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Building teacher professionalism in teaching-learning interactions between online tutors and learners during synchronous tutorials – a case study from Hibernia College.
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2014
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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.
Keywords
Online teaching, Online learning, Teaching and learning, Hibernia College, teacher professionalism, Masters of Arts in Teaching and Learning, Flanders Interaction Analysis Categories, synchronous computer mediated conferencing