Tutor perception of delivery mechanisms for online tutorials

This paper builds on previous work by Lambie and Law which investigated the role of online Tutorials as part of a flipped classroom approach to teaching and the perception of students to their engagement with online Tutorials. Online tutorials for distance learning students is now an established approach in supporting students at a distance. From the Tutor’s perspective a fatal pitfall is to assume that the online tutorial is a direct replacement for the traditional lecture. A passive or semi passive approach to online Tutorials offering an asynchronous delivery may discourage student participation and does not work well in a flipped classroom approach where students have already engaged in active learning. At the heart of the student centred experience offered by the Flipped Classroom approach are: problem based learning, exploratory learning, peer interaction, communication building skills and the overarching need for the student to display their learning. In order to gain maximum benefit from the online tutorial, the student should be encouraged to prepare prior to attendance at the tutorial in order to discuss the topics being covered. Preparation may take the form of preparatory reading, completion of an example question, viewing a video etc. The key is to encourage the student to prepare prior to online tutorial attendance to maximise the benefit of attending. Interaction throughout the online tutorial is paramount, a synchronous approach to tutorial delivery will be beneficial to both the participating student and the tutor. Approaches the lecturer can deploy include group and individual work, problem solving, guided practice and question and answer sessions. The paper seeks to investigate the types of Tutorial Activity that Tutors provide and the level of Engagement that Tutors perceive students exhibit within these activities. The survey further seeks to establish Tutor perception of the role that an online Tutorial plays in supporting students studying at a distance and will examine current practice in the field by surveying tutors on a range of distance learning courses, identifying good practice and offering examples of where an online tutorial contributes to a flipped classroom approach.