Presented at the Higher Education Colleges Association Conference (HECA) on April 19th in iBAT College Dublin. This presentation on based on doctoral research currently being undertaken in the Institute of Education in London. The presentation suggests that critical discussion should become the signature pedagogy of the MATL and it should be based on Brookfield and Preskill's 8 dispositions for critical discussion.

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Online Tutoring: Towards a Signature Pedagogy
Michael Hallissy
H2 Learning and Hibernia College tutor

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INTRODUCTION

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Presentation
• Teaching Online – a perspective
• The Online Tutorial
• MATL Case-study
• Discussion

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Introduction
• Founding partner in H2 Learning
– Assist institutions embed digital technologies to enhance teaching, learning
and assessment practices
• Former director the MATL in Hibernia College
– Lead tutor in the Certificate in i-Learning
• Completing EdD in Institute of Education, London
• "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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Elements of Teaching Online

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Some Perspective
• OU noted that “active discussion” has long been one of
the aspects that is difficult to provide in distance education,
with tutorials and summer schools being the usual means of
achieving this” (Mason, 2001; 73)
• Since 1988 significant body of research on discussion and
online courses in HE
– Majority focused on asynchronous technologies – forums particularly.
• But today new options
– Expansion of broadband
– New technologies to support live interaction

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Technology and what it can do
Today we have:
• Synchronous Computer-mediated conferencing technologies (SCMC)
– AT&T Connect, Adobe Connect, Wimba, Elluminate, Lync etc.
“Computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) is unique
among distance education media because of its ability
to support high levels of responsive, intelligent
interaction between and among faculty and students
while simultaneously providing high levels of freedom of
time and place to engage in this interactivity.”
(Rourke et al., 1999; 50)

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Synchronous Learning Environments
“Synchronous learning is live, real-time (and usually
scheduled), facilitated instruction and learning-oriented
interaction.”
(Hyder et al., 2007: p. 1)

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Teaching perspectives it can support
(Watkins et al., 2002)

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THE ONLINE TUTORIAL

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What do we mean by an online tutorial?
• The Oxford/Cambridge University notion of a tutorial (Ashwin, 2005)
• The Higher Education notion of a 1 on 1 tutorial (THES Editorial,
1996)
• The large group face-to-face tutor group (Barrows, 1992)
• An online pre-recorded tutorial
– (e.g. a software walkthrough using Captivate) (Marks et al., 2010)
• Multiple types of „online synchronous tutorials‟
– (Chi Ng, 2007; Kear et al., 2012; Price et al., 2007; Duensing et al., 2006)
• The challenge
– Price (2007) found there was an issue in relation to student and tutor expectations
of what is a tutorial?

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The Invisible Student Challenge
• Role of the tutor is to support students to become independent
learners and to engage
“In these settings [traditional, didactic educational settings], the
student is expected to know the right answer. He learned a long time
ago that it is best to stay silent if he does not know the answer, or is
unsure of it, for he knows that an admission of not knowing would be
used as evidence of inadequate study or lack of intelligence.”
(Barrows, 1992; p. 22)

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Interrogation key part of a tutorial
“However, a general structure appears to be that there
will be an interrogation, whether questioning or
discussion, of the work that the student(s) have
completed in preparation for the tutorial.”
(Ashwin, 2009; 633)

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The challenge for teaching faculty
“Teachers should share their knowledge and understanding in
discussion only to help students gain a personal and critical
perspective on what is learned, not to show off in front of them.”
(192)
Faculty domination of classroom interaction
– “they think that they‟re supposed to – it‟s what the institution
expects, it‟s what their colleagues do, and it‟s what the students
demand.” (197)
Creating a democratic classroom
(Brookfield and Preskill, 2005)

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Dispositions for a Democratic Classroom
http://bcfamily.ca/sweet-humility
1. Hospitality
2. Participation
3. Mindfulness
4. Humility
5. Mutuality
6. Deliberation
7. Appreciation
8. Hope
9. Autonomy
(Brookfield and Preskill, 2005)

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MATL CASE-STUDY

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MATL Tutorial
• Entire class event (20-30)
• Pre-arranged time in the calendar
• Tutor and students on line together
• Opportunity to “unpack” the lesson content
• Recorded and available for download later
• Tutor training provided in advance
http://meylah.com/meylah/planning-your-online-tutorial

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Students are NOT always clear of their role
Purpose of the tutorial Percentage
Opportunity for tutor to present new
content
57%
Opportunity for tutor to revise content
presented in the recorded lesson
93%
Opportunity for students to raise
questions and discuss the lesson
content
100%
Opportunity for students to work in
small groups online
20%
Opportunity for students to present
their work to colleagues
21%

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Are they engaged during these sessions?

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Or are they otherwise engaged?

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Challenges facing tutors online
“Instructors who are new to the online environment may
struggle with the transition from the central figure in the
learning process to a facilitator or guide of that process.”
(Palloff and Pratt, 2011)

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Analysis of online tutorial interactions

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A Tutor Perspective
“I suppose the official purpose of the tutorials is to
expand on the lecture and maybe I do see a
slightly differently [nervous laughter again]
purpose. I didn‟t intend it but it is what has
emerged and I now see they have a huge
purpose in breaking down the isolation of the
students and building a community of
learners. You know helping the students in that
community [develop] perspective taking,
problem solving … but just seeing different
points of view, sharing of ideas”
Tutor View
“I don‟t like the sound of my
own voice too much of it
[nervous laughter] so I love to
give voice to others and to
build up the team and that
everybody in the classroom is
teaching, like using all the
resources in the classroom,
that it is not just one teacher
but everybody has
something to teach and to
share and to try and draw
that ”
Tutor View

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FIAC Tutorial Analysis

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Mapping the Dispositions

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Tutor must design deliberation activities

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Faculty Professional Development
http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect.html

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Implications for Practice
• Use the dispositions to:
– Inform a signature pedagogy for the MATL tutorials
– Critical discussion to become a key element of all tutorials
– Inform tutor teaching practices online
– Inform the development of a community of practice for tutors
– Create clear ground rules for tutors and learners
– “Keep everybody visible and on their toes.”
– Enable tutors to monitor/evaluate their performance
– Ultimately lead to improved learner experiences

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Notion of a Signature Pedagogy
• Observing, analysing, and documenting how teaching and
learning occurred in a range of settings
• What are the forms of interaction that leap to mind when we
think of the MATL tutorial – is it critical discussion?
“They are the forms of instruction that leap to mind when we first
think about the preparation of members of particular professions –
for example in law, the quasi-Socratic interactions so vividly
portrayed in Paper Chase.”
(Shulman, 2005; p. 52)

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Final Word
• Onus on the institution to develop the appropriate
signature pedagogy to ensure students do well.
• This will differ between institutions.
“Signature pedagogy is ultimately associated with the performance of
the students. If they are not doing well then the signature pedagogy
isn’t appropriate.” [emphasis added]
(Shulman, 2005; p.56)

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Discussion
http://ff6w.primaryblogger.co.uk/discussion-text-sentence-builder/

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Thank You
Michael Hallissy
H2 Learning
www.h2.ie
mhallissy@h2.ie

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References
• Ashwin, P. (2005). 'Variation in students‟ experiences of the „Oxford Tutorial''. Higher
Education, 50, 631–644.
• Ashwin, P. (2009). Analysing Teaching-Learning Interactions in Higher Education:
Accounting for Sturcture and Agency. New York: Continuum.
• Barrows, H. S. (1992). The Tutorial Process. (Revised Ed.). Springfield, IL: Southern Illinois
University School of Medicine.
• Brookfield, S. and Preskill, S. (2005). Discussion as a way of teaching. (Vol. Second). San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Chi Ng, K. (2007). 'Replacing Face-to-Face Tutorials by Synchronous Online Technologies:
Challenges and Pedagogical Implications'. [Online]. International Review of Research in
Open and Distance Learning, 8 (1), 1-15. Available at:
http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/335/764. [Last accessed September 1
2011].
• Duensing, A., Stickler, U., Batstone, C. and Heins, B. (2006, July 2006). Face-to-face and
online interactions - is a task a task? Paper presented at the Crossing Frontiers: Languages
and the International Dimension Conference. Cardiff University.
• Finkelstein, J. (2006). Learning in Real Time: Synchronous Teaching and Learning Online.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

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References
• Hyder, K., Kwinn, A., Miazga, R. and Murray, M. (2007). Synchronous e-Learning. Santa
Rosa, CA: The eLearning Guild.
• Kear, K., Chetwynd, F., Williams, J. and Donelan, H. (2012). 'Web conferencing for
synchronous online tutorials: Perspectives of tutors using a new medium'. Computers &
Education, 58, 953-963.
• Laurillard, D. (2002). Rethinking University Teaching: A conversational framework for the
effective use of learning technologies. (Second Ed.). London and New York: Routledge
Falmer.
• Laurillard, D. (2012). Teaching as a Design Science. Building Pedagogical Patters for
Learning and Technology. New York and London: Routledge.
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experience'. In J. Stephenson (Ed.), Teaching and learning online: New pedagogies for
new technologies. London: Kogan Page.
• Marks, L., Jackson, M., Marks, D. and Wilcox, D. (2010). Impact of an online tutorial on
postgraduate students‟ literature research skills. [Online]. Available at:
www.gla.ac.uk/media/media_148359_en.pdf. [Last accessed June 10 2012].

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References
• Palloff, R. M. and Pratt, K. (2011). The Excellent Online Instructor. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
• Price, L., Richadson, J. T. E. and Jelfs, A. (2007). 'Face-to-face versus online tutoring
support in distance education'. Studies in Higher Education, 32 (1), 1-20.
• Rourke, L., Anderson, T., Garrison, R. D. and Archer, W. (1999). 'Assessing Social
Presence in Asynchronous Text-based Computer Conferencing'. Journal of Distance
Education, 14 (2), 50-71.
• Shulman, L. S. (2005). 'Signature pedagogies in the professions'. Daedalus,
(Summer), 52-59.
• THES Editorial. (1996). Tutorial system on the way out. [Online]. Available at:
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=93627&sectioncode=26.
[Last accessed June 18th 2012].
• Watkins, C., Carnell, E., Lodge, C., Wagner P. and Whalley C. (2002). 'Effective
Learning'. Institute of Education International Network for School Improvement
Research Matters Series (17).