Quality Assurance in Distance Education through Tutor Training at the Mauritius College of the Air
Isswar Jheengut

Context:
Article published in Open Praxis volume 2, 1998

Source:
Paper submitted to SAIDE by author in June 1999.

Copyright:
Reproduced with permission.

Quality Assurance in Distance Education through Tutor Training at Mauritius College of the Air

The Mauritius College of the Air (MCA) was founded with the assistance of the International Extension College in 1971. Since then it has been involved in some form or other of distance education. It started with the promotion of education (both formal and informal) through mass media and correspondence courses. Important developments took place subsequently, the most significant of which followed from the publication of the Education Master Plan in 1991, which recognised that:

‘Mauritius will use distance education extensively and will set up an appropriate network system so as to improve access to education and skills for new groups such working people…’Master Plan (p. 228, 1991)

The Division of Distance Education was set up at the Mauritius College of the Air in December 1994 with the mandate of ‘adult and continuing education’ through open/distance learning. A core of ten persons was recruited to start the division, five academics and five support staff. Since then it has been offering a number of distance learning programmes and has developed partnerships with several overseas institutions, like the National Extension College (UK); Té lé -Université , Quebec (Canada); Napier University (Scotland); Chartered Institute of Transport (UK).

The mode of delivery of courses includes the use of specially designed self-study printed materials,

Sometimes supported by audio and video. We use study materials developed by our partner institutions, with relevant adaptation to suit our local needs. The learners benefit from a variety of supporting elements which fulfil different needs and learners are given all the necessary assistance to progress satisfactorily through their course.

The learner support provided comprises:

• An induction session
• Face-to-face meetings with tutors (normally at 5-6 week intervals)
• Postal correspondence through tutor-marked assignments
• Phone tutorials
• Counselling
• Mock examinations
• Audio-conferencing
• Peer group meetings.

Part-time staff are recruited for the provision of the different components of tutorial support. At present, there are about 30 part-time tutors. They are usually from the conventional system of education, mainly involved with face-to-face teaching. In some cases, professionals from relevant fields are considered for such part-time work.

Ensuring quality distance education at the MCA

The MCA is committed to quality provision in distance education. Several factors contribute to quality in distance learning. Among these are the course materials; administrative support; and tutorial support.

This paper considers the last factor, namely ‘tutorial support’. The quality of tutorial support is determined by the quality of tutorial staff recruited, the training they receive and the support provided to them.

Why tutor training?

Distance education is a new mode of education

Distance education is a relatively new mode of education in Mauritius. It is difficult to find part-time tutors who have the required knowledge and skills. The tutors recruited are normally from the traditional system of education. They have been used to classroom teaching. They have good academic qualifications, but very limited knowledge of distance education.

Tutors need to familiarise themselves with the distance education system

New tutors are likely to be unfamiliar with the principles of distance education. They need to become aware of the principles, processes and procedures associated with distance learning. Whenever new staff join an organisation, it is the duty of the organisation to provide induction to the processes and procedures that govern the running of the organisation. In the absence of such formal induction, new staff will be at a loss to cope with the situation. Thus new part-time tutors require some form of induction so that they become familiar with the distance education system itself.

Tutors need to be aware of the andragogy model for adult learning

In their normal teaching in the classrooms teachers rely on their knowledge of pedagogy to teach children. Things are different with adult distance learners. Tutoring adult distance learners requires some basic knowledge about andragogy. The ways in which adults learn are quite different form those used by students in traditional classrooms This has practical implications when we consider tutoring adult distance learners:

• who will tutor the adult learners?
• what qualities, skills and knowledge will be needed?

Prospective tutors need to be aware of the problems of these isolated adult learners

Adult distance learners are very different from the conventional students. In distance learning, tutors will be dealing with adults who

• are heterogeneous in many respects and have different needs and priorities
• are employed
• bring with them a reservoir of knowledge, skills and work experience which may be relevant to their learning
• have several commitments related to their work, family and studies
• may lack confidence
• are very conscious of their self-concept

Tutoring adult distance learners requires a range of different skills

The skills of staff hired from traditional classrooms are not always transferable to a distance learning set up. Therefore functioning as a distance education tutor presents staff with new roles and new responsibilities. The tutor at distance will have to fulfil a range of crucial roles which require a range of different skills, many of which are not traditonally associated with education. This is quite demanding and challenging for them. Tutors may have little or no idea of these new role and responsibilities. More important, need to know what standard of performance are expected from them by the MCA.

In the first instance, they have to tutor on distance learning courses, where the self-study materials have been developed by other people. They have to adapt themselves to the design and style of presentation of the materials. They require some briefing regarding the materials to be used and also how learners are going to use them, especially in the Mauritian context when syllabuses change quite often. They need to become familiar with the materials so that they can plan those parts that need to be treated through tutorials. Lack of preparation and of familiarity with the course materials can give rise to confusion.

Distance learning materials are often described as self-instructional and self-sufficient. In this case the tutors may wonder what their roles are going to be. What is expected of them if the self-study materials do the teaching? The tutors may have their ow3n perceptions regarding their roles. These perceptions are very different from ours at the MCA. Thus we cannot assume they are fully aware of what is expected of them. Without proper guidance they can create confusion in the minds of the learners.

New tutors often work with ‘new’ distance learners. The learners’ perceptions of the tutors’ roles may not be clear, especially at the beginning. From our past experience regarding face-to-face sessions, some learners ask for more ‘spoon feeding’ and are happy to assume a passive role. Tutors may have their own idea of their role based on their own education in the tradition set up. They may visualise themselves as an authority and dispenser of knowledge. This goes against the philosophy of distance education. The tutors should resist this temptation. They are not expected to give long lectures, but act more as a facilitator. They need to help the learners engage in the study materials through active and participative learning.

Face-to-face sessions involve considerable time, effort and expense. Learners will be unwilling to make such an effort unless these face-to-face meetings are purposeful and well organised to help them. This implies tutors must have good organisitional skills.

Tutors are expected to communicate with the learners in new ways. People used to classroom teaching are familiar with live feedback from the students. They may fine it quite unfamiliar and difficult writing friendly and supportive comments on assignments submitted by adult distance learners, whom they will meet very rarely, if ever. New tutors with no previous experience will find it difficult to use tutor use tutor-marked assignments as an effective medium of dialogue between the learner and themselves. They need to develop the ability to communicate clearly in writing. Learners expect timely feedbac and re-assurance on the work they are doing. Again from our past experience regarding monitoring of tutor-marked assignments, it has been noted that the tutors’ comments are brief and very often too dry, unhelpful and can lead to discouragement, demotivation and drop-out.

Tutors need to acquire relevant skills needed to develop tht personal on-going relationship with the learners. This helps them to build an atmosphere of trust which is so important for the tutors to orientate their comments to the perceived needs of the learner.

The MCA offers telephone tutorials, on days and at times agreed between the tutors and the learners. This is an important component of the support services offered which make heavy demand on the distance tutor. This is meant for individual interaction, where learners can be helped through individual remedial work, Here the learner is much more of a partner in this transaction rather than the person being communicated to. The tutor often acts as a counsellor. He/she should be able to develop and maintain the inter-personal skills required.

Good listening skills, patience and empathy also contribute to effective telephone tutorials. Good telephone tutorials cannot be conducted by everybody without training. Untrained tutors can put off many distance learners though inappropriate telephone tutoring.

Distance education tutors must:

• help the learners develop relevant study skills
• provide timely feedbac
• support them
• encourage them
• motivate them
• give them the re-assurance, they need to be successful.

The tutors need relevant training so that they can meet the challenge, assume different roles and be able to understnat the various needs of the adult distance learners and provide required support of a high standrd. Training also ensures standardisation of skills and helps better integration. Thus tutor training is a key process in maintaining quality in distance learning.

It is in this context that the MCA has developed an on-going training programme for the part-time tutors.

Aim of tutor training

The aim of such training/briefing programmes is to prepare the tutors for the new roles, so that they are equipped with the essential skills which help them in delivering effective tutorials for distance learners.

The tutor training model

Normally every year, a training session is organised at the MCA. This is based on a model developed in the first year of operation of the division by Janet Jenkins, Consultant in Distance Education and then taken over by the core staff of the Division of Distance Education of MCA.

Initial briefing

The initial training session comprises a first meeting/briefing with MCA staff. All the tutors involved in a particular course meet the respective MCA staff, when they are briefed about the study materials. They are given a full set of the study materials together with a set of all items of stationery, including the relevant data concerning the learners and a student’s handbook which highlights the processes and procedures of the system.

Face-to-face session

The second part is a face-to-face training session, carried out by MCA staff. This year, the training session had an important input from an international figure in distance education: Prefessor B.N. Koul, who was at that time with the Tertiary Education Commission, as Head of the Open and Distance Learning Division in Mauritius. Prof. Koul led a face-to-face session with all the tutors. Some tutors shared their experiences gathered over previous courses.

A tutor manual

A tutor manual has been produced to assist the tutors in their work. This manual covers the essential ingredients for effective tutoring, namely:

• the philosophy of distance education
• characteristics of our adult learners
• how adults learn
• conducting face-to-face sessions
• telephone tutorials
• marking and commenting on assignments
• counselling
• ensuring quality in distance education.

Supporting tutors

Giving only initial training may not suffice to optimise tutorial support. Effective tutoring skills are not developed overnight. Monitoring and evaluation of the tutorial service is a important as provision of the initial tutor training. The purpose of monitoring is to ensure that the tutors are doing their job properly and high standards are maintained. Tutors must be aware that their work is being monitored, although it is not possible to monitor every aspect of their work. Even after initial training, tutors’ work needs to be supervised. Face-to-face tutorials, the marking and comments on assignments are normally monitored at the MCA. It is also important to realsie that tutors need timely feedback on their work, just as students do. The feedback highlights the strengths of their tutorial roles, motivates and keeps their morale high.

They need information regarding their contribution. This helps them feel confident and valued members of the institution. However, if any weakness is noticed, this should be considered for remedial action.

We normally talk of isolation of the learners which is true in distance learning. However, we often forget the isolation that tutors may experience. Tutors may sometimes feel isolated, demotivated and depressed. Tutors will be working alone, separated from the course writers and other support staff with little or no chance to see how others tackle similar problems or even share ideas. Isolation from the learners makes it difficult fot the tutor to understand the learning needs of students. Isolation from the institution may make it difficult for them to understand the administrative processes and procedures. Otto Peters (1989) recognises the potential for alienation in this aspect of what he calls the ‘industrialisation’ of teaching. Opportunities for uncertainties and distress are abundant and tutors need training and support as much as the learner. Regular meetings with tutors are crucial. These give them the opportunity to meet other tutors and full-time staff. They can exchange experience and provide feedback about learners, progress and their work.

Effective tutoring skills are developed and refined with time.

Conclusion

Effective tutorial support is the key to successful distance learning systems. Organising high quality tutorial support for adult learners through part-time staff is often a challenging task. This is partly explained by the fact that it is difficult to get the full commitment of part-time staff recruited by the MCA have little previous knowledge and experience of distance education systems. These difficulties can be overcome by a good training/briefing of the part-time tutorial staff. It is only through appropriate training, monitoring and supporting that tutors

• become familiar with the processes and procedures operating within the institution
• become aware of the roles and responsibilities they have to fulfil
• become aware of the standards required
• become aware of the important characteristics, needs and problems of isolated adult distance learners
• develop relevant skills to contribute to successful distance learners.

Effective tutoring skills are developed and refined with time.

The Education Master Plan (1991), Ministry of Education, Mauritius.