Course structure
Overview
This online course is designed for tutors on any of the School's distance learning courses who need to consider the differences between distance learning tutoring and face to face tutoring.
The course is organised around a number of short tasks supported by associated readings.
Each unit follows a basic structure which should quickly become familiar
- discussion forum where you are asked to share your experiences, expectations or opinions on the topic in hand.
- individual and/or group activity to investigate and practise the skills and techniques of helping students to learn at a distance (this may be further divided into smaller tasks)
- reflections discussion area to summarise and consolidate what has been learnt
The units
The course comprises three units each lasting two weeks.
Unit 1: Key issues in distance learning
5 - 18 November 2012
In this unit you will start by sharing your experiences of distance learning with other tutors and use these to make explicit your expectations of distance learning. We will use what is known about effective learning to ask 'what makes for effective distance learning?' and what are the implications for the roles that distance learning tutors take on.
By the end of the unit you should be able to
- describe the structure of a typical distance learning course & the common issues that arise for distance learning tutors and learners
- clarify the roles and responsibilities of DL tutoring at LSHTM
- identify the principles of effective learning
- identify how your own tutoring might need to develop to promote learning in your students
Unit 2: Writing feedback for distance learners
19 November - 2 December 2012
Although we are used to marking and correcting student work, in distance courses we are faced with using assignments as the major teaching activity. Distance tutors aim to develop a positive and constructive approach to using their feedback to motivate and create a dialogue with students. In this unit you will start by sharing your experience of and examples of giving written feedback on student work.
By the end of the unit you should be able to
- explain the purposes of assignments in the distance learning context
- provide students with clear and constructive feedback
- identify the key features of effective correspondence tuition
- identify the implications for your tutoring personally
Unit 3: Conferencing skills
3 - 16 December 2012
The challenge for online tutors is to create supportive learning environments without the rich verbal and visual cues we usually use. We will look at some examples of common communications and activities and the tutor strategies for encouraging student participation and answering student queries.
By the end of the unit you should be able to
- explain the rationale for using online communications on your course
- write a welcoming opening message for your discussion area
- answer student queries appropriately
- recommend principles of good practice for communicating online
Assessment
If you would like to obtain a Certificate of Completion for the Units you have participated in, you must complete the individual assignment for that unit and submit it by the due dates through this virtual learning environment.
| Unit 1 Assignment | Due Monday 19 November |
| Unit 2 Assignment | Due Monday 3 December |
| Unit 3 Assignment | Due Monday 17 December |
Queries
If you have any queries about the course, please contact either the course leader, George Roberts on groberts@brookes.ac.uk, or the course administrator, Fiona Smith on flsmith@brookes.ac.uk or +44 1865 485910.
