浅谈英国开放大学的全日制研究生教育

与英国开放大学著名的远程教育模式相比,她的全日制研究生的教育模式还未被世人所了解和熟悉。针对这一情况并结合作者在该校学习全日制硕士课程的经历和体会,文章介绍了英国开放大学的全日制研究生教育的主要特点、培养模式以及分析了其存在意义。     

The tutor/facilitator role in student retention

Open and distance learning provide particular (and sometimes overlapping) contexts for discussions of student retention. This paper argues that the environment for learning created by distance learning tutors is a key factor in student retention, whether retention is taken to refer to student completion of a single course or student persistence through a programme of study. Discussion of tutors' roles in retaining students is stimulated by the recent symposium on student retention and draws on a new analysis of three linked empirical inquiries located within the UK Open University. A fruitful integration of questionnaire surveys, project evaluation and practitioner action inquiries suggest that, where questions of retention focus on the student and their learning experience, tutors' facilitative roles are complex and valuable. Institutional policies and course design practices need to support tutors in their retention roles by using and sharing appropriate pedagogies, systems, student information and integrated professional development opportunities.     

Counseling and advisory service for adult learners: An Open University perspective

The nature of counselling and advisory services which the Open University offers its students and applicants is dictated by the fact that its students are learning at a distance, are adults, and are not engaged in full-time study. In addition, a policy of open entry means that while some students come from a background of higher education, others have few or no previous qualifications. These factors require the University to try to provide an individual service to its applicants and students whenever possible. In pursuit of this aim students are allocated to Tutor-Counsellors, part-time staff who are locally based and who have a continuing responsibility for the progress of individual students from their initial registration until graduation. These Tutor-Counsellors play a considerable part in determining the extent, nature, and timing of the resources with which the university can support an individual student. Tuition for higher level specialist courses is normally provided by tutors at a greater distance, with the Tutor-Counsellors continuing to provide local generalist support. The Open University has set up a regional infra-structure of full-time academic and administrative staff for the support, briefing, supervision, and organization of this local network of part-time staff.     

论天津开放大学教师队伍建设

在广播电视大学向开放大学的战略转型中,教师队伍建设是基础性任务之一。要建设和办好开放大学,必须充分认识教师队伍建设的内涵,针对现有教师队伍建设存在的问题,从提升专职教师专业化水平和加强兼职教师队伍管理两方面入手,迎接开放大学建设的新挑战。     

Information and communications technologies (ICT) in higher education teaching—a tale of gradualism rather than revolution

The widespread adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT) in higher education (HE) since the mid 1990s has failed to produce the radical changes in learning and teaching than many anticipated. Activity theory and Rogers’ model of the adoption of innovations provide analytic frameworks that help develop our understanding of the actual impact of ICT upon teaching practices. This paper draws on a series of large‐scale surveys carried out over a 10 year period with distance education tutors at the UK Open University to explore the changing role of ICT in the work of teachers. It investigates how HE teachers in one large distance learning university have, over time, appropriated ICT applications as teaching tools, and the gradual rather than revolutionary changes that have resulted.     

提高质量:高职院校师资队伍建设的着力点

基于高职教育兼具高教性和职教性的特点,突出职教性、彰显高教性、凸显行业(区域)性是高职院校师资队伍建设的出发点,提高质量是高职院校师资队伍建设的着力点,应着眼于教师队伍建设的基本要求、特殊要求和个性要求三个方面。完善体现教师的高教性与职教性相统一要求的专任教师考核、评价和晋升机制,促进兼职教师的动力机制和保障机制相结合,完善专任教师企业挂职锻炼的保障机制是加强高职院校师资队伍建设的应然选择。     

兼职教师——民族聚居区高校师资队伍建设的新路径

西北少数民族聚居区地方高校师资队伍建设存在诸多困境,如师资队伍数量结构性短缺、结构不合理、整体素质参差不齐、高层次人才偏少等。为此,民族聚居区高校立足实际,在培养和引进在职教师的同时,通过支教教师和外聘教师组成的兼职教师强化民族聚居区地方高等的造血功能,对民族聚居区高校教育事业的发展起到了积极的推动作用。     

Combining Reflective Logs with Electronic Networks for Professional Development among Distance Education Tutors

The provision of a professional development programme for distance tutors can be problematic because of the need for flexibility to cater for a variety of working practices, or to overcome the hurdles imposed by geographical remoteness. At the UK Open University, online networks are widely in use for teaching and learning, and we are actively exploring their potential for professional development. This paper describes the Supporting Open Learners in A Changing Environment project, which has piloted a reflective approach to professional development using a log to structure reflection, which is then shared with others in a computer conference. Our evaluation of tutors’ perspectives of the project indicated that all participants found the experience stimulating and helpful for identifying and sharing issues of student support, although some found the process unexpectedly time consuming. We believe there is considerable potential for such an approach to networked reflection among distance tutors, provided the issue of tutor time can be addressed.     

Chinese whispers? Investigating the consistency of the language of assessment between a distance education institution,its tutors and students

Ensuring the fairness of assessment is important in all areas of higher education. It is particularly so in distance education, where the communication around assessment and feedback is a principal method of supporting learning, and even more so when the students are at the entry point into higher education. This research explores the nature of the language used in explaining the purpose and process of assessment on an access programme at The Open University, UK, from the perspective of the module team, the tutors and the students. It takes a qualitative approach to examine the clarity and consistency of assessment tasks, assessment guidance and TMGs. Analysis revealed inconsistencies in the language used in relation to assessment, which has led to a revision of how assessment tasks and guidance are communicated to students and tutors.     

The importance of mature,part-time students to higher education in the U.K.

This paper assesses the contribution made by mature part-time students to the statistics on higher education. It shows that part-time numbers currently account for approximately 40% of total student numbers in the UK, 33% of university students, (mostly in the Open University) and 43% of the total in polytechnics and colleges, (1989–90 figures). The majority are mature people, over 25 years of age, who combine both education and employment. The principal change over the past ten years has been the increasing proportion of women, who now form more than 44% of the total number of students and 42% of the part-time total. A theoretical analysis is carried out, using the Human Capital model, which shows that part-time higher education might produce significant rates of return, both to the individual and society. It is noted that most of the research efforts in the UK, into the benefits of higher education, have concentrated on young, 18–21 year olds, who study full-time, and that current government policy is primarily concerned with improving the participation rate of this age group. This paper concludes that there is sufficient evidence to warrant a more thorough investigation of the costs and benefits of part-time study and suggests that there is considerable potential for expansion in this area.     

国外开放大学兼职教师管理的特点及启示——基于三所开放大学的比较研究

兼职教师是开放大学高质量发展的重要一环。文章采用比较研究法从兼职教师的定位、准入、发展和评价等四个维度分析英国开放大学、马里兰学院大学和阿拉玛·伊克巴尔开放大学的兼职教师管理,发现认同程度较高、准入标准严格、发展渠道畅通、考核机制完善是其共同的特点。借鉴国外开放大学兼职教师的管理经验,我国开放大学需打造教学共同体,提高兼职教师归属感;严控准入关口,建立兼职教师淘汰机制;构建多元化培训体系,畅通兼职教师发展渠道。     

对深圳开放大学学习支持服务体系建设的思考——与英国开放大学的比较与借鉴

英国开放大学是当今世界远程开放教育的翘楚,其完备的学习支持服务体系、优质的学习资源、全过程个性化的学习指导和先进的技术服务值得学习和借鉴。深圳电大在建设开放大学的进程中,应从转变办学理念、组建学生支持服务团队、培养高素质的教师队伍、建设高质量的教学课程资源等四个方面改进提高。     

基于校企合作的高职院校专兼结构“双师型”团队建设研究

以校企合作为依托,探索建立专兼结构"双师型"团队的体制机制,是高职院教师队伍建设与发展的重要途径与方式。既体现高职教育方向和特色,又创新高职院校师资工作的理论和实践。     

Peer teaching and higher level cognitive learning outcomes in problem-based learning

Law education at the University of Limburg (Maastricht, The Netherlands) features small-group tutorials alternating with periods of independent study. Every group of 10 students was tutored by a staff member or an undergraduate student from the third or fourth year. Students guided by a staff member scored significantly higher on a test designed to measure higher order cognitive skills than students guided by a student tutor. Student tutors were rated no differently from staff tutors with respect to the way they stimulated learning processes, directed the discussion content and monitored the discussion process. It seems that in a quantitative way, staff tutors and student tutors behave more or less the same. Qualitatively, however, there may be differences in their behavior which the tutor functioning questionnaire is unable to tap. Interventions of staff tutors may be more to the point than those of student tutors due to the fact that they are experts in their fields.     

高职“双师型”教师队伍建设现状实证分析与对策

随着高等职业教育的迅猛发展,对高职院校教师队伍建设提出了新的要求,急需建立一支高素质的专兼结合的＂双师型＂教师队伍。通过调研得到高职院校教师队伍的基本情况,进而进行实证分析。＂双师型＂教师队伍建设中面临的主要问题是：兼职教师比例过低;＂双师型＂教师严重短缺;专任教师学历不足;教师技能有待提高。鉴于此,应采取措施,规范兼职教师聘用与管理;完善教师培训机制;加强校企深层合作;建立高职教师准入制度及职称评定体系。     

民办高校教师管理和师资队伍建设探讨

分析当前我国民办高校师资队伍数量、年龄结构、职能结构、专兼职教师比例等问题,从兼职教师比例的确定和管理、合理生师比的确定、专业教师的招聘、教师考核、青年教师培养、职称评聘等方面提出了师资队伍建设的思路.     

“双师”结构专业教学团队内涵新解

现阶段我国对双师结构专业教学团队的内涵界定存在一定的局限性,在一定程度上影响了人才培养质量的进一步提高。在新的形势下,高职双师结构专业教学团队内涵应界定为以制订和实施专业人才培养方案为中心任务,由分工协作、知识技能互补的校内教师和来自行业企业兼职教师所组成的跨单位(学校和企业)、跨学科(专业和基础)、跨部门(教学和学工)团队。双师结构分为三个层次:校内专业教师和企业兼职教师的双师结构;专业课教师和基础课教师的双师结构;课程教师和课外素质教育活动教师的双师结构。     

民办高校专任师资稳定性研究——以厦门市民办高校为例

民办高校要发展,主要依赖于数量充足、质量可靠的师资队伍,尤其是专任师资队伍。当前,厦门市民办高校专任教师在数量规模上已经超过了外聘兼职教师,师资队伍建设进入质量建设阶段,而其质量建设的重要任务之一即是提高师资队伍的稳定性。笔者通过调查分析发现,薪酬待遇、职业发展机会以及社会地位认可是影响民办高校专任师资队伍稳定性的重要因素。最后,文章提出了提高民办高校师资队伍稳定性的相关措施。     

The Teaching Roles,Institutional Locations,and Terms and Conditions of Employment of Part-time Teachers in UK Higher Education

This article is devoted to a phenomenon of increasing relevance in contemporary higher education in the UK-the growing resort, especially noticeable since the early 1980s, to using part-time adjunct teachers for the performance of conventional teaching duties. It offers a typology to comprehend the variety of such teachers, including many who are not individually enumerated by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), and it discusses two distinctive employment relationships that differentiate between part-timers. It describes some of the existing studies of part-time teachers in UK higher education, as well as drawing analogies to the better-developed North-American literature on the equivalent topic there. The article also describes a telephone survey conducted in mid-/late-1997 among personnel officers in an achieved sample of 22 'old' and 'new' institutions in order to ascertain information on the approximate numbers of particular types of part-timer at each institution and on the terms and conditions of their employment. It presents information on the relative prevalence of various types of part-time teacher according to type of university (including whether 'old' or 'new' sector) and to further institutional characteristics. It discusses, on the basis of the collected data, sector-specific employment practices concerning part-time teachers and, from information about the terms of their employment, it assesses the degree of their contractual disadvantage in relation to conventional full-time staff.     

开放大学兼职教师队伍转型探析

开放大学功能的发挥离不开兼职教师队伍,本文立足开放性的内涵,提出开放大学兼职教师队伍新型建设观。文章根据开放教育的特点和现实状况,对开放大学兼职教师队伍群体角色进行五维转型定位,提出建设五型兼职教师的概念;同时聚焦政策性、使用性和情感性开发,探讨开放大学兼职教师队伍转型发展的路径。