Building teacher professionalism in teaching-learning interactions between online tutors and learners during synchronous tutorials – a case study from Hibernia College.

Abstract

This case-study is set within the context of a new online Masters Programme for teachers within Hibernia College, the Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning (MATL). It explores how tutors and students interact using synchronous computer mediated conferencing (SCMC) technologies during live tutorial sessions. The study found that students and tutors did not have an agreed set of ground rules for these online events and thus there was a need for a signature pedagogy to clarify this. It was observed, using the Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories (FIAC) and tutor interviews, that the level of interaction during these tutorials was predominantly teacher led with little evidence of student voice. Further analysis found that there was also limited evidence of critical discussion. The study has developed a toolkit comprising an expanded FIAC framework and an adapted version of Brookfield and Preskill’s Dispositions for Critical Discussion. The toolkit is designed to enable tutors to reflect on their tutorial practice. Using a cyclical process tutors can capture, codify and analyse their existing knowledge with a view to developing critical discussion as the signature pedagogy for their online tutorials. In this way Hibernia College can assist tutors in building their own professional practice knowledge with the ultimate goal of enhancing student learning on the programme. The study is set against a backdrop where higher education institutions are placing greater significance on online interactions and this is placing new demands on the pedagogical repertoire of their faculty.