Tutoring

Introduction

As the learning environment in distance education is intended to be highly supportive and learner-centred, regular tutor-led contact sessions are an important learner support strategy that may be an incentive for student enrolment in a programme.

In general, institutions use the tutoring services of qualified professional or support staff employed on a part-time contract basis, rather than full-time academic staff. This approach ensures that lecturers have a manageable workload, and that learner support services are cost-effective.

Tutoring in open and distance learning (ODL) is designed to:

• Bring an interpersonal element to the learning process.
• Foster collaborative learning and support in small groups.
• Enrich print-based learning through a variety of practical and interactive exercises.

Principles dealt with here will apply to many ODL contexts.

tutoring in ODL

Tutorials, in both media-based and contact-based formats, are one of the most effective strategies for "opening up" learning environments.

Media-based tutorials

"This study guide takes an interactive approach. This means that we are going to be conversing through the study material: I as the author, and you as the reader."

To an extent, well-designed and well-written learning materials can serve as good vicarious teachers, according to education psychologist Jerome Bruner. This means the materials can aid the development of the necessary knowledge and abilities in students, as if they were physically under the guidance of a real teacher. When written in a way that simulates the actual tutorial process, the learning material becomes what ODL educator Derek Rowntree describes as "tutorial-in-print," and distance education theorist Börje Holmberg a "kind of simulated conversation" that takes place in a non-contiguous (non-contact) environment.

You may have experienced this form of "educational conversation" through reading material that conveys a personal tone, in which the author gives advice on how to handle various concepts and activities; encourages you to interrogate the text; reflect on your own thinking processes as you read; and consider alternative perspectives.

These courses or modules may be well designed to promote a sense of interactivity, but are produced for mass distribution to possibly thousands of students across vast distances. Skilled tutors will be able to help students use the material to create their own individual understanding and knowledge.

Contact-based tutorials

"I'm not sure how to write the first assignment. Are we going to discuss the layout on Saturday?"

Contact-based tutorials correspond to Holmberg's notion of "guided didactic conversation," based on "the awareness that human beings, although learning individually, usually develop their thinking in an advantageous way by talking their concepts and ideas over with some partner." So, in addition to dialogue between learner and learning material or content, we should create personal interactions on at least two other levels:

• Between learner and teacher (or tutor).
• Between learner and learner.

Contact-based tutorials, also called contact sessions, may specify compulsory or optional attendance and may carry a portion of the total course credit. They take different forms:

• Individual or group tutoring.
• Tutor- or peer-facilitated tutorials.
• Short (say, three hours) but frequent sessions, or residential/holiday schools of a longer duration (a week or more).

The main reasons for creating opportunities for contact and dialogue go beyond just overcoming the isolation and loneliness of distance learning. According to distance educator and theorist Otto Peters, when students participate in learner-teacher and learner-learner dialogue they learn to:

• Argue purposefully and in the language of their discipline.
• Take up, give reasons for, maintain, modify or abandon their own theoretical points of view in the course of a discussion.
• Enquire into and critically evaluate knowledge presented by others.
• Reflect critically and self-confidently together with other students on the knowledge they have created, and on the methods used.
• Experience collective advances in knowledge.
• Present their ideas rationally and systematically.

The responsibility for creating contact cannot be placed squarely on the shoulders of students. Tutoring staff must be carefully selected and trained in their goal of helping students develop as learners.

skills and qualities

A tutor undertakes multiple tasks that demand a variety of abilities [Figure 1]. Generally, a tutor should have an academic qualification that is at least one level higher than the course tutored. Essential qualities include interpersonal skills, organisation and attention to detail, enthusiasm, creativity, empathy, computer skills and commitment to students and their learning. Your institution may consider some skills and qualities more important than others, depending on the scope of your tutoring role.

Teaching and learning

The structure and value of learner support systems, including tutoring, reflect the broader teaching and learning philosophy of the institution and the extent to which learning programmes are really "open" [Table 1]. Institutions where lectures are the sole custodians of the curriculum are less open than those that use student and tutor feedback in the design process.

Of course, many orientations can coexist. For example, you could combine experiential and constructivist approaches by allowing students to work individually and then share experiences with the group. Also, you may elicit opinion or examples from students to make a densely written text more accessible.

In planning and delivering a tutorial-learner support system, institutions should:

• Carefully consider the implications of introducing a distance education component in a face-to-face tuition environment. How will the student profile change? Are there specific standards for distance education provision that must be met? Will the current administrative system and technologies be adequate? What opportunities for collaboration with other institutions or agencies can be exploited?
• Re-evaluate and communicate the teaching and learning philosophy.
  Is the tutorial-learner support system to be an integral part of teaching and assessment? How will teaching and learning practices be evaluated, and what role will students and tutors play here?
• Ensure that lecturer and tutor roles do not conflict. Who will manage the tutorial system? Does the institution need to contract an external, experienced tutor/facilitator to help define roles and responsibilities?
• Commit the necessary human and material resources. Will the institution afford the cost of training and remunerating tutors; developing new or revising existing learning materials; marketing new programmes and tutorial services; hiring tutorials venues; and increased use of postal services? For which costs can external funding be sought? Is the system introduced as a pilot project, or as a planned sustainable tuition feature?

roles  and responsibilities

Tutors are often not the academic staff who design the curricula or develop learning materials. Where lecturers do take on the tutoring role, they have to know which strategies and techniques to use for optimum learner-tutor and learner-learner interaction. The following four roles capture the key components of quality contact-based tutoring in ODL:

Tutor as manager

"You are required to write a contact session report and submit it together with the attendance register. Remember, you are the link with the student. We cannot help them if you do not indicate problem areas to us."

Tutors are the students' liaison with the institution. Since there is limited face-to-face contact between distance students and their tutors, where such contact does occur it has to be of the highest quality. To ensure this quality, a tutor must:

• Represent the institution well, by knowing all procedures related to the course and attendance of tutorials.
• Understand the scope of responsibilities and activities you are contracted to perform, whether you are a marker; monthly contact session facilitator; holiday/residential school facilitator; tutor co-ordinator; moderator; writer of tutorial letters; or developer of assignments.
• Prepare well for each contact session by being familiar with the student list, study material, assignments and related documents.
• Plan the activities you will use to enhance the learning experiences at the tutorial, and to manage their timing and sequence.
• Show professional commitment by modelling the standards you set for students. Your choice of appearance and communication style should reflect respect for community and cultural expectations.
• Give feedback to the institution, preferably through written report, highlighting any problems that you or students encountered and suggesting possible adjustments.
• Keep records of attendance, enquiries, assignment marking, contact details of fellow tutors, and all correspondence with students and the institution.

Tutor as learning facilitator

    "I'd like you to organise yourselves into three groups of four. Tom's group, you identify the main challenges of HTP & Associates. Jan and your group, you analyse the organisational culture of the firm, and Kofi's group will look at the possible impact of introducing new technologies."

Tutorials are a relaxed but structured learning environment that has three phases: opening, developing and closing. Use the first part of the tutorial to set the tone for the session, explain the programme for the day and to deal with outstanding issues. At the first tutorial, more time should be spent on getting to know each student, explaining the curriculum design and showing how various components of the course fit together, and negotiating the values, boundaries and expectations of the tutorial. Students must understand their expected individual contribution, and the importance of collaborative learning. They also must appreciate that tutorials do not replace individual study, and that group activities should not undermine individuality.

The next phase of the tutorial shifts your focus to the course content and to the critical understanding and application of concepts. Strive to use strategies that promote deeper learning, rather than superficial, examination-driven discussion. Individual and collaborative learning at tutorials is best facilitated by non-lecture oriented techniques [Table 2, overleaf ].

Many techniques are complemented by case studies, readings and a variety of media including newspapers, handouts, charts, slides, overhead transparencies, live radio or television broadcasts, and audio or video recordings. The size of the group should ideally be between ten and 20, but may be much larger where facilities are limited.

Tutor as assessor/evaluator

"Nomsa, I am mostly in agreement with the marks given. You give your students wise and appropriate guidance and feedback. Suggestion: give a summary comment next to interim mark."

Assessment forms an integral part of the learning experience. A tutor marked assignment (TMA) is a tangible form of constructive dialogue that helps students learn from assessment. By providing detailed written feedback, not just a mark or grade, you promote learning and learner success. Based on the marking guidelines provided, your comments should:

• Indicate relevance or appropriateness of approach, format and conceptual grounding of the assignment.
• Correct specific errors of fact or misunderstanding.
• Explain the mark/grade.
• Suggest strategies for improvement.
• Praise student effort, however poor the assignment might be overall.

For students to realistically be able to use TMA feedback the turnaround time for marking has to be fairly short, usually ten days, and strictly controlled.

Tutors should also be directly involved in conducting target group analysis and learner satisfaction surveys, as a crucial partner in the institution's continuous tutorial evaluation process or feedback loop.  Tutors' observations, perceptions and records on the one hand and students' comments, ratings and suggestions on the other hand, will inform tuition policies and decisions. Including students' input in the curriculum affirms their key contribution to planning and developing their own studies.

Tutor as counsellor/mentor

"Remember that your assignment has to focus on the question and it's therefore important to understand the question clearly. If the question is difficult to understand, read it through a few times. Rewrite the question's key words."

Some institutions refer to overall tutoring functions as counselling. However, counselling as a component of learner support is more specifically geared at taking care of students' emotional and personal management needs. Some universities appoint suitably qualified staff that specialise in the different counselling fields, such as career development specialists, study skills programme specialists, clinical psychologists, peer help specialists and specialists in physical and other disabilities. Learner needs are identified and met at various stages of the formal learning process:

• Before entry.
• During application.
• At the beginning of the course.
• At the first assignment, before examinations.
• When examination results are released.
• At graduation.

At tutorials, your counselling role involves:

• Helping students keep the right learning pace and use the resources at their disposal to enrich learning.
• Clarifying course concepts and assignment requirements.
• Helping students with revision.
• Offering ways to overcome anxiety and fear of failure.
• Reminding students about administrative procedures to be followed when they change or defer their studies.
• Listening to and assisting students as individuals.

Media assistance

Telephone and cell phone

Tutorial groups are usually localised in a given region, so costs are reasonably low. Students can use cell phones to call the tutor or to send brief Short Message Service (SMS) messages. Telephone conferencing between tutor and students can take place when a number of telephones are linked.

Email

Email is speedy and inexpensive, and can transmit material of all kinds through attached documents. Communication may be to one student or to a whole group, and students can choose to reply at any time.

Bulletin boards

Bulletin boards are useful for distributing tutorial notes. Encourage students to use these to exchange information for group projects, for briefing, asking questions or to comment on a topic.

Online discussion forums

Synchronous computer conferencing is a short, planned, real time event which brings a group together to discuss a specific topic. Asynchronous discussions allow students to join in and express their views at any time. The tutor has to moderate the discussion, ensure that participants observe "netiquette," give encouragement and stimulate debate if necessary.

Videoconferencing

An opportunity for ODL tutors and students to see and hear each other, and to interact directly in real time. The network could even be set up to allow interaction at multiple sites. Although this mode of dialogue cannot fully replace personal contact, it can save huge travel costs.

Tutor and learner

"Sorry I missed Saturday's tut. Things have been a bit chaotic here!! Just to let you know I will be in Germany for the next 2 weeks (I leave on March 25 and return on April 6). So unfortunately for me I will miss the next tutorial. As far as the next TMA goes would it be OK to collaborate with a student outside our group, as he will be accompanying me to Germany?"

 

Not all students will regularly attend tutorials. Students may find the tutorial unhelpful or be unprepared; those living in remote areas and those with little financial resources may not afford to travel to the tutorial venue. Still, you are obliged to manage your tutoring role in a way that that serves the interests of students as beneficiaries of tuition, and that upholds their human dignity. Students must not be threatened with failure if they are unable to attend; those who attend should not receive information exclusive to tutorial attendance.

 

Institutions develop guidelines to protect student and tutor interaction, which state students' responsibilities and the obligations of the tutor and institution to the students. This framework should be drawn up in consultation with tutors and students, and should accommodate different circumstances. For example, aside from specifying tutor contact times, group norms and deadlines, it could provide for audio recordings or written summaries to be sent to students unable to attend.

Tutor and institution

A formal agreement or contract will state what the institution expects of the tutor, and the kind of support that they will provide. It can be extremely frustrating to work under vaguely defined conditions of service. Tutors should expect clarification on:

• Tutor training, orientation and feedback sessions.
• Resources such as course programmes, venues, and contact details of tutor co-ordinator/manager and other tutors.
• Guidelines for marking.
• Moderation of marked TMAs.
• Remuneration agreement.

Generally, tutors should:

• Declare possible conflicts of interest, such as involvement with other institutions.
• Execute duties professionally, as defined by the contract.
• Make contact with fellow tutors to share experiences and to offer joint tutorials.
• Never disparage the institution or course team.

Conclusion

Tutors have to really know their students. They do not just help learners deal with study problems. They help students become aware of how they can contribute to their own learning, appreciate the concepts being presented and realise how to build new conceptual connections. Tutoring is as important as the learning materials themselves and is a role to be cherished, driven a by passion for learners and for learning.

 

REFERENCES

B550. 2000. Educating Effective Managers: A Guide for Tutors and Trainers. Open Learning Business School.

Bertram, C. 2002. "Why Students Don't Attend Tutorial Sessions." Open Learning Through Distance Education 8(1):18-19.

Bruner, J. 1996. The Culture of Education. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Daweti, A.M. 2003. "Looking at the Design and Control of Learning Opportunities from the Learners' Perspective." Progressio 25(1):1-10. see 

Evans, T. and Nation, D. 1989. "Dialogue in Practice, Research and Theory in Distance Education." Open Learning 9(3):37-42.

Global Distance Education Net: Teaching and Learning.
www1.worldbank.org/disted/Teaching/teaching.html     

Holmberg, B. 1986. Growth and Structure of Distance Education. London: Croom Helm.

Holmberg, B. 1995. "The Evolution of the Character and Practice of Distance Education." Open Learning 10(2):47-53.

Malasky, E. W. 1990. "Instructional Strategies: Nonmedia." In Nadler, L. and Nadler, Z., eds. The Handbook of Human Resource Development. Second Edition. New York: Wiley.

Moore, M. G. 1993. "Three Types of Interaction." In Harry, K., John, M., and Keegan, D., eds. Distance Education: New Perspectives. London: Routledge. 19-24.

Moore, M. G. and Kearsley, G. 1996. Distance Education: A Systems View. Belmont, California: Wadsworth.

Morgan, A. 1993. Improving Your Students' Learning: Reflections on the Experience of Study. London: Kogan Page.

Peters, O. 1998. Learning and teaching in distance education: Analysis and interpretation from an international perspective. London: Kogan Page. 36-37.

PGDDE2-4. 1997. Adult Learning in Open and Distance Learning. Postgraduate Diploma in Distance Education. International Extension College/University of London. 
www.iec.ac.uk/external_intro.html  

PGDDE3-5. 1997. Support Services in Distance Education. Postgraduate Diploma in Distance Education. International Extension College/University of London. 
www.iec.ac.uk/external_intro.html  

Rabow, J. 1999. Tutoring Matters: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About How to Tutor. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Race, P. 1994. The Open Learning Handbook. Second Edition. London: Kogan Page.

Rumble, G. 2000. "Student Support in Distance Education in the 21st Century: Learning from Service Management." Distance Education 21(2):216-235.

Rowntree, D. 1990. Teaching through Self-Instruction: How to Develop Open Learning Materials. London: Kogan Page.

Tait, A. and Miller, R., eds. 2003. Rethinking Learner Support in DE: Change and Continuity in an International Context. London, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.

Technikon South Africa. 2001. Agreement Between Tutor and Technikon South Africa.

Tricker, T., Rangecroft, M., Long, P. and Gilroy, P. 2001. "Evaluating Distance Education Courses: The Student Perception." Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 26(2):165-177.

University of Natal/South African College of Teacher Education. 1999. Generic Tutor Guide. Pretoria: South African College of Teacher Education.

Van Schoor, A., Mill, E. and Potgieter, D. 2001. Effective Study. Pretoria: Unisa Press.

WEBSITES AND LINKS

Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA): Hosted by the Indira Gandhi National Open University, provides training in, and access to, electronic media for distance education.
www.cemca.org  

Global Distance Education Network (GDENet): Offers practical guidelines for teaching and learning, management, technology and policy.
www.col.org/disted  

Lentell, H. and O'Rourke, J. 2004. "Tutoring Large Numbers: An Unmet Challenge." The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning 5(1).
www.irrodl.org   

South African Institute for Distance Education (SAIDE): Provides a range of services including support programmes for tutoring and tutor co-ordination.
www.saide.org.za  

 

  

Tutoring in Open and Distance Learning
Written and researched by A.M. Daweti, Co-ordinator: Research, Bureau for Learning Development, University of South Africa