Section 2, Activity 1
The traditional role of the teacher has been changing, yet stays the same. The task is to pass on knowledge, to guide learners as they travel their learning journey and lead them towards finding their own solutions.
What has changed? The means, media, environment and technology availble to learners and to teachers. From original distance-learning which meant sending text books and recieving students' answer papers by post to today's emailing, instant messaging and online classrooms.
As a teacher, tutor and lecturer the role is to help the learner achieve success in their education, to help them understand and apply the material, rather than just learn the facts and figures.
Face to face teaching I used to liken to being an entertainer. Engaging students in their learning meant listening to their verbal interactions and observing their non-verbal communication. In many respects this enabled the teacher/tutor to understand how well a student was involved in the transfer of knowledge, skills and attitudes and adapting teaching accordingly.
Using on-line resources means that the non-verbal engagement of students is lost so tutors are challenged to understand their interest/learning by other means - listening in tutorials and telephone conversations and through e-mail and forum communications.
Common to both is the ability to assess learning progress through use of written assignments.
Hi Edward and Everyone,
Yes, I agree, the assignment feedback must be very important in distance learning. If you don't understand feedback in class, then you just ask. I think it must be important for tutors to be clear in their feedback, but also to let the students know they are available to talk the feedback through with the students if they don't understand it at first. Reflecting on feedback will be one of the main ways in which the students are able to improve. :)
Yes you are correct, I would like to further add a few points
A teacher should not only teach the course material to the student but also act as a mentor and give the student both welfare and education. I this aspect the face-to-face teaching is much effective than the online and distance learning. The online tutor can incorporate these aspects if the tutor is good in communication skills, has patience and empathy, feedback and assessment skills and last but not least motivational skills. The most important when it comes to distance learning and learning beyond the borders and barriers the culture sensitivity and inclusivity should be there.
My own experience is that I had special dispensation to work part-time and working away on my PhD (University of Reading). My supervisor is a Chinese national, so it was easiest for us to correspond via email. Training at Samaritans (Preston and District) is a mixture of presenting f2f as well as practice calls. Post-COVID I think these modern channels have become more mainstream, however I recognise that there is push back from industry to return to bums-on-seats.
Hi Everyone,
I feel that, as a tutor who does not actually see the student, it would become more important to be aware of the warning signs when students start to disengage or struggle. With face-to-face, it must be easier to see signs in class. I feel it would be more important to ensure the students feel encouraged to contact the tutor, and feel able to contact the tutor at the first signs of having difficulties, rather than leaving it to become more of a problem. This will be something the student will have to play an active part in as the tutor may not be as immediately aware as they would be face-to-face, so there must be a greater requirement on the tutor to make a connection with the student straight away and encourage an interactive relationship as early as possible. It must be more important to be open and always encouraging as the student does not have to attend the tutorials - if the student feels isolated, it is easy to become disheartened, something that is less likely to happen in a face-to-face situation.
As an OU student, like to see the face of the person talking, even if it's just at the beginning of the tutorial, because it makes me feel like I have contact with another person and I think some tutors have been more successful at making me feel part of a community than others, and I have really valued those tutors - they are the ones whose tutorials I seek out when I book sessions and who I have learned most from. :)
I agree that it is much more difficult to get a feel for how the student is doing without any face-to-face contact. Some students may also be reluctant or unable to attend or to speak up during tutorials. So yes, it is very important for the tutor to create an open and welcoming atmosphere to encourage students to engage.
Teaching has always been about communication, the change from face to face teaching comes in how we keep the communication channels open and flowing, In a classroom environment it is easier to ensure that all students feel themselves to be a part of a class, whereas online the challenge will be to maintain the same levels of inclusivity.
More extensive supportive and informative feedback for TMAs and assignments will also be crucial to allow students to make progress without the verbal feedback that they would normally receive in a classroom. Encouraging students to attend tutorials and to contribute to forums will support them in developing and working through theories and problems. This in itself is a significant change from traditional teaching where attendance is expected rather than encouraged. More emphasis on appropriate study skills will support the students to complete modules and assignments to schedule.
In a traditional face-to-face environment, the teacher is the primary deliverer of the course material to the students, but this is not the case at the OU. Therefore I think that the role of a tutor is to help students to develop their understanding of the material and to reinforce their study skills.
I think it is also important for the tutor to check in with students regularly to help them if they start to fall behind, and to remind them that they are not alone, so that they are comfortable with turning to the tutor for help if they need it. If students come to the tutorials then this is easier, but is perhaps more important for students that do not attend tutorials. It would be very easy for students to start to despair if they struggle to keep up with the study planner, so it’s important that these students do not get overlooked.