Online Tutoring and Mentoring
Online Tutoring and Mentoring
By
Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma
Introduction
With ever increasing demand for higher education and limited capacities in traditional (brick and mortar) universities, the use of alternative methods for teaching and learning has become a necessity. As a major means to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of opportunities for education, the distance education has been widely used, particularly in the developing world. Distance education does not only attempt to address this capacity mismatch but also provides opportunities to learners who are unable to attend traditional universities due to work and other commitments. Further, with rapidly changing technology many of those who are employed would also want to learn new skills and or upgrade their existing skills and knowledge to stay competitive and up-to-date in their jobs.
Distance education has undergone several stages (generations) of development in the past few decades in keeping with the changes in technology (from print material to radio to TV to CD-ROMs, etc.). It is now in the stage of online learning using the Internet and World Wide Web for learning. However, it should be noted that online learning is not limited to distance learning only. Traditional universities who use face-to-face methods of instruction as their primary mode of delivery also use online learning as part of their delivery mechanism. This provides blended (or multi-mode) learning environments for the learners - a combination of both face-to-face and online delivery of instructions. Online learning also keeps in line with an important worldwide trend in education, i.e. the shift of emphasis in education from ‘teacher-centred’ one to a ‘learner-centred’ one. Online learning helps empower the learner to be in charge of their learning process through easy access to information, ability to conveniently communicate with peers and tutors for sharing knowledge and clarifying doubts, and also through provision of flexibility for the learner to decide when and where to study.
Online learning
There are many definitions for online learning. The following definition was found to be simple and sufficiently descriptive: “Online learning is learning or training conducted via a computer network, e.g. using the internet and the World Wide Web, a local area network (LAN), or an intranet”. In fact, e-Learning is also defined in a very similar manner, e.g. “e-Learning is the systematic use of networked information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching and learning”. Due to this close similarity in descriptions, the terms e-Learning and Online Learning are often used interchangeably.
Before discussing the roles and skills relating to tutoring and mentoring online, it is important to have an understanding of the kind of learning situations that are suitable for online learning. What are the criteria to be used in determining whether a particular learning content or course should be offered online? It is important for the tutors and mentors to know these criteria as the effectiveness of their efforts will largely depend on proper selection of the courses for online delivery. There are five criteria that could be used to evaluate whether a course is suitable for online delivery or not. They are: i) Communication modality, ii) Access permissibility, iii) Upgrade regularity, iv) Instructional interactivity, and v) Information readability.
Due to limited space, we will briefly mention the conditions that are suitable for online delivery under each criterion.
Communication modality: Courses which require multi-way communication between learners and learners and tutors through emails and discussion forums, etc are suited for online delivery.
Access permissibility: Ideally the content that is accessed by a large number of learners deserves to be online. The contents that are to be accessed by only a limited group of learners too may be delivered online provided such action can be justified on pedagogical grounds where capabilities of online delivery are vitally important in teaching the content effectively.
Update regularity: The content that is placed online needs to be updated regularly to keep the interest of the learners to visit the website frequently. Regular messages and instructions through the website make the learners visit the site frequently. However, regular updating is a concern of the teachers due to heavy time commitment required.
Instruction interactivity: The courses that require a high degree of interaction between the learner and the content such as researching on the Internet to gather data for essays, etc., playing simulations to learn underlying principles stated in a lesson, attempting questions with interactive feedbacks, etc. are suited well for online delivery.
Information readability: Making the learners to read long passages on computer screens is not effective. Material that is delivered online should be in small chunks and complicated graphs sketches, tables, etc should be shown on computer screen only if the learner can use such information for further understanding of the subject by way of comparing and contrasting, etc.
Let us now move on to review what it takes to be an online tutor and mentor.
Tutoring and mentoring
Tutoring and mentoring are important aspects of teaching and learning in both face-to-face and online environments. While tutors and mentors are available in both the environments, the role of the tutors and mentors are more vital in online learning environments. This is mainly because the tutors and mentors are often the only resource persons whom the learners can turn to for help whereas in face-to-face environments there are many others whom learners can seek help from. It is a common observation in distance learning that the learners easily tend to feel isolated from the rest of the learners due to lack of regular face-to face contact with peers and teachers and it is therefore a primary role of the tutor of distance learning is to keep constant contact with learners and also to keep them motivated to ensure successful completion of their studies.
There are many potential roles for the tutor but here are three of the most important ones, according to our assessment:
The tutor as a subject expert: In this capacity the tutor takes a supportive role in filling in any gaps in the on-line learning materials, clarifying any doubts of learners on the subject matter, and providing supplementary reference material to enhance learning.
The tutor as coach/mentor: Here the tutor plays the role of a coach, mentor or counsellor. As a coach the tutor helps the learner to achieve his/her learning goals. As a mentor the tutor provides the learner with challenges, encouragement and constructive feedback.
The tutor as evaluator: As an evaluator the tutor should evaluate the learner’s progress, and guide the learner to achieve the learning goals.
Let us take a closer look at each of these roles and their associated skill-sets.
The tutor as subject expert
As a subject expert tutor is usually expected to act as the primary source of content, providing supplementary content that is presented elsewhere. This role is very similar to that of the traditional teacher, lecturer of instructor. Generally a subject expert is expected to possess the following attributes:
Presenting: As on-line learning materials are presented in the self-study format, the subject experts should be competent in preparing these materials including necessary audio/video media components. They may also be expected to present information in a synchronous, real-time environment, such as moderating a chat or a broadcast videoconference.
Demonstrating: In certain learning situations the tutor may have to demonstrate certain parts of the content in a live situation or as a part of self-study material.
Referring: The tutor should refer learners to other sources of learning material such as books and web-sites which will help them to augment their knowledge on their own.
Contributing: The subject experts play a vital role in enriching knowledge bases by providing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other reference tools for learners. They also play a non-dominant role in discussion forums or chat sessions.
The tutor as coach
Often the tutor will play the role of coach, by facilitating learning rather than presenting content directly. The role is especially important as learners may be working for long periods on their own initiative in an online environment.
An online coach should:
Question: A coach will stimulate learners to think for themselves by asking the right questions, which would lead to deeper understanding of the subject than what could be achieved through didactic (direct instruction) methods.
Listen: In an online context this could mean reading the queries of learners through e- mail or other means of written communication. If the coach does not have the ability to listen he/she will not be able to understand the learner’s problems and it could easily lead to learner frustration.
Provide feedback: A coach should be able to provide positive feedback and honest constructive criticism on the learner's work, based on specifics rather than opinion.
Encourage: In an online environment it is easy to lose interest due to the sense of isolation. A coach should be able to encourage the learner to keep on at it thorough proper mentoring and guiding
Motivate: Setting challenging but achievable goals, will greatly motivate learners. As a result of the ‘feel good’ factor when the desired learning outcomes are achieved. It is up to the on-line tutor to assess just how challenging the goals should be for a particular learner, and types of outcomes that will provide the right incentive to the learner.
The tutor as an evaluator
Self-study and self assessment are integral parts of on-line courses. However, in some cases, the tutor may be required to evaluate the learner’s knowledge and skills.
The forms of evaluation include:
i) marking written assignments submitted through e-mails,
ii) evaluating responses made to questions in chat sessions,
iii) evaluating practical assignments,
iv) evaluating practical exercises carried out using audio (e.g. on courses such as language learning, telephone skills, etc), and
v) evaluating practical exercises, such as role plays or presentations, carried out using the video.
An online evaluator should:
i) Monitor the learners progress throughout the course
ii) Question the learner, using e- mail or during encounters at chat sessions
iii) Judge the learner submissions
iv) Control ˆthe process to ensure that the assessment is conducted fairly
In order to ensure good learning outcomes, the online tutors are expected to establish and maintain good relationships with the learners so that learners will be able to successfully achieve their learning outcomes.
Building relationships
In building cordial relationships with learners tutors are expected to get to know the following details about the learner:
i) their basic details -- the name, age, gender and so on
ii) their educational and career background
iii) what they already know about the subject being covered on the course
iv) any constraints, at work or home that may get in the way of their progress
v) their aims for the course
vi) their degree of computer literacy, etc.
Working with online tools
Whether the tutor is acting the role of subject expert, coach mentor or evaluator, they will be operating in an environment that has its own unique advantages and constraints. E-mails, discussion groups and text chats are the most common online tools. It is very important to initially agree on some ground rules for using these online tools. For example, how soon the tutor will respond to a query by a learner? Say, within 24 hrs or 48 hrs? What is the best time for the chat? etc.
To be productive the tutor will have to develop standard templates for common responses to the learners, and agree on the above details with the learners in advance.
Becoming an online tutor
You become an online tutor if:
• You are a subject expert interested in providing online support to learners,
• You are performing a similar role in an alternative form of distance learning
• You are a classroom teacher or instructor who wishes to provide your services to online learning which is becoming popular
Whatever the situation, the tutor will be entering a profession for which no clear-cut rules have yet been established. He or she is unlikely to have all the knowledge and skills necessary to act as subject expert, coach, evaluator and user of online tools. So there will be a lot to learn.
References
1. Chen, Der-Thanq, et. al, Internet-Based Instructional Activities: Not Everything Should be on the Internet, Journal of Research on Technology in Education.
2. Tutoring and Mentoring Online. http://www.jisc.uk/mle/ visited on 2006-05-10
3. The asynchronous online tutor, http://www.fastrak-consulting.co.uk/tactix/features/asynch/asynch.htm visited on 2006-05-10
4. Interfacing the Faceless: Maximizing the Advantages of Online Tutoring, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/tutoring/jacksonOnlineTutoring.htm visited on 2006-05-15.
About the author
Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma, a former Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in Instructional Design for Computer-Based Learning. He can be contacted through email: gamini_pad@hotmail.com
By
Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma
Introduction
With ever increasing demand for higher education and limited capacities in traditional (brick and mortar) universities, the use of alternative methods for teaching and learning has become a necessity. As a major means to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of opportunities for education, the distance education has been widely used, particularly in the developing world. Distance education does not only attempt to address this capacity mismatch but also provides opportunities to learners who are unable to attend traditional universities due to work and other commitments. Further, with rapidly changing technology many of those who are employed would also want to learn new skills and or upgrade their existing skills and knowledge to stay competitive and up-to-date in their jobs.
Distance education has undergone several stages (generations) of development in the past few decades in keeping with the changes in technology (from print material to radio to TV to CD-ROMs, etc.). It is now in the stage of online learning using the Internet and World Wide Web for learning. However, it should be noted that online learning is not limited to distance learning only. Traditional universities who use face-to-face methods of instruction as their primary mode of delivery also use online learning as part of their delivery mechanism. This provides blended (or multi-mode) learning environments for the learners - a combination of both face-to-face and online delivery of instructions. Online learning also keeps in line with an important worldwide trend in education, i.e. the shift of emphasis in education from ‘teacher-centred’ one to a ‘learner-centred’ one. Online learning helps empower the learner to be in charge of their learning process through easy access to information, ability to conveniently communicate with peers and tutors for sharing knowledge and clarifying doubts, and also through provision of flexibility for the learner to decide when and where to study.
Online learning
There are many definitions for online learning. The following definition was found to be simple and sufficiently descriptive: “Online learning is learning or training conducted via a computer network, e.g. using the internet and the World Wide Web, a local area network (LAN), or an intranet”. In fact, e-Learning is also defined in a very similar manner, e.g. “e-Learning is the systematic use of networked information and communication technology (ICT) for teaching and learning”. Due to this close similarity in descriptions, the terms e-Learning and Online Learning are often used interchangeably.
Before discussing the roles and skills relating to tutoring and mentoring online, it is important to have an understanding of the kind of learning situations that are suitable for online learning. What are the criteria to be used in determining whether a particular learning content or course should be offered online? It is important for the tutors and mentors to know these criteria as the effectiveness of their efforts will largely depend on proper selection of the courses for online delivery. There are five criteria that could be used to evaluate whether a course is suitable for online delivery or not. They are: i) Communication modality, ii) Access permissibility, iii) Upgrade regularity, iv) Instructional interactivity, and v) Information readability.
Due to limited space, we will briefly mention the conditions that are suitable for online delivery under each criterion.
Communication modality: Courses which require multi-way communication between learners and learners and tutors through emails and discussion forums, etc are suited for online delivery.
Access permissibility: Ideally the content that is accessed by a large number of learners deserves to be online. The contents that are to be accessed by only a limited group of learners too may be delivered online provided such action can be justified on pedagogical grounds where capabilities of online delivery are vitally important in teaching the content effectively.
Update regularity: The content that is placed online needs to be updated regularly to keep the interest of the learners to visit the website frequently. Regular messages and instructions through the website make the learners visit the site frequently. However, regular updating is a concern of the teachers due to heavy time commitment required.
Instruction interactivity: The courses that require a high degree of interaction between the learner and the content such as researching on the Internet to gather data for essays, etc., playing simulations to learn underlying principles stated in a lesson, attempting questions with interactive feedbacks, etc. are suited well for online delivery.
Information readability: Making the learners to read long passages on computer screens is not effective. Material that is delivered online should be in small chunks and complicated graphs sketches, tables, etc should be shown on computer screen only if the learner can use such information for further understanding of the subject by way of comparing and contrasting, etc.
Let us now move on to review what it takes to be an online tutor and mentor.
Tutoring and mentoring
Tutoring and mentoring are important aspects of teaching and learning in both face-to-face and online environments. While tutors and mentors are available in both the environments, the role of the tutors and mentors are more vital in online learning environments. This is mainly because the tutors and mentors are often the only resource persons whom the learners can turn to for help whereas in face-to-face environments there are many others whom learners can seek help from. It is a common observation in distance learning that the learners easily tend to feel isolated from the rest of the learners due to lack of regular face-to face contact with peers and teachers and it is therefore a primary role of the tutor of distance learning is to keep constant contact with learners and also to keep them motivated to ensure successful completion of their studies.
There are many potential roles for the tutor but here are three of the most important ones, according to our assessment:
The tutor as a subject expert: In this capacity the tutor takes a supportive role in filling in any gaps in the on-line learning materials, clarifying any doubts of learners on the subject matter, and providing supplementary reference material to enhance learning.
The tutor as coach/mentor: Here the tutor plays the role of a coach, mentor or counsellor. As a coach the tutor helps the learner to achieve his/her learning goals. As a mentor the tutor provides the learner with challenges, encouragement and constructive feedback.
The tutor as evaluator: As an evaluator the tutor should evaluate the learner’s progress, and guide the learner to achieve the learning goals.
Let us take a closer look at each of these roles and their associated skill-sets.
The tutor as subject expert
As a subject expert tutor is usually expected to act as the primary source of content, providing supplementary content that is presented elsewhere. This role is very similar to that of the traditional teacher, lecturer of instructor. Generally a subject expert is expected to possess the following attributes:
Presenting: As on-line learning materials are presented in the self-study format, the subject experts should be competent in preparing these materials including necessary audio/video media components. They may also be expected to present information in a synchronous, real-time environment, such as moderating a chat or a broadcast videoconference.
Demonstrating: In certain learning situations the tutor may have to demonstrate certain parts of the content in a live situation or as a part of self-study material.
Referring: The tutor should refer learners to other sources of learning material such as books and web-sites which will help them to augment their knowledge on their own.
Contributing: The subject experts play a vital role in enriching knowledge bases by providing answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and other reference tools for learners. They also play a non-dominant role in discussion forums or chat sessions.
The tutor as coach
Often the tutor will play the role of coach, by facilitating learning rather than presenting content directly. The role is especially important as learners may be working for long periods on their own initiative in an online environment.
An online coach should:
Question: A coach will stimulate learners to think for themselves by asking the right questions, which would lead to deeper understanding of the subject than what could be achieved through didactic (direct instruction) methods.
Listen: In an online context this could mean reading the queries of learners through e- mail or other means of written communication. If the coach does not have the ability to listen he/she will not be able to understand the learner’s problems and it could easily lead to learner frustration.
Provide feedback: A coach should be able to provide positive feedback and honest constructive criticism on the learner's work, based on specifics rather than opinion.
Encourage: In an online environment it is easy to lose interest due to the sense of isolation. A coach should be able to encourage the learner to keep on at it thorough proper mentoring and guiding
Motivate: Setting challenging but achievable goals, will greatly motivate learners. As a result of the ‘feel good’ factor when the desired learning outcomes are achieved. It is up to the on-line tutor to assess just how challenging the goals should be for a particular learner, and types of outcomes that will provide the right incentive to the learner.
The tutor as an evaluator
Self-study and self assessment are integral parts of on-line courses. However, in some cases, the tutor may be required to evaluate the learner’s knowledge and skills.
The forms of evaluation include:
i) marking written assignments submitted through e-mails,
ii) evaluating responses made to questions in chat sessions,
iii) evaluating practical assignments,
iv) evaluating practical exercises carried out using audio (e.g. on courses such as language learning, telephone skills, etc), and
v) evaluating practical exercises, such as role plays or presentations, carried out using the video.
An online evaluator should:
i) Monitor the learners progress throughout the course
ii) Question the learner, using e- mail or during encounters at chat sessions
iii) Judge the learner submissions
iv) Control ˆthe process to ensure that the assessment is conducted fairly
In order to ensure good learning outcomes, the online tutors are expected to establish and maintain good relationships with the learners so that learners will be able to successfully achieve their learning outcomes.
Building relationships
In building cordial relationships with learners tutors are expected to get to know the following details about the learner:
i) their basic details -- the name, age, gender and so on
ii) their educational and career background
iii) what they already know about the subject being covered on the course
iv) any constraints, at work or home that may get in the way of their progress
v) their aims for the course
vi) their degree of computer literacy, etc.
Working with online tools
Whether the tutor is acting the role of subject expert, coach mentor or evaluator, they will be operating in an environment that has its own unique advantages and constraints. E-mails, discussion groups and text chats are the most common online tools. It is very important to initially agree on some ground rules for using these online tools. For example, how soon the tutor will respond to a query by a learner? Say, within 24 hrs or 48 hrs? What is the best time for the chat? etc.
To be productive the tutor will have to develop standard templates for common responses to the learners, and agree on the above details with the learners in advance.
Becoming an online tutor
You become an online tutor if:
• You are a subject expert interested in providing online support to learners,
• You are performing a similar role in an alternative form of distance learning
• You are a classroom teacher or instructor who wishes to provide your services to online learning which is becoming popular
Whatever the situation, the tutor will be entering a profession for which no clear-cut rules have yet been established. He or she is unlikely to have all the knowledge and skills necessary to act as subject expert, coach, evaluator and user of online tools. So there will be a lot to learn.
References
1. Chen, Der-Thanq, et. al, Internet-Based Instructional Activities: Not Everything Should be on the Internet, Journal of Research on Technology in Education.
2. Tutoring and Mentoring Online. http://www.jisc.uk/mle/ visited on 2006-05-10
3. The asynchronous online tutor, http://www.fastrak-consulting.co.uk/tactix/features/asynch/asynch.htm visited on 2006-05-10
4. Interfacing the Faceless: Maximizing the Advantages of Online Tutoring, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/tutoring/jacksonOnlineTutoring.htm visited on 2006-05-15.
About the author
Dr. Gamini Padmaperuma, a former Senior Lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), holds a PhD from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in Instructional Design for Computer-Based Learning. He can be contacted through email: gamini_pad@hotmail.com
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