, persuasion, reflection, social action.
[1] Yonnie Chyung, Systemic and Systematic
Approaches to Reducing Attrition Rates in Online Higher Education. The
American Journal of Distance Education AJDE in 2001 Volume 15; Issue 3, p.
36-49.