Improving satellite tutorials at the University of the South Pacific

Since 1974 the University of the South Pacific has been conducting tutorials using the medium of radio via the satellite ATS‐1. That experience is reviewed.

A series of case‐study tutorial recordings and a number of Flanders‐type interaction analyses in two different semesters have gathered information about tutor and student behaviour. Observations reveal that there has been less student participation than is desirable in tutorials. Student and tutor perceptions of satellite classes show that they are valued additions to the basic distant teaching elements which are delivered by post, and that student contribution to the tutorials is desired. Following interventions to improve the quality and effectiveness of the classes there are indications that desirable changes are taking place.     

Faculty involvement in instructional materials development for distance study at the University of the South Pacific.

As a regional institution serving the needs of eleven different island nations of the South West Pacific, the University of the South Pacific is, along with its on‐campus face‐to‐face teaching activity, deeply committed to and reliant on distance study methods. Both these activities at the University are the principal responsibility of a single body of teaching staff.

This investigation, through the means of a structured questionnaire, studied the involvement of members of the University's teaching staff in instructional materials development for distance study. It enquired into the time they spent on such activity, their levels of satisfaction with the materials they produced, various preferences and their views on how the process of instructional materials development at USP could be improved.

Responses received revealed a rather unsatisfactory picture with a cry for, among other things, more time, advance planning, greater consultation among colleagues and adequate support services in instructional materials development for distance study.     

The development of a distance‐taught introductory computing course in the South Pacific

This paper presents a case study of a ‘hands on’ computing course taught both on‐and off‐campus to students from developing countries. The paper illustrates that a limited resource environment does not have to be a constraint in mounting a distance education course in computing with a major practical component. Some of the problems encountered and techniques used for implementation are also given.     

Some reflections upon teaching Sociology at a distance

This article reviews an introductory sociology course taught at a distance. After an outline of the course structure, the major teaching strategies adopted are discussed with an emphasis upon those which seek to foster sociological understanding by requiring students to explore links between their own social experience and the sociological concepts, theories and methods to which they are being introduced. Results from an evaluation study of students’ responses to these teaching strategies are also discussed.     

Learning,memorisation and understanding among distance learners in the South Pacific

The relationship between learning and understanding and the meaning of memorisation were explored with distance learners at the University of the South Pacific using semi-structured interviews. Several conceptions of learning, similar to those previously described in the literature, were identified. Understanding was found to be central to the students' experience of learning and could be described using the metaphor of depth. Two meanings of ‘memorisation’ were identified from the context of the interviews, one with understanding and one without. The consequences of the findings for learning through distance education are briefly considered.     

On the production of instructional films in teaching economics at a distance

This paper provides an account of an innovative programme of teaching economics at a distance — the paper is the most comprehensive report of the programme available in English.

The paper discusses the didactic principles on which the videofilm is substantially different from other teaching activities, details of the production process itself are outlined. The paper advances some preliminary conclusions about the efficiency of learning from the videofilm.     

The dynamics of teaching at a distance in Tanzania: reflections from the field

In this paper, pedagogical issues drawn from a study to examine the nature and quality of correspondence tuition are analysed. The paper observes that effective correspondence tuition depends on a number of factors ranging from the tutors’ academic competence to their professional experience, values and assumptions about distance learning. Given the novelty of the distance mode of delivery at university level in Tanzania, there is a need for an induction programme for newly recruited tutors to provide them with the core skills and techniques of distance teaching. Recruitment of additional tutors, as well as continued professional development, is crucial for the enhancement of student feedback and quality of correspondence tuition.     

网络远程教育的实践与探索——浅谈中国人民大学网络教育的教学与管理

中国人民大学作为开展网络远程教育的试点高校之一，在实践中建立和逐步完善网络远程教育的运行模式、教学模式和管理模式，为网络远程教育在中国的全面开展做了积极的探索与努力。随着社会的不断前进，中国的网络远程教育也面临着理论与实践存探究的艰巨课题。     

Quality assurance for distance learning: a case study at Brunel University

Brunel University currently has four distance learning MSc courses, with over 500 students registered, and one undergraduate distance learning course. Some have been running for over five years, and well‐established practices have been developed and provide a basis of support for the university. Quality assurance in the university has always been considered in three, equally important, ways: the curriculum and its assessment; the handling of coursework and assignments; and the liaison with students. The lesson we have learned is that a distance learning programme must be based on an existing full‐time MSc programme, which is the gold standard for curriculum and its assessment, and where possible, common examinations and assessment be used. This can be further assured by scrutinisation by the associated research council. This is going to become ever more important with the increasing scrutiny by overseas governments on the academic quality of distance learning courses, which seek assurance on the comparability and quality of degrees. Quality assurance for the handling of coursework and assignments must be secure and demands a high overhead of paperwork. Detailed feedback to students on their assignments is essential, but this can, at the same time, form a quality assurance check for later progression decisions. We also copy and retain approximately 10% of the assignments for the same purpose. Rapid turnaround is essential if feedback is to be timely and therefore useful, and quality checks on processing time should be standard. Quality assurance for the procedures for liaison with distance learning students are somewhat harder to measure quantitatively. The mark of good distance learning must be its tutorial support. This demands good communications. Our own course, entitled Data Communications Systems, benefits from the high proportion of use of electronic communications, namely email, which allows fast turnaround of questions, yet is not intrusive. However, it is deemed essential that hard copy of all such correspondence is kept. Migration to other Internet support services, such as the World Wide Web, videoconferencing and groupware, is inevitable.     

Planning for Equity at the University of South Australia

This paper details the approachtaken by one of Australia's newer universitiesto ensure institution-wide commitment to theUniversity's mission to provide educationalopportunities ... to meet the needs of groupswithin the community ... [who] have suffereddisadvantages in education ...'The paper places the University's approachwithin the context of a national policyframework for equity and access in highereducation which aims `to change the balance ofthe student body to reflect more closely thestructure and composition of the society as awhole' (DEET 1990, p. 2). This framework hasrequired all federal government-fundeduniversities to prepare annual equity plans. The allocation of federal equity funding hasbeen tied to these plans.The University of South Australia's approachhas embedded planning for equity and accesswithin the University's comprehensive annualplanning and review processes, to the extentthat each academic school and administrativeunit is required to address equityconsiderations in its annual and medium-termplan.     

The quality of teaching and learning of BCom honours degree students at an open distance learning university in South Africa

ABSTRACT

Student support at Unisa involves a range of stakeholders providing academic and administrative support. The study was conducted among Unisa BCom honours students. The main objective of the study was to determine the educational quality of teaching and learning offered. Students were contacted by e-mail and asked to complete an online questionnaire. New methods on problem solving, investigating problems and formulating problems were found very useful and students gained independence in developing their learning capabilities. Available resources and supervision were not utilized to the full. Adequate financial aid seemed to be a problem. Support should be optimized and students should realize that all resources made available to them are crucial for their success. Students are of all ages and levels of maturity and have different needs and views regarding their studies. Unisa should endeavour to meet as many of these needs as is practically possible.     

Adjustment of Black Students at a Historically White South African University

The adjustment of black African students to what, under apartheid, were white universities has long been a concern for South African educators. Dimensions of adjustment to university were examined for 339 African black and white freshmen attending a historically white South African university, using the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire. No significant differences were found between black African and white participants on academic adjustment or institutional commitment. However, black African participants reported significantly poorer levels of social adjustment, and somewhat poorer levels of personal-emotional adjustment. Further investigations found relationships between academic performance, race and additional variables hypothesised to be associated with adjustment.     

电大英语课堂教学研究

本就目前电大英语课堂教学“费时低效”的问题，结合自己的学习和教学实践，提出了几点建议：1．语言教学应重点训练学生的语言技能，培养学生的语言运用能力（language ability)。2．选好教材或补充教材，多用真实的语言材料(authentic material)。3．丰富我们的课堂教学活(classroom activities)。