I don’t need peer support: effective tutoring in blended learning environments for part-time,adult learners

ABSTRACT

Given the rise of social media engagement within society, there are challenges for tutors in blended and online contexts to provide opportunities for social constructivist learning experiences within their institutional learning environments. This article proposes a module approach to teaching, learning and assessment for learners undertaking part-time, vocationally related degrees. A mixed methods approach was adopted to conduct a detailed exploration of eight tutors’ practice with data gathered from three principal sources. Interviews with tutors explored their approaches to delivery and considered factors that impacted on quality; students’ perceptions of their learning experiences were assessed using an attitude survey; and an analysis of the content and communications in the virtual learning environment provided insight into tutors’ online practice. Analysis of modules suggested limited online peer-to-peer interaction, with tutors noting the difficulties of promoting engagement. The article argues for a constructivist approach in this context with a need for tutors to promote a simple module structure, focused around assessment, that creates space for learning. This structure appeared appropriate for these learners, enabling them to manage the influence of daily events, together with pressures and time constraints of work. The findings could aid tutors in designing and delivering courses for similar groups of learners.     

学习动力不足的在线辅导策略选择

成人学习者有学习需求,但学习动力不足,这是我们无法回避的事实。在线教学中,课程导师和学习者必须形成一对合力,预期一致,相互配合才可能取得理想的学习效果。因此,课程导师有必要借助商品服务环节的对照分析,厘清影响在线辅导策略选择的因素,基于服务理念的指引,掌握在线辅导的策略和技能,综合运用推送、激励、观察、提问和反馈等在线辅导策略,持续激发和维护学习者的学习动力和热情,促使学习者的在线学习行为真实有效发生。     

Making the most of others: autonomous interdependence in adult beginner distance language learners

Autonomy in language learning does not simply equate with independence, as language learning is a social activity that requires interaction with others. This also applies just as much to distance language learners, who need to reconcile independent language learning and interdependence with others. This article draws on findings from 43 mid-course interviews with adult beginner distance learners of French, Spanish, and German, and focuses on ways in which they engage with tutors and with other students, and the extent to which these interactions enhance their learning. It shows that many students are prepared to seek clarification from their tutors, but not strategic advice in areas of learning that are likely to be most problematic. It also highlights how feelings about working with other students can enhance or restrict progress toward autonomous interdependence. Finally, it considers ways for facilitating greater learner control in these key aspects of their studies.     

Student and tutor perceptions of effective tutoring in distance education

Questionnaire responses of 457 students and 602 tutors were used to investigate conceptions of a ‘good tutor.’ In each case, factor analysis identified scales that reflected key constructs; cluster analysis identified subgroups with different patterns of scale scores; and discriminant analysis determined the scales that contributed the most to differences among the clusters. Both sets of data yielded conceptions of tutoring that were described as task‐oriented and student‐oriented, respectively. The students’ data yielded an additional, career‐oriented conception. The tutors’ data yielded two additional conceptions that were described as knowledge‐oriented and impersonal, respectively. The distribution of the tutors’ conceptions (but not that of the students’ conceptions) varied across different faculties, suggesting that tutors from different disciplines have different beliefs about effective tutoring. The study suggests that both tutors and students would benefit from having a better appreciation of the importance of support in facilitating learning.     

基于辍学研究的电大课程教学反思——以“变化中的英语”课程为例

本文基于电大辍学归因研究中的学习负荷问题展开讨论。调查显示,学习负荷过高造成了许多电大学生在学习道路上的无功而返,而学习的高负荷是由课程难度与学生学术水平之间的落差所造成的。本研究旨在通过对电大课程教学过程的审视,探究其学术支持服务手段的有效性。本研究以2011年3-6月上海电大A分校2010春英语专业本科层次"变化中的英语"课程教学为个案,通过面授课堂观察、课程形成性考核记录、网上教学记录、课程期末考试成绩聚焦课程教学效果。研究结果显示,电大的课程教学支持服务手段仍停留于传统教学模式,而作为重要学习辅助手段的网上学习,其形式意义占据和弥漫于抽样所在班级师生的观念中,导致学习支持的可获得性受到制约;同时,由于任课教师在电大体制下被层层嵌于一个庞大的系统之中,教师的能动性在改善课程教学效果时会受到一定程度上的限制;第三,在多方原因的共同作用下,现行教学模式下学生的课业表现与预期课程教学目标之间存有潜在的些微差距,会在一定程度上影响任课教师对自身课程教学的判断和调整。改变这种状况,电大教学组织制度的变革和对教师支持服务力度的加强势在必行。     

Online learning experiences of new versus continuing learners: a large-scale replication study

A vast body of research has indicated the importance of distinguishing new vs. continuing students’ learning experiences in blended and online environments. Continuing learners may have developed learning and coping mechanisms for ‘surviving’ in such learning environments, while new learners might still need to adjust their learning approaches to the new learning context. In this large-scale replication study, we investigated whether and how the learning satisfaction experiences of 16,670 new vs. 99,976 continuing students were different. Using logistical regression modelling of learner satisfaction scores of 422 undergraduate blended and online modules (including 232 learner and module learning design variables), our findings indicated that new learners indeed differed subtly in their learning and teaching experiences across two consecutive academic years. The minor differences in key drivers between the 2014 and 2015 cohorts also indicate that institutions need to continuously monitor and act upon changing learning needs.     

GearSketch: an adaptive drawing-based learning environment for the gears domain

GearSketch is a learning environment for the gears domain, aimed at students in the final years of primary school. It is designed for use with a touchscreen device and is based on ideas from drawing-based learning and research on cognitive tutors. At the heart of GearSketch is a domain model that is used to transform learners’ strokes into gears and chains, animate the turning of the gears and check whether learners’ solutions to practice problems satisfy the given constraints. Additionally, this domain model is the basis for GearSketch’s learner model and item generation an selection mechanisms. The learner model is used to track learners’ knowledge and adaptively select items as they progress through the practice problems. Two experimental evaluation studies show that GearSketch’s interface and animations lead to improved learning outcomes, but that its adaptive features do not significantly affect posttest results.     

Using blended learning to increase learner support and improve retention

Improving retention and identifying ‘at risk’ learners are high profile issues in higher education, and a proposed solution is to provide good learner support. Blending of online learning with classroom sessions offers the potential to use a virtual learning environment to deliver learning activities, and to support learners using a distance learning model. Online tracking can also help to target ‘at risk’ learners quickly. In an action research project to improve retention, a blended module with proactive tutor support was compared with a previous cohort of the module and with similar classroom-only modules where there was no focus on learner support. Learners were also interviewed and the tutor kept records of the learner contact time. The resulting improved coursework submission rate was attributed to learner motivation as a result of peer and tutor support. The total teaching time was no greater in this model, although the workload distribution changed, and the tutor needed to be highly skilled in e-learning.     

Interaction of African American Learners Online: An Adult Education Perspective

This study examines how various life factors and personal attributes affect African American adult learners’ use of the three types of learning interaction—learner–content, learner–instructor, and learner–learner. Multivariate multiple regression analyses were used. The aggregate effect of life factors on African American adult learners’ use of the three types of learning interaction is strong whereas the aggregate effect of personal attributes shows minimal predictive power. This study confirms the importance of using adult learning theories and principles to understand the nature of adult learning online.     

基于NVIVO的地方本科院校学生混合式学习体验研究

在地方本科院校转型发展之际,混合式教学模式对于教学质量工程的提升具有重要意义。因此,文章通过混合式教学的实践过程,收集大量的学习日志;在此基础上,设计科学合理的评价体系,并使用质性分析软件NVIVO对学习日志进行编码,最终从教师、课程、学习者、设计、环境、技术等六个方面探究混合式学习中学习者的学习体验。研究发现,在混合式学习过程中,学习者的情感体验很丰富,教师的面对面指导非常重要,混合式教学模式非常适合软件操作类课程的学习,在线交流讨论答疑环节非常受学习者喜爱,平台提供的反复观看功能很实用,混合式学习的技术门槛较低。     

The effects of peer assessment on learner autonomy: An empirical study in a Chinese college English writing class

The study reports on a one-semester-long intervention study of peer assessment in a college English writing class. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of peer assessment on learner autonomy (LA). Seventy English major sophomores from an independent college in China participated in the study, who were randomly divided into two groups of 35 students each. Traditional teacher feedback was used in the control group while peer assessment was adopted for the experimental group. A questionnaire on LA was administered to both groups as the pre-test and the post-test. A number of ANCOVA analyses were run to measure the effects of peer assessment on students’ LA. The results indicate that peer assessment enhanced the students’ learner autonomy. Peer assessment significantly reduced learners’ dependence on the teacher and boosted the students’ confidence in learning ability, while failing to make noticeable improvement in the other aspects of LA.     

基于资源的混合式学习的教学设计研究

混合式学习是将传统面对面教学优势和在线学习优势相结合的一种学习模式,它不仅扩大了学习者参与学习的机会,延伸了课堂教学时间,而且支持了学习者的自主学习和个性化学习。但混合式学习的优势并非自然而然产生的,它离不开精心地设计与实施。源于此,文章提出了一种基于资源的混合式学习教学设计过程模式,然后运用此模式对华中师范大学《现代教育技术》实验课的一个专题"多媒体教学设备使用和维护"进行了教学设计,并对其应用效果开展了行动研究,实证表明该模型具有一定的合理性和可行性,能够较好地指导混合式学习实践的开展。     

Tutors’ assessment practices and students’ situated learning in higher education: chalk and cheese

This article uses situated learning theory to consider current tutor assessment and feedback practices in relation to learning practices employed by students outside the overt curriculum. The case is made that an emphasis on constructive alignment and explicitly articulating assessment requirements within curricula may be misplaced. Outside of the overt curriculum students appear to be interdependent learners, participating in communities of practice and learning networks, where sense-making occurs through negotiation and there is identity development. Such negotiation may translate curriculum requirements articulated by tutors into unexpected meanings. Hence, tutors’ efforts might be better placed on developing students’ ability to self-assess and to effectively evaluate and negotiate information, rather than primarily on their own delivery of the curriculum content and feedback. Tutors cannot be fully effective if they fail to consider students’ learning outside the overt curriculum, and ways to facilitate such learning processes are suggested together with future research directions.     

基于混合学习的教育技术公共课的教学设计

分析了教育技术公共课的现状,提出混合学习能解决当前存在的问题,可以较好地实现该课程的教学目标,并详细地从学习者分析、环境分析、教学目标分析、教学策略和资源的设计、学习评价的设计5个方面阐述了如何在该课程中进行混合学习的设计。     

互联网学习产品学习者感知质量因素研究

学习者感知质量是互联网学习产品质量设计的重要依据,准确地获取学习者感知质量并确定关键质量因素对提高产品设计的精准性有重要意义。本研究综合运用顾客感知质量与服务接触相关理论和方法,首先通过对互联网学习服务交互过程的分析,从界面、资源、功能、性能和交互五方面确定了学习者感知过程质量因素(27项)和结果质量因素(4项);然后通过对不满意服务接触事件的分析,确定了影响学习者满意的关键感知质量因素(6项),包括易用性、效率性和有效性等;最后通过归属分类指出,学习者感知过程质量因素是产品满意的基本保证,结果质量因素,特别是以提高效率为目标的关键质量因素的改进,是产品满意度提高的突破口,企业在产品质量设计时应给予充分重视。     

基于学习分析的在线学习用户画像研究

画像技术在当前精准营销中的应用非常广泛,而其在教育领域尤其是在线学习者的特征识别方面研究较少。文章从学习者的一般特征、学习准备、学习风格、行为特征四个方面对学习者进行分析,提出在线学习者画像描述的总体框架。同时,通过机器学习对在线学习行为数据进行挖掘,文章分别从以上四个方面对学习者画像进行建模研究,重点讨论了学习风格的建模过程,并通过对在线学习者个案分析,阐述了学习者画像在指导学习资源精准推荐、评估在线学习者学业失败或退出风险等方面的应用,为个性化教育实施提供了实践案例。     

Negotiating co-ownership of learning in higher education: an underexplored practice for adult learning

Adults who enrol in higher education institutions (HEIs) often have contributions that could serve in enhancing the planning and implementation of their programmes. Importantly, while terms such as active learner engagement and knowledge co-creation dominate adult learning discussions, there are unanswered questions pertaining to how adult learners negotiate co-ownership of their learning. The current empirical study explores the relevant factors that could enhance adult learners’ involvement in negotiating co-ownership of learning in a higher education setting. A mixed method of gathering and analysing data from adult learners (n?=?200) was followed. While structural equation modelling (SEM) served as the quantitative data analysis method, codes, categories and themes developed from the focus group discussions and interviews were used to analyse the qualitative data. The study revealed that negotiating co-ownership of learning among adult learners in HEIs is influenced by the level of engagement and adult learners’ acquisition of relevant core knowledge and skills. The authors discuss the implications of the results by reflecting on the pluses of negotiating co-ownership of learning at the institutional and classroom levels while also showing how the lack of these provisions could hinder effective learning among adult learners.     

Exploring the transformative potential of recognition of prior informal learning for learners: A case study in Scotland

This article presents an overview of the findings of a recently completed study exploring the potentially transformative impact upon learners of recognition of prior informal learning (RPL). The specific transformative dimension being reported is learner identity. In addition to providing a starting point for an evidence base within Scotland, the research findings have the potential to enhance future development within the recognition of prior informal learning area, in particular in higher education institutions (HEIs) and across the sector. A qualitative case study using a constructionist approach is utilised to develop contextual understandings of the learner experience of RPL. The study identifies connections between the RPL process and the development of learner identity. Semi-structured interviews with RPL learners provided rich data. This study asserts that learner identity fluctuates throughout learners’ experiences and therefore the development of learner identity is not linear but nonetheless that identity changes as part of the RPL process. A number of issues ultimately impact upon learner identities, including the role of RPL advisors and RPL mechanisms and processes. This research concludes that RPL has the potential to be transformative for some learners and identifies some areas worthy of further exploration.     

The Pedagogical Value of the Lecture Method: The Case of a Non-Formal Education Programme in Ghana

Adult learning rests on the foundation of learner experience and involvement in the teaching and learning process. The methods employed in facilitating adult learning have to a large extent sought to place the learner at the centre of the entire teaching and learning encounter. The lecture method is one of the many methods used to facilitate learning in many educational programmes. This article reports on a study that posed the question; How effective is the lecture method in facilitating learning in non-formal adult education programmes? The case study design was used for the study. The National Functional Literacy Programme of Ghana was purposively selected for this investigation. Two classes in the programme comprising 10 adult learners and one facilitator each were purposively selected as sample for the study. It was found that the lecture method was ineffective in promoting learning in non-formal adult education programmes in Ghana since it failed to stimulate the comprehension of subject-matter and learner involvement in class activities.     

网络环境下混合式教学法在高职高专学生英语写作教学中的应用

基于建构主义学习理论、社会文化学习理论和认知理论的混合式学习方法正日益受国内外教育的关注,混合式学习方法(Blended Learning)结合了基于网络平台的自主学习和以教师为协助者的课堂教学的优势。该文通过教学实践来探究写作教学中应用混合式教学模式的可行性和有效性。此次研究通过测试收集数据,采用SPSS统计软件进行数据分析,分析结果表明接受混合式教学模式的学生通过写作课堂教学后在认知学术语言水平(CALP)方面优于接受传统教学法的学生。笔者期望本研究能对教师在日常写作教学中设计和使用混合式教学模式有所启示。