Part 2

Case Study 

 University of the Witwatersrand 

FDE 

The University of the Witwatersrand offers a Further Diploma in Education for teachers specialising in Mathematics, Science or English Language Teaching. The programme was launched with one hundred and forty one learners in February 1996. This case study focuses on learner support in the specialisation in English Teaching. Within this programme, particular attention is given to the core course – the Theory and Practice of English Teaching.

 1. Overview of programme 

The University of the Witwatersrand Further Diploma in Education (WITS: FDE) is aimed at secondary and senior primary teachers who are teaching in schools. They must have a matriculation and a three-year teaching qualification (M+3: Matric plus 3 years professional training is currently considered to be the minimum training needed for qualified teacher status). Successful completion of the FDE gives learners a qualification at M + 4 level. 

The tables below provide a breakdown of the number of learners enrolled, passes, failures, dropout rates and fees outstanding for the entire FDE programme over two years. 

Table 1: 1997 intake (Year two of 1998)

Learners took either three courses (two full and two half-courses in Mathematics and Science or one full and four half-courses in English in 1998.  

Subject	Pass & Qualify 98	PQ 97	Return to complete1 98	Ret 97	Fail 98	Fail 972	Total 98	Total 97	Fees owing Mar 99	Fees owing May 98
Maths	30 (81%) incl 8 ○	253 (61%)	4 (11%) incl 2 ○	11 (28%)	3 (8%) incl 1●	5 (12%) incl 2●	37 incl 10○	41	12 (32%) incl 1●	9 (22%) incl 2●
Science	26 (68%) incl 5○	20 (49%)	10 (26%) incl 1○	14 (34%)	2 (5%) both ●	7 (17%) incl 2●	38 incl 6○	41	8 (21%) incl 2●	11 (27%) incl 2●
English	38 (72%) incl 9○	13 (46%)	13 (24%)	15 (54%)	2 (4%) both ●	0	53 incl 9○	28	21 (41%) incl 2●	9 (32%)
Totals	94 (73%) incl 22○	58 (52%)	27 (21%) incl 3○	40 (36%)	7 (6%) incl 5●	12 (11%) incl 25●	128 incl 25○	110	41 (32%) incl 5●	29 (26%) incl 4●

          

• Refers to learners who started the FDE programme in 1996 and are completing/yet to complete in 1998. If these learners are not included in the 1998 results, the overall pass and qualify rate for the 1997 intake is 70%

• Refers to learners who dropped out of the course after registering and who never sat for exams.

Learners who failed one or two courses, or who have not completed the FDE programme can return to complete in the following year(s)

Learners who failed one or more courses due to absenteeism or failure to qualify to sit the examination. Some learners in this category can return to complete the FDE; others would need to appeal in order to repeat.

Includes 2 distinctions. 

Table 2: 1998 intake (Year One 1998)

Learners took two courses (one full course and two half courses) in 1998. 

Subject	Pass & proceed1	PCD 97	Pass SC2 1998	PSC 97	Fail 19983	Fail 97	Total 98	Total 97	Fees Owing Mar98	Fees Owing May98
Maths	22 (81%)	28 (67%)	2 (7%)	6 (14%)	3 (11%) all 3●	8 (19%) incl 7●	27	42	4 (15%) incl 2●	12 (29%) incl 7●
Science	12 (86%)	24 (75%)	2 (14%)	3 (9%)	0	5 (16%) incl 4●	14	32	1 (7%)	5 (16%) incl 4●
English	27 (82%)	47 (67%)	1 (3%)	12 (17%)	5 (15%) incl 4●	11 (16%) incl 5●	33	70	5 (15%) incl 4●	13 (19%) incl 5●
Totals	61 (82%)	99 (69%)	5 (7%)	21 (15%)	8 (11%) incl 7●	24 (17%) incl 16●	74	144	10 (13%) incl 6●	30 (21%) incl 16●

1. Learners who have passed and can proceed to Year 2.

2. Learners who have failed up to one and a half courses who are permitted to return on a special curriculum.

3. Learners who have failed all courses and are permitted to return only by special permission.

The figures indicate a high pass rate as well as progressive improvement of the pass rate over the two-year period.

 2. Main support structures 

The main structures provided for learner support in the FDE are:

·       compulsory residential blocks (contact sessions);

·       peer support;

·       voluntary mid-cycle workshops;

·       telephone support;

·       individual face-to-face consultation with lecturers and tutors;

·       feedback on assignments. 

 3. Research method and process 

The research method for this case study has two main strands:

·       Drawing on previous SAIDE research done for the PEI (President’s Education Initiative);

·       Additional interviews specifically into learner support. 

3.1  Previous SAIDE Research: PEI  

In 1997, SAIDE was awarded a grant by the Presidents’ Educational Initiative (PEI), administered by the Joint Education Trust (JET) to explore strategies for improving the design and delivery of teacher education through distance delivery. A key focus of the study was on how learners are supported in the FDE.

The main research techniques employed in this study which pertain to the learner support study were[1]:

Qualitative research

• Analysis of relevant and available documents
• In-depth interviews with lecturers and a small group of learners
• Observations of contact sessions
• Analysis of feedback on assignments.

Quantitative research

• Limited quantitative analysis in the form of a survey.

Document Analysis

Available documentation about the programme, for example, the Introductory Booklet to the Further Diplomas in Education, was used to draw up an accurate description of the programme in terms of content, assessment, feedback on assessment, support in schools, residential sessions/mid-cycle workshops, and administrative support.  

In-depth interviews with lecturers

In-depth interviews were conducted with the course co-ordinators for English and Education Studies with a focus on their opinion of issues that should be pursued in the observation of contact sessions, interviews with learners, review of assessment, and classroom observation. A description of the programme was drawn up and verified as accurate and used as a basis for further research.  

In-depth interviews with a small group of learners

The opinions, experiences and classroom practice of a small sample of six learners were examined in depth. The selection of the sample of learners was done in two stages. First the course co-ordinator identified for the researchers a number of learners based on their active participation in the course rather than on academic excellence. Fifteen out of sixty three learners were identified. The second stage of the selection was carried out by the researchers based on a detailed review of the learners’ reflections. Six learners were selected, taking into account gender balance, the level taught, that is, primary or secondary school level, whether or not learners had study partners and the cost implications for visiting schools. There were three female and three male teachers in the sample. Two females and one male were primary school teachers and two males and one female were secondary school teachers.   

Observation of selected sessions at the April 1998 Residential School

It was important to observe the sessions at the residential school in order to establish their effectiveness as a means of support for the learners as well as in modelling good practice.

Classroom observations

The six learners were observed twice[2] – once in May and once in August.  

Interviews with learners

Two interviews were carried out with the six learners. The first was after the May observation and the second was after the August observation. 

Additional learner support interviews

In order to enhance and enrich the data gathered through the PEI research, additional interviews were conducted with 41 learners over the period 28 September 1998 to 1 October 1999. The fieldwork was conducted by three researchers who went to the residence before the residentials began and asked for volunteers from the Theory and Practice course to participate in the research.  

Two of the learners were principals and two worked with NGOs around the townships of the Gauteng Province, the rest were teachers. 14 taught in urban areas, 2 in semi-urban areas, and 25 in rural areas. 

Analysis of feedback on assignments

To analyse the feedback on assignments we looked at the comments made on the Theory and Practice assignments of our sample of six learners and fitted them into categories of what is commonly regarded as good feedback practice.   

Survey of learner opinion of the Programme

In addition to the textured information from individual learners about their experience of the programme, it was also important to get a sense of general trends in learner opinion using a survey. The survey was administered during the July Residential to forty-three learners in the same cohort as the six learners in the sample. 

 4. Programme goals

The handbook, which the learners receive at the beginning of the programme, spells out the goals and aims for all specialisations as follows.  

·       the development in schools of quality learning and teaching relevant to a changing South Africa;

·       the extension of teachers’

Þ   educational knowledge,

Þ   subject knowledge, and

Þ   subject teaching knowledge and skills;

·       the development of teachers as competent, reflective professionals within their community;

·       the provision of opportunities for teachers to engage in classroom and school-based research;

·       the enabling and fostering of collegial and co-operative ways of working among teachers;

·       the opening of career paths for teacher through professional development and possible access to further degrees and diplomas.

           

All three diplomas aim to:

·       offer [teachers] ... a range of teaching strategies which [they] can critically evaluate and adapt for use in the [their] own classrooms;

·       promote active participation in the learning of both subject and pedagogical knowledge;

·       provide for dialogue with and among teachers;

·       develop an integrative approach to knowledge and teaching.[4] 

In addition to these general goals and aims, there is an approach to the teaching and learning which the course teams in English, Mathematics, Science and Education have agreed should permeate their courses:

·         r ecognition of what the teachers already know as a result of their previous experiences as learners and from their experiences as teachers, family members and members of communities;

·         facilitating reflection on this experience; and

·         offering extensions or alternatives to established subject knowledge and patterns of classroom practice.[5] 

The English Language Teaching specialisation does not have its own set of identified aims and outcomes and shares the above aims and outcomes.  

 5. Target group 

The programme is aimed at secondary and senior primary teachers who are teaching in schools. They must have a matriculation and a three-year teaching qualification (M+3). After the Diploma, learners who have done well can move into a Bachelor of Education, without first having to complete a degree.   

 6. Course content 

Learners are required to do five compulsory courses and two optional course. The five compulsory courses are: 

1.   Contexts of English teaching in South Africa (½ course)

      Course focus: Social, political and historical contexts of teaching in South Africa as constraining and enabling classroom practice.

2.   Curriculum, learning and teaching

      Course focus: Curriculum, learning and teaching as they relate to each other in the classroom. General questions of curriculum are discussed and related to Curriculum 2005. What makes for successful learning, learner centredness, constructivism as a learning theory, and the notion of scaffolding are the central issues in the units on learning and teaching.      

3.   Evaluation and assessment in English teaching (½ course)

      Course focus: Purposes of assessment; types of assessment; modes of assessment; reporting assessment.      

4.   Theory and practice of English teaching;

      Course focus: Comparing theories of language learning and teaching; teachers’ and learners’ roles; teaching and learning activities and materials.      

5.   Grammar in the language classroom;

      Course focus: Understanding grammar; grammar and meaning making; debating the significance of grammar in language learning; examining approaches to teaching grammar.  

The options learners can choose from are:

 ·       A choice between Literature in the language classroom and Reading/writing for personal and professional growth (½ course); and

·       A choice between Researching our language classrooms and Developing English teaching and learning materials (½ course).  

The curriculum framework for the English courses was developed in ‘consultation with teachers in urban and rural contexts, NGO workers in the field of language teacher development and language teacher educators.’[6] 

 7. Mode of delivery 

The programme is described as a ‘mixed mode’ rather than a distance education programme. Within the programme, there is a chronological sequencing of courses, designed to be completed over two years. In addition to materials and ‘homestudy’ sessions, there are four compulsory residential sessions of four days each in the first year and three sessions in the second. There are also two one-day mid-cycle workshops during the two-year period, in May and February respectively.  

Course Materials

For each of the above courses, the course co-ordinators (or writers appointed by them) prepared interactive learning guides which contain not only the content of the courses but also activities which help the learners interact with the content. Generally, the course materials consist of a single learning guide per course. For the Theory and Practice course, as well as the Grammar course, additional texts are prescribed. For the Curriculum and Classrooms course, there is a reader as well as a learning guide. 

 8. Monitoring success of the programme 

The success of the programme is monitored in the following two ways: 

The first is made up of the University’s general requirements of monitoring such as: having all examinations marked by external examiners and then using the reports to determine strengths and weaknesses and to make improvements. The Director of the programme, as well as the Dean, makes use of these reports to effect changes to the programme. The University Senate also has a requirement that the programme be reviewed every three years. In addition, as the programme will enter its fifth year in the year 2000, an external evaluation will be commissioned.  

The second involves evaluation by the tutors on a regular basis. This formative evaluation is done in different ways by the different tutors of the courses. Some tutors prefer to use questionnaires whilst others prefer oral feedback.[7] Time is set aside during residential sessions for learners to give feedback. In the grammar component of the English course, learners’ final assignment is based on their reflections on the course. This according to the course co-ordinator provides valuable feedback, which is used to make improvements[8].   

 9. Learner support 

The main structures provided for learner support in the FDE are:

9.1        Compulsory residential blocks (contact sessions);

9.2        Voluntary mid-cycle workshops;

9.3        Individual Support;

9.4        Face to Face Support;

9.5               Telephone Support;

9.6        Peer Support;

9.7        Support in schools through use of facilitators;

9.8        Support through assignments;

9.9        Tutorial Letters;

9.10      Other Support.  

The tables below illustrate how learners rate the importance of each type of support

and what types of support learners make use of. The numbers represent the total of learners surveyed in the PEI research as well as the views of learners interviewed for the additional learner support research.

The table below shows learners’ perceptions of how necessary various types of support are for successful study on this programme. 

	Essential	Quite important	Not necessary
1.       Residential sessions	69 82%	12 14%	2 2%
2.       Mid-cycle workshops	53 63%	25 30%	6 7%
3.       Working with a study partner	64 76%	16 19%	3 4%
4. Telephone support from lecturer/tutor	67 78%	12 14%	5 6%
5. Individual face to face support from lecturer/tutor	67 78%	12 14%	5 6%

 Types of support that learners make use of.

1.       I attended residential sessions	All 81 96%	Most 3 4%	A few 0 0%
2.       I attended mid-cycle workshops	All 64 76%	Sometimes 10 12%	None 8 1%
3.       I worked with a study partner	A lot 49 48%	Sometimes 28 33%	Not at all 7 8%
4.       I phoned my lecturer /tutor for help	Often 29 36%	Occasionally 14 17%	Never 41 49%
5.       I visited my lecturer/tutor at Wits	Often 4 5%	Occasionally  42 50%	Never 38 45%

The survey indicates that learners view all forms of support offered as important: residential sessions are seen as most important and telephone support least important. As can be expected from how importantly learners view residentials, as well as the fact that they are compulsory, it is not surprising that 81% of learners say they attended all residential sessions. A high percentage of learners attend mid-cycle workshops, 76% attending all. While 76% of learners rate studying with a partner as essential, only 48% actually worked with a partner “a lot”, and 33% sometimes. The fact that only 44% of learners view telephone support as essential is mirrored in the second table that illustrates that learners do not phone the lecturer often, 49% saying they have never phoned.  

An anomaly in the survey is that 78% of learners believe that individual support from lecturers is essential yet 45% of learners have not ever made use of such support.  

The reasons why learners make use of various forms of support more than other forms is discussed below in relation to each form of support.

9.1        Contact sessions

As noted above, responses from the survey indicate that learners view residentials as very valuable. 82% of learners indicated that they believe residentials are essential, 14% quite important and only two percent of learners said that they were not necessary.  

Interviews with learners reinforced that they see residentials as very valuable. One learner commented ‘I think they [the residentials] are an essential part. It’s no point with just the materials; you won’t have any contact with your tutor, seeing if you understand everything. They are important for getting additional information, for asking questions, and discussing so that the difficulties can be resolved’. He also felt that another purpose of the residentials is ‘Getting to know one’s study partners, and the social part of it’. 

Interviews revealed that learners perceive residentials as being of prime importance and playing a number of functions, which are summarised below. 

Learners perceptions of the importance of residentials

Learners believe that residentials are important because they: ●    Help learners to engage with course materials Explain what is in the course materials Expand on what is in the course materials Clarify issues in materials which are not clear Reduce learners’ study hours and workload Cover things which are not in the course materials Give additional handouts to supplement the course materials ·         Give guidance on assignments and exams ·         Allow learners:         to share experiences and common problems to get to know other and combating isolation  ·         Give learners first hand experiences with course designers and visiting lecturers ·         Demonstrate the application of theory ·         Contribute towards the development of core skills such as ○    Learning to communicate confidently in big groups ○    Developing leadership and negotiation skills ○    Enhancing time management skills ·         Building relationships between colleagues.

Based on observations of the contact sessions, the researchers classified the purposes of the contact sessions into categories which confirmed and elaborated on the above: assignments, interacting with materials, social support and building confidence, drawing on experience and sharing ideas, values and transfer. These are reflected in the table below. 

 Functions of contact sessions as observed by researchers

Interacting with materials Regardless of how good materials are, there are certain things that materials cannot cater for and residentials are an important part of the Wits FDE delivery mode. The residentials are used to support learners by assisting them with difficulties in the materials (for example, exploratory talk as a way of getting to grips with content) and giving them opportunities to discuss ideas and approaches in the materials. Moreover, key points are summarised and emphasised in these sessions. Another important support function is the enriching of the materials by introducing additional information and resources, for example, brochures from various sources, videos, handouts and books. Lecturers are also able to check for understanding, for example, through regular report backs after group and pair work, and asking learners to summarise parts of materials in their own words.  Assignments An important function of the residentials is helping learners with assignments. In at least four of the sessions observed learners were given direct help with assignments. The sessions offer learners support in working on assignments still to be written as well as providing additional feedback on previous assignments.  Sharing ideas and drawing on experiences Questioning and encouraging the use of learners’ questions to build rich discussion was skilfully employed. Facilitators not only asked questions of the learners but also encouraged learners to ask questions of each other.   Learners were credited with being experts in their own contexts and with their own pupils, and facilitators frequently drew on learners’ experiences and elicited their opinions. Learners’ experiences in the classroom and in the wider context were often the starting point for introducing new work. For example, learners were asked to discuss their difficulties in teaching poetry; they were asked to share their lesson planning experience in PRESET and in day-to-day practice; they were asked to think about the resources available in their schools and communities; they were asked to write about their own experiences; they were asked during the lesson to evaluate the suggested ideas in terms of their knowledge of their own pupils’ level and interest.  Social support and building confidence The residentials give learners the opportunity to get to know each other and interact with each other. Learner participation was commented on favourably in most of the observation providing an opportunity for learners to get to know each other. The conducive classroom atmosphere (informal and friendly but professional) and group and pair activities, which were central in the sessions, also contributed to this. Because a variety of types of interaction were encouraged, learners who did not feel confident to speak to the whole group nevertheless had an opportunity to contribute in groups and pairs. In two of the classes, males tended to dominate in the plenary discussion, but the facilitators were aware of this, and in one case deliberately requested female learners to respond.   Transfer: application of theory Importantly, residentials help learners to relate the materials and issues to their own context for example by posing probing questions and by modelling and by asking learners to constantly reflect on how they had implemented what they had learnt in their own teaching situations.   Values The residentials contributed towards conveying important values that may be difficult to convey through materials, for example a discussion on learners with disabilities. Other values that are promoted are respect for learners’ views, the value of group work, and participation by all.

 Evidence from the various sources strongly indicates that the contact sessions support learners in a number of ways, ranging from application of theory, dealing with difficult concepts, offering opportunities for sharing of experiences, contributing towards combating feelings of isolation and loneliness and helping to build confidence. 

9.2        Mid-cycle workshops 

Mid-cycle workshops are not compulsory. They are conducted midway between the first and second residential periods. Their function is primarily to assist with assignment and content queries, and there is sometimes a focus on improving reading and writing skills. The workshops are conducted at two venues – Phalaborwa and Wits on Saturdays.  

In the survey 76% of learners said they attended all the mid-cycle workshops, 12% of learners said they attended sometimes and 1% said they had not attended any. 63% of learners said that mid-cycle workshops were essential, 30% said they were quite important and 7% said they were not necessary.

It would have been interesting to pursue the differences between the residentials and these workshops but time did not permit this. It is possible that as the mid-cycle workshops are not compulsory, unlike the workshops, learners perceive them not to be essential. However, although 63% of learners say they are essential (compared to 82% saying residentials are essential), the reported attendance rate is high, 76% of learners saying they attended all these workshops. According to the English co-ordinator, about half to two thirds of the learners attend the mid-cycle workshops. There is better attendance at Phalaborwa than at Wits – probably because learners who live quite close to Wits can visit their tutors at other times. Sometimes one of the study partners comes and passes on information to the partner.

 9.3        Individual support

Learners may need individual support in relation to a range of issues pertaining to administrative, personal and academic needs.

To deal with these individual needs, learners can communicate with staff at the FDE either through letters, telephone or face-to-face visits.  

Mode of communication

Depending on the nature of the contact, learners may prefer a different mode of communication.

Administrative enquiries

For administrative enquiries such as finding out if fees have been paid, learners indicated that their first choice would be to phone the university.

Personal problems

For a personal problem, for example learners cannot write the exam because they were ill and have not prepared for the exam, learners preferred a face to face consultation, although they stated that the institution encourages writing of letters for these matters and has a regulation that a letter should be written and documentary proof attached.

Learners say that although letter writing is encouraged in relation to personal problems, they prefer to consult face to face with their tutor. This is because often such consultations lead to problems being clarified and solved during the talk. They also expressed reservations about the postal system and whether letters get to the institution.   

Academic issues

There was a clear preference for face-to-face consultations to resolve academic problems and queries although if the issue is urgent then learners say they will phone. The long distance and cost of travelling is an obvious deterrent for learners and so although they find face-to-face consultations most useful, they may resort to phoning.  

Learners say it is easier to communicate face to face than telephonically because in such situations they can get clarity, negotiate and probe. 

The following table summarises the perceived advantages and disadvantages of telephones, letters and personal visits.  

Summary of perceived advantages and disadvantages of telephone, letters and face-to-face visits

	Advantages	Disadvantages
Telephone	·       Instant response ·       Easy to use ·       Accessible ·       Cheaper than paying for transport for a personal visit.	·       Loose personal touch with tutor ·       Technical problems ·       The tutor is not in the office (there may be an answering machine) ·       Calls are sometimes not returned or you may not have a phone at home ·       The cost of the call (especially if you cannot use the school phone and you have to phone from home)   ·       Input is not as clear as it is in face to face interactions, there is a greater possibility of miscommunication ·       You cannot probe for too long because of time constraints.

 

Letter	·       Useful for record keeping ·       You can express what you mean as you can proof read your letter until you are sure that it is clear about what you want to say	·       The post is not reliable, letters get lost ·       Delays in the post may make what you write obsolete ·       You may struggle to express yourself clearly, the letter may be ambiguous and interpreted in the wrong way ·       Letters may get misplaced in offices ·       Staff may take too long to respond
Personal visit	·       You can establish a good rapport ·       Staff can address your unique needs ·       Eye contact is important ·       Often discussion goes beyond the scope of the initial questions and so you get a far more in-depth understanding	·       It is expensive ·       You may spend long waiting for a tutor to become available ·       You may struggle to express yourselves and some learners feel embarrassed as they are not articulate

 9.4        Face-to-face support

The co-ordinator reported that generally very few learners visit the university, and it is usually those in the vicinity of Gauteng who are able to take advantage of one-to-one tutoring outside of residentials. In the survey very few learners, 5%, said that they had never visited their lecturer/tutor at Wits, 50% had visited occasionally and 45% had never visited their lecturer tutor outside of residentials. Despite the fact that a low number of learners visit lecturers/tutors, the majority of learners, 78%, said that face-to-face support from the lecturer/tutor was essential, 14% said that it was quite important and only 6% said that it was not necessary. It would be necessary to further explore why visits are not frequent: it is unlikely that learners do not visit lecturers/tutors because they do not find them good as ten learners commented on the supportiveness and helpfulness of the lecturers/tutors in the open-ended part of the survey. According to learners, reasons for not consulting with staff individually are:

·       learners live far away and travel is expensive

·       learners are working and cannot take time off from their schools to consult

·       some feel it is not necessary to consult as the residentials cover everything

·       materials are so good that there is little need to consult

·       learners feel inferior in expressing themselves and are therefore not comfortable with staff. 

Although it is not common for learners to visit lecturers in between residentials, many learners consult with them during the residentials. An example from the April residential of a list kept by the English co-ordinator shows how common this is: 

5 April: Day One of residential Approximately 75 minutes

Brief discussion with 8 learners – requests for extensions re assignment deadlines; messages from absent study partners, personal problems (a husband who destroyed his wife’s study material; a learner recovering from a miscarriage)

6 April: Day Two of residential Approximately 60 minutes

Tea and lunch break discussions with 5 learners – request to resubmit a failed assignment; requests for books for colleagues not on the course; preparation for Grammar exam in July.

7 April: Day Three of residential          Approximately 70 minutes

Tea and lunch break discussions with 6 learners – clarification of assignment tasks; preparation for Grammar exam, request to leave the residential early because of a sick child.

8 April: Day Four of residential            Approximately 70 minutes

Tea and end of session discussions with 4 learners – request for some information for a school principal; clarification of assignment tasks.

 Although some learners managed to speak to the co-ordinator during the residentials, she has pointed out that at the residential sessions there is limited time available for individual consultation, especially because she teaches learners in both year groups. On average the co-ordinator estimates that she spends 60-90 minutes per day providing individual counselling during the residential week.

 9. 5       Telephone support

Learners are invited to phone lecturers and tutors and an overnight answering machine is available for learners to leave messages after hours. Some lecturers have made their home numbers available to learners.

Not many learners use telephone support. In the survey it was revealed that 49% of learners had never phoned the lecturer/tutor, 17% had occasionally phoned and 36% phoned often. Despite the low number of learners who phoned in for support, only 5% of learners said telephone support was not necessary. 51% of learners said that they thought telephone support was quite important and 44% said it was essential. This indicates that learners would like to phone but may not have access to telephones, or there may be other reasons why they cannot phone, for example learners may be hindered by the cost of long-distance calls. (See table on page 14). 

On average the co-ordinator estimates that she spends 15-60 minutes per week tutoring/counselling telephonically. During the period 1-30 April 1998, the co-ordinator kept a list of year one and year two learners who had telephoned her. All in all the telephone calls were few in number, totalling 50 minutes in time. The list below indicates the dates of phone calls and nature of conversations.

Dates of phone calls and nature of conversations with lecturer

1 – 3 April 4 x 5-minute phone calls about assignments that learners should bring to the residential sessions.

23 April 1 x 10-minute phone calls – clarification of assignment task.

26 April 2 x 10-minute phone calls – problems with conducting the classroom observation part of an assignment.

The lecturer reported that there is a slight increase in telephone calls in the month before exams or the presentation of the exam equivalent assignment. 

Dealing with personal / social problems

The education co-ordinator reported that a complicating factor is that the learners often present their problems not as issues to be dealt with by tutors but as reasons for not doing their work. Tutors, who are employed as academic tutors, may not have the expertise to deal with these problems, nor the time to go into the kind of depth required.  For example, one learner lost her child, one female learner was beaten up by her husband, another male learner was beaten up by his wife’s family, many learners get ill, and many learners have financial problems. To be systematic and fair, the co-ordinator asks learners to put in writing the request for late submission of assignments, and then makes a decision. Furthermore, she believes that if you want to be strict about submission dates, decisions about extensions must be done centrally. All requests are dealt with by the Education course co-ordinator who tries to deal with personal problems sensitively and fairly. 

9.6        Peer support

An important part of the learner support strategy of the FDE is peer support. Peer support is built into the design of all the courses in the programme. Learners identify study partners at registration or at the first residential session. As the introductory booklet explains:

You are in the fortunate position of studying with a partner at your own school or in the same region. You will have to do many of your course activities with your study partner so don’t hesitate to make contact with him or her. You could also share problems and discuss issues raised in the study materials with your study partner (or even colleagues not on the FDE course). (p7)

In practice, some learners live too far apart to make it feasible to work with a partner, but these learners are definitely in the minority. Learners can have different study partners for the English courses from those that they have for the Education courses. Very often there is a Maths or Science learner in their school, and it is convenient to work on the education assignments together. The learners often change study partners when they choose their options in the second year. Peer support is built into various parts of the course such as assignments and exams. For example, the Unit One Assignment: Relating theories of language learning and acquisition to own teaching and teaching of study partner involves classroom observation, discussion with partner about lessons observed, and own reflections about partner’s observation of learner’s own lesson. 

The Theory and Practice Course extends the notion of study partners into the exam. The examination in the Theory and Practice course is open-book and the learners receive the questions beforehand. Learners choose one of four questions. Each question focuses on a different aspect of the course. Two different strategies using the peer support systems have been built into the assignments during the course of the year. 

In the first year in which the course was run, learners were required to spend the first part of the examination working in pairs to prepare a lesson/series of lessons in response to one of the questions. This was awarded 70% of the marks. In the second part of the examination they were required to write an individual commentary on the task just completed with the partner. This was awarded 30% of the marks. This had problems, picked up both by the external examiner and the course co-ordinator. The following year (1997), learners were given an option of discussing the question with a partner at the beginning of the examination, but then each had to write their own full answer to the question.  

According to the Education Course co-ordinator, the effectiveness of the study partner system is variable – it works excellently for some but for others it does not work well for logistical as well as other reasons (for example, a teacher could not phone her partner at home because the partner’s wife objected). Sometimes study partners help each other to do good work, but sometimes they reinforce the worst things in each other. There have also been problems with copying each other’s assignments word for word. However, once it has been drawn to the attention of learners that they can work together but then must go away and write their own assignments, it usually works. 

In the survey 48% of learners said that they worked with a study partner ‘a lot’, 33% said ‘sometimes’ and only 8% said that they did not work with a study partner at all. The majority of learners, 76%, said that this form of support was essential, 19% quite important and only 4% said they thought it was not necessary. 

In some interviews, learners reported that they were satisfied with the type of support they were getting from each other. However another learner indicated that co-operation with her partner was very difficult to achieve. She said that they work together only when it is absolutely necessary to do so, for example when an assignment requires them to work together.  

One of the learners who does not have a study partner gets a colleague to fill in to observe lessons and work with him when work is required with a partner. This learner comes from a school that seems to be very supportive of his studying[8].   

One learner reported how she used her study partner to do an assignment. She said:

First of all, before I involve my study partner, I read [the information on the assignment] alone at home, and I decide which one I must write that is on their level - — not any assignment pleases me, because the focus is on the learner. From there I decide whether if I do one, two, three, will I be relevant to my lecturer. From there I go to my study partner and discuss it. We share ideas.

As we share, I write some of it down, so that when I go back I combine my own ideas with my study partner’s. Sometimes if we get stuck, we involve other teachers who are doing the course. So today I invited one of the teachers to come and evaluate my work.

She said that if her and her partner decide to do different topics they still help each other.  

In interviews learners listed both advantages as well as disadvantages of studying in groups.  

The advantages of studying in a group are that:

·       it creates a platform to share and exchange ideas

·       it enhance understanding of materials

·       it help each other fill gaps

·       it improves communication skills

·       in the groups they can motivate each other.

·       learners share costs by sending one person to visit the lecturer for queries.

Disadvantages of studying in a group or with a peer:

·       geographic distance makes it difficult to get together

·       some people dominate

·       criticism

·       withholding of information due to competitiveness

·       not keeping commitments to partners or members of the group

·       some come unprepared for discussion

·       discussion of irrelevant issues which waste time

·       differing study needs which can lead to a clash of interest. 

Most of the learners who work with study partners value this system of support. The way peer support is built into various aspects of the course seems to work well and reinforces the importance of peer work. Peer support works particularly well for some learners and not as well for others, particularly because of logistics.   

In many ways peer support is linked to the assumption permeating the diploma that it is important to recognise what the learners already know as a result of their previous experiences as learners and from their experiences as teachers, family members and members of communities. It is recognised that colleagues are an important resource, and this reaffirms that teachers themselves are active participants in the construction of knowledge. The peer system also contributes to the programme aim of ‘enabling and fostering collegial and co-operative ways of working among teachers’ and its aim ‘to provide for dialogue with and among teachers.’  

9.7        Support in schools through the use of facilitators

Currently there is no provision built into the support structures so that lecturers/tutors can visit learners at their schools. The question about whether or not learners would like support in their classroom teaching is important to bear in mind in any survey of learner opinion on an in-service course (even though the logistics and cost of arranging it may seem insurmountable), because often the assumption is that learners do not see the need for classroom visits as they are already qualified teachers.  

This is clearly not the case with the FDE learners as discussed below. They value the programme as having a direct bearing on their classroom teaching, and would like more hands on support in improving their classroom practice. 

The overwhelming majority of learners said that they would like WITS lecturers/tutors to visit them in the classroom to give them support. Three learners said that they would like this type of support sometimes and only five said they did not need classroom support. (It would be interesting to see if these five learners had support from more experienced colleagues and hence did not need additional support.) 

Learners felt that visits from WITS staff would not only serve to offer support but would motivate them, change the perceptions of their colleagues, and motivate their own learners to see a lecturer from “an esteemed institution” like WITS. They felt that by visiting their schools, WITS staff could experience, first hand, problems the learners faced in their schools such as overcrowding and lack of facilities. This exposure would help WITS staff to understand first hand the mismatch between theory and practice.  

Although not yet operational, there is a plan to introduce support in schools. The plan is that facilitators will be employed on a part-time basis and will be based in the regions. They will be an immediate link between the learner and the institution. A facilitator should be able to assist learners in two of the following four subjects: Education, Mathematics, English Language Teaching, and Science. A facilitator will be responsible for a cluster of about thirty learners. The facilitator will be responsible for:

·       establishing and maintaining a relationship with learners;

·       assisting learners to develop a work schedule;

·       visiting every cluster of learners each term;

·       visiting every learner in school at least twice a year;

·       holding weekend workshops in clusters on a regular basis;

·       assisting individual learners as they work through their course materials;

·       interpreting and expanding comments in Tutor Marked Assignments;

·       providing counselling to learners;

·       drawing up regular progress reports; and

·       attending and tutoring on residential courses organised by the FDE programme.  

This plan has not yet been realised due to financial constraints. However, a half-time post of learner support co-ordinator was filled last year. Because the appointment was made at the end of the year, the course co-ordinators did not have the time to work with her to plan overall support work. The co-ordinator has therefore acted mainly as an education tutor thus far. However, she has also played a role in such tasks as tracking down learners who have not submitted assignments. 

9.8        Support through comments on assignments

The FDE embraces a constructivist approach to learning with a focus on a cyclical process of learning. As such, feedback is central as a support and teaching mechanism.

Furthermore, modelling is very important, and it is clear that the comments on assignments we looked at model good practice in giving feedback as they use assignments as a teaching tool.  

To analyse the feedback on assignments we looked at the comments made on the Theory and Practice assignments of our sample of six learners from the PEI and fitted them into categories of what is commonly regarded as good feedback practice. The comments and categories appear in the table below. 

Comments on feedback 

In-text comments are explicit.

·       The marker had made in-text comments but had managed to avoid cryptic and ambiguous margin responses such as a circled word.

 

In the feedback, the marker praises and reacts positively to good things in the work and does not make general statements but rather says what was good in specific terms.

·         You have made some interesting suggestions about both your colleagues’ lesson and your own. ·         I have enjoyed both the quality of your writing and the information you have presented. ·         I was pleased to see that in part two you and your colleague decided that group work activities should be included. ·         The transcript section helps to bring the lesson alive.

 

The feedback is encouraging.

 

In the feedback, the marker gives suggestions about how to improve work that is already good.

·       With reference to literature, you could encourage groups of learners to take responsibility for preparing information (on short stories or chapters in a novel or poems or scenes from a play) to present to the rest of the class.

 

The marker uses the feedback to give constructive criticism and alert learners how to overcome errors, in what respect their work was wrong, or poor or inappropriate. The feedback is specific and is coupled with suggestions on ways in which work could be improved and advice on how work can be changed in the future.

·       Content can be very interesting and contain language errors. Alternatively sometimes a piece of writing with no language errors may have boring or limited content. ·       I agree with you that the lesson focused on conscious language learning but disagree with your description of it as a communicative lesson. ·       Taking a communicative approach to your teaching means working out activities in which learners talk to each other in their own words in order to complete a task. I suggest that you read pages 16 - 22 of unit one.

 

The marker respects the individuality of each learner and in the feedback acknowledges each teacher as an individual, for example by using their names in the feedback.

·       Dear [name of learner] ·         I look forward to reading your next assignment ·       Dear [name of learner] ·         …I look forward to meeting you at the residential sessions. ·       I enjoyed seeing you on 31 May and look forward to our next meeting.

 

The marker uses the feedback to start a dialogue.

·       The literacy practices among your learners seem to differ according to gender. Did any girls enjoy reading soccer or any boys enjoy recipes?

 

The marker recognises difficulties and offers to help.

·       I know you have had to work without a study partner and I am impressed with what you have achieved on your own. ·       From reading your comments I sense that you've also found the workload very demanding. If there is anything in the course that you do not understand, please contact me.

 

In the feedback, the marker comments not only on content but comments on and encourages the values embodied in the programme

·       It is clear from what you have written that you are a highly motivated teacher. ·       You seem very committed to your learners. ·       What I found particularly impressive is the commitment you have shown to undertaking further studies while you have been working. ·       It is clear from your writing that you care about your learners. They are fortunate to have you for a teacher.

 

The tone of the feedback is not condescending or threatening but has the flavour of dialogue and establishes rapport.

·       Like you, I was disturbed by the situation that some of your female learners are in. ·       I found your account of your work with 97 grade one learners from a poverty-stricken community very moving.

 9.9        Tutorial letters 

In addition to detailed individual feedback on assignments, a general tutorial letter is sent out.  

The tutorial letters summarise the issues arising from the assignments and from the summary it is clear that the programme goals/aims/approach is reflected and reinforced through the comments. When the tutorial letters were looked at, the following themes emerged:

·         the need for thorough observation as a basis for reflection;

·         the importance of learning cooperatively;

·         the relationship between theory and practice;

·         the importance of developing certain academic skills such as clear detailed description, the ability to write coherently, the importance of including and referring to evidence, and the need to follow instructions for assignments carefully;

·         the importance of suggesting ways to improve, not only stating what is wrong; and

·         the importance of furthering professional development by combining own experience with new ideas being promoted through the course.  

The course advocates a particular approach to giving feedback – praise, question, and encourage, and this approach is reflected in the tutorial letters. Feedback in the letters comprises three parts: strengths of assignments, aspects that could be improved, and some ideas to think about. In the tutorial letters learners are also encouraged to ask questions about the feedback they are given.  In addition, they are asked to submit their assignments if they haven’t already done so and reminded of other points. 

Comments from learners reiterate the importance of the feedback, particularly as a mechanism for encouraging and motivating learners. 

One learner commented about the feedback,

            It’s always very encouraging. They motivate us and are very positive.

And another learner said:

I have gained confidence that at least I am able to cope. After not having studied for a couple of years, I was not sure how I would cope with this distance course at a university. But through the assignments I have realised that I am capable. I feel that I am communicating with Yvonne and she has come to know me a lot through my assignments though we do not have much physical contact. The comment I liked very much was the one where she commented about my writing style. 'I really enjoy your writing style’; 'I like this term chronological status'. My wife looked at it and she was thrilled. 

Detailed and useful comments on the assignments make feedback an important teaching mechanism on the FDE programme and a way of establishing dialogue with and motivating teachers. The usefulness of the feedback given to learners is further supported by comments made by the external examiner such as the one below[9].

The learners received a great deal of individual attention – through extensive and encouraging comments on their assignments and in the tutorial letters, individual discussions with the course co-ordinator, and structured work with partners.

Feedback is a useful tool to promote the goals of the programme and to encourage teachers to improve their practice by linking what they write in assignments to their own contexts. Most importantly, feedback is used to model good approaches to marking and as such contributes to the central goal of the programme to improve classroom practice. 

 9.10     Other support 

 Study facilities and resources

Generally it is not convenient for learners to study at home. Some learners make use of their schools to study in after hours, as it is quiet. Most learners do not have adequate access to libraries and even those that do complain that there are no supplementary materials or additional books that relate to their course.  

Mentors

Some learners had set up informal mentor relationships. Two had mentors at universities near their homes, one said her school principal was her mentor, one a friend and one her husband.  

Those that did have mentors found this to be extremely useful for both academic and personal support as well as motivation and access to further materials.

Learners pointed out that personal initiative is crucial in the establishment and effectiveness of the mentor system. 

Support by principals and colleagues in schools

Learners reported that in some school support was very forthcoming while in other schools it was a big gap and even principals were perceived as lacking interest in the learners and their studies.  

Some learners said that often colleagues would not provide support because of jealousy and the fear that if they support the teacher learner, s/he will become successful and take up a senior position.  

The Palabora Foundation

A support function is also provided by staff at the Palabora Foundation (where mid-cycle workshops are held) even though they are not employees of the university. Sometimes a person from the Foundation will contact the course co-ordinators about the requests of learners. There is also a possibility of establishing links with former teacher colleges now transforming into community colleges.  

The following suggestions were made by learners about additional support they would find useful:

·       Additional course materials (e.g. audiotapes and even videotapes, tutorial letters)

·       Help with finances and bursaries 

·       More residentials and residentials at local places

·       Monthly visits from lecturers and classroom observations 

·       Decentralised learning centres with adequate books and study facilities. 

10. Conclusion 

Clearly a major strength of the programme is that such a wide range of support mechanisms have been built into the programme to serve both an academic and social function. It is necessary to explore in more detail why not more use is made of the available support in addition to the more obvious logistical constraints.

 Support is as much an attitude as it is a structure and the support on the programme is made successful because of a combination of structures that enable the support to operate effectively as well as the attitude to support. An important element in supporting the learners is the sense of caring for the learners and a strong ethos of collaborative work. This encourages learners to draw on a wide range of support people in their schools in addition to drawing on the programme staff. 

 The programme recognises that learners are likely to encounter a range of personal problems, and individuals in varying degrees offer counselling to learners, although there are no formal structures or mechanisms in place. At present the programme does not offer direct support to learners in their classrooms, although this has been identified as a need by both staff and learners. The support offered is an integral component of the programme and it functions not only to help learners succeed with their studies but also to model types of support relationships that learners could replicate with their pupils.

 Footnotes 

[1] Although other research techniques were used, they do not pertain directly to the data used in this report

[2] There were two sources for the design of the classroom observation schedule. First, the Classroom Observation Schedule from Appendix 3 of A Base-Line Study: Teaching/Learning Practices of Primary and Secondary Mathematics, Science and English Language Teachers Enrolled in the Wits Further Diplomas in Education Programme[2] was consulted. Modifications to it were made from our description of the programme, observations of residential sessions, and the review of course materials.

[3]Faculty of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Further Diploma in Education, Introduction to Courses, undated. p 2. 

[4]Reed, Y., 1996, Thinking Voices. In: NAETE Journal, vol11, no 1, p 25.

[5] Ibid, p23.

[6] Telephone discussion with Director

[7] Telephone discussion with course coordinator

[8]One of the goals of the programme is ‘enabling and fostering collegial and co-operative ways of working among teachers’. Teachers are encouraged to draw support from colleagues in the school. In the survey all but one learners felt that the English teaching programme was very successful (29 learners) or fairly successful (13 learners) in meeting this goal. Interviews with learners revealed that, depending on the school, teachers could draw on colleagues for help. In these schools teachers also contributed to the improved practice of those who were not registered for the diploma. However, not all schools offer this type of support. One teacher said that the teachers and principal in her school do not work together and she gets very little support and recognition from them.

 [9]November 1996