CHAPTER 4 • PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES IN ODL

CHAPTER 4 • PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES IN ODL by Alda Pereira [Portugal] Universidade Aberta Lisbon Revised by Kerttu Lõhmus [Estonia]

1. INTRODUCTION ODL is a set of learning systems which assume that learners are separated from the teacher in space and, sometimes, also in time. More than a geographical distance, ODL entails a transactional distance that must be managed by both teachers and students. This transactional distance is, by nature, pedagogical, e.g. dialogical, emotional and psychological. Nowadays, managing this pedagogical distance is facilitated by the use of information and communication technologies. To manage the distance the learner may need to acquire specific skills, the instructional material must be carefully designed and improved and the teacher must instruct and support the learner. This chapter will focus on the main pedagogical issues the teacher must understand to deal with the management of the transactional distance. The first section refers to the context of distant students, the problems of adult learning, and students’ autonomy and motivation. Subsequent sections deal with pedagogical environments and learning models and the major problems concerning the teacher’s role in ODL.

2. DISTANT LEARNERS - THE CONTEXT In ODL the learner is face-to-face with learning materials and not with the teacher in a real classroom. Usually, they will interact with material, complete assignments and answer the teacher’s questions on their own. Because of this, the learner must be an autonomous individual. Thus, distance education is best suited to adult target groups. Many distance students are people who have jobs and families. They must coordinate different areas and interests, and combine these with their studies. This is a great demand for many people, because they must be organised and use their time well. On the other hand, in distance education the learner is usually isolated. They lack the visual contact with the teacher typical of face-to-face classes and lack the immediate support of a teacher who is present and is able to assess their needs and difficulties, to try other ways of explaining subjects and, in short, to motivate them. Distant students also lack the contact or the competition that arises from other students and contributes to motivation. Therefore, they must be self-motivated, persistent and tenacious. All these difficulties may become serious and may transform study into a hard task and the stu42 • Getting started in ODL

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dent may drop out because they lack motivation to persist. In fact, the lack of motivation is one of the major reasons for failure in distance education.

view, oriented through the learner; second it can be said that one of distance learning’s functions is to help individuals to become independent and autonomous.

Adult learning Learning does not cease in adulthood. Besides informal learning experienced throughout professional, family and social life, individuals have to face the need of lifelong learning (LLL) both in formal and in non-formal contexts. In the former, there is the need to acquire new qualifications or have a second chance at certification not completed earlier; in the latter the acquisition of new skills takes place within professional or social contexts.

Autonomy In ODL, learner autonomy is the extent to which it is the learner and not the teacher who determines the goals, selects the learning experiences and chooses the appropriate time for assessment.

Though it has been opposed by some authors 28, learning in adulthood is usually seen to have characteristics different from learning in childhood and adolescence 29. According to this theory, an adult: • has a mature self concept which allows them to be less dependent on others and more self directed; • is, as a rule, an individual who possesses life experience which is a potential source of learning; • is predisposed to learn if learning is targeted at tasks of a social nature and does not respond as well as a child or a young person to activities aiming at development; • prefers problem-solving oriented approaches and not subject-centred approaches; that is, they are more motivated by matters which might have short-term applications; • finally, their motivation is mostly intrinsic, being less susceptible to respond positively to external stimuli 30. Considering these presumptions, adults are, generally, self-directed by personal objectives, value their autonomy and prefer immediately applicable knowledge. They work better on practical aspects than on theoretical ones and prefer projects they have defined themselves according to their interests. According to this idea, an adult is autonomous in the way they guide and controls their learning process; being able to select the necessary resources and use the methods they consider the most relevant. These assumptions, however, have been controversial. Firstly, because the nature of the learning may not be very different when adults and children are compared, especially if we bear in mind the possible dependence or independence from another individual. This problem might be particularly important when we consider competency acquisition in formal and non-formal contexts, that is, in learning situations other than those of informal nature. Secondly, because studies behind these ideas have been carried out mostly on adults from Western societies and there is no evidence as to whether this perspective on adult learning can be transferred to other cultures or if it also depends on aspects related to adult personality. Thirdly, because we do not know if an adult who may be apparently autonomous and engaged in self study searches in their personal environment for emotional support or even guidance. Fourthly, prior adult experiences have to be faced prudently when considering them as potential resources for learning. In fact, the way individuals perceive and value past experiences is dependent on their own perceptual and cultural filters. On the other hand, a large quantity of previous experiences may not have an important role for personal evolution if these experiences are all seen under the same filter. Finally, it must be emphasised that, despite the critics, the assumptions found in literature on the distinctive characteristics of adult learning relate in two main ways to the success of distance teaching: first, it can be understood that distance teaching has to be, from a pedagogical point of 44 • Getting started in ODL

According to this, an ideal ODL student is a person who is emotionally independent of an instructor and can approach matters directly without having another adult intervening continuously in an explaining, lecturing or other role. According to what was mentioned above, this should be a natural situation for adults. However, this is not so. We provided an idealised description of an adult, but in fact there are many adults who are not autonomous and lack self-confidence and self-guidance. Knowles (1984), though he considers this to be typical of adult behaviour, also recognises this is not so in some cases. In fact, every education system prior to adult education is based on dependence on a teacher; thus few adults are autonomous learners. So the teacher may need to support the learner to develop their autonomy. Besides, nowadays, there are many people who are not quite adults but, nevertheless, engage in ODL. We must consider the existence of many degrees of autonomy in respect to a distance program. The learner’s lack of autonomy can be improved with instructional dialogue and can be prevented by structuring the learning materials. Instructional dialogue is developed between teacher and students around the contents of the teaching programme and it occurs when the former gives instruction to the latter. In ODL, this can be done directly or indirectly and it also depends on the chosen medium of the delivery of instruction and communication. The term dialogue is used in this context as a constructive interaction between participants, with a sense of promoting learning. Dialogue is indirect if a student is interacting alone with the content material, e.g. a textbook, a video, a web page, etc. This is a kind of “virtual dialogue” where the learner interacts alone with the text, pictures and graphics. A one-way communications system is expected in this kind of dialogue. But the learner, in this case, does not know whether they interpret the material in the right way. Therefore, they may be confused and doubtful if they are not already self-confident. In order to prevent misunderstanding, the “virtual dialogue” can be improved with well-designed questions requiring the learner’s reflection, with activities designed for self-assessment and by providing opportunities to check desired learning outcomes. In a direct dialogue, like the one in face-to-face courses, the learner can formulate questions about their doubts and ask for instructions and feedback from their teacher. Two-way communication systems can be useful for direct dialogue. Phone, email, electronic forums, virtual classrooms or two-way video and audio conferences can accomplish this purpose. Besides the dialogue between the teacher and the student, it is possible now to have communication amongst students due to the developments in communication technologies and in education mediated by computers. These interactions have two main goals. The first one is for an effective social dimension. The possibility of interactions amongst learners at any time prevents solitude and can contribute to the development of mechanisms of mutual support. The second goal is of a cognitive nature. Discussions and debates amongst learners using, for instance, virtual discussion forums in computer networks, allow the development of a real learning community, where meanings develop jointly based on synergies established amongst students about the subjects under discussion 31. Getting started in ODL • 45

Also, when the learner is not an autonomous individual we may help them by using structured materials. The term “structure” refers to an ODL variable, which expresses the rigidity or flexibility of a course or program 32. In a structured course, objectives are predefined, readings and other learning tasks are planned and communicated to students in advance and the nature of and opportunities for self-evaluation, as well as feedback from teacher, are planned and scheduled. That is, a structured programme is a programme that structures learning and there are not many chances for the learner to do other things than those previously expected. Thus, structured courses do not require a dialogical component, since they do not require the reorganisation of activities or any other modifications due to the learner’s characteristics or questions. It is the student who has to decide which study strategies they need to develop and use, as well as the best time to perform a task. In unstructured courses, the student receives study instructions and guidance in a dialogic form. In this case, the characteristics and the needs of the students may lead to modifications during the running of the course. This is possible by increasing student-teacher interaction and it is facilitated by using a “reusable learning objects” (RLO) approach, i.e., by developing materials formatted in small chunks to allow combination and modification during the learning process. The technology available determines the nature of the dialogue as well as its structure. For instance, a TV programme is highly structured because its content and approach are predefined. There is no opportunity for a student to interfere in order to change the programme. Two-way videoconferences, in contrast, might be used in a less structured and more dialogical approach, despite the fact that their most comment use at present is for lecturing. Other web teaching programmes mediated by computer, such as web sites or LMS, can be used both in a structured form where the student has to have a high degree of autonomy or in a less structured and more dialogical form. The characteristics of the learners, namely: their personality, level of autonomy, previous experiences and previous level of education, determine the need for more or less dialogue in ODL programmes. So the identification of learners’ previous experiences can be extremely important when designing and developing an ODL course. Motivation Motivation is a psychological construct describing an internal state or condition that serves to activate or energise behaviour and give it direction. Most psychologists believe that there are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. The former has to do with an activity performed by an individual “for its own sake”. The reasons for the action lie in personal goals, in obtaining pleasure or in a necessity, affective or cognitive. Extrinsic motivation lies in external approval, reward or reinforcement. As mentioned before, a mature adult is more intrinsically motivated than a child, but there are several reasons that can explain why there are many adults who lack motivation. We may summarise a few: • they may not have a list of priorities about what is most important for personal success; • they have negative feelings based on past experiences; • they believe they do not have the ability to perform some activities; • they do not trust their personal skills; • they are not self-confident about achieving future goals; • their extrinsic motivation is low due to social or family reasons. • In all these causes there is a lack of persistence, trust and tenacity and there may be serious implications for the learning process and a reduction in individual autonomy. • For a teacher, this is an important aspect and they must be attentive to prevent failure due to a lack of motivation. 46 • Getting started in ODL

Self-evaluation For success in distance education, the self-confidence of the learner is crucial. This is always important to lead the learner towards a progressive autonomous process of learning and for continuous self-motivation. For that to happen, the learner must acquire habits and skills of self-evaluation, e.g. metacognitive knowledge. Metacognitive knowledge involves strategic knowledge, knowledge of cognitive tasks and self-knowledge. Teachers must provide some guidance and support to help distance learners take over their learning process and develop their metacognitive skills. Strategic knowledge is general knowledge for learning and thinking. It includes knowledge of how we memorise material, extract meaning from a text, comprehend what we hear or read in course materials and how we solve problems. For learning material, strategies can be grouped into three general categories - rehearsal, elaboration and organisational 33.

Rehearsal - refers to a strategy of repeating words or terms to be remembered over and over; Elaboration strategies - include mnemonics for memory tasks, summarising, paraphrasing and selecting main ideas from texts or lectures; these elaboration strategies result in deeper understanding than rehearsal. Organisational strategies - refer to various forms of outlining, concept mapping and note taking. They are strategies for making connection among content elements. In addition, one should think about knowledge of various methods that are useful for planning, monitoring and regulating personal learning and thinking; examples include setting sub-goals for a task (planning), asking ourselves questions as we read a piece of text or checking an answer to a problem (monitoring) or re-reading something that we do not understand (regulation). Finally, it is important to understand general heuristics that individuals can use to solve problems like deductive and inductive thinking, evaluation of the validity of logical statements, making appropriate inferences from different sources of data, etc. Knowledge about cognitive tasks includes appraisal of the different levels of difficulty of the tasks. It concerns the awareness that some tasks can be more or less difficult than others and may require different cognitive strategies. Besides, it is important to develop some understanding about when and why to use these strategies to best effect. Self-knowledge refers to understanding of one’s strengths and weakness. For example, knowing that we perform better on multiple-choice tests than on essays is metacognitive self-knowledge about our test-taking ability. It is also crucial for a learner to know about their understanding of their motivation; this includes judgments about his/her ability to perform a certain task, their goals in completing a task and the interest and value the task has for them. These aspects are, too often, a challenge for the learner, since they must change from a passive role to an active one by reflecting on their thinking, identifying their weaknesses and making explicit their doubts and misunderstandings. It is also a matter of actively monitoring his/her learning strategies and resources and assessing their readiness for particular activities, tests and performance of tasks.

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3. INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACHES Teaching is always based on an idea about learning. There are many theories about learning, but, from a general point of view, most can be sees as forming a continuum between two extreme positions: instructivism and constructivism.

Instructivism is rooted in behaviourist theories and assumes that learning is shaped by environmental conditions and that teaching is concerned with arranging the best external conditions that will lead to improvements in learners’ reactions. So, for the teacher, planning how to make changes happen is the most crucial thing. Learning is viewed as a linear progression of knowledge; each new bit of content attaches to the previous one in small steps. Content is divided into small chunks and objectives are defined carefully, concerning simple facts, major concepts or skills. Declarative and procedural knowledge are presented by the teacher using examples and rules and the learner is expected to master theoretical information and acquire routines by practicing. Learning activities are planned to provide chances for interaction with structured information resources (such as the instructor, other experts, books, media and computer programs). The teacher is the expert and the model for the learners; they use cues to guide learners to the desired outcomes and must give positive reinforcement each time the learner gives a correct answer or correct erroneous recitations.

Knowledge-centred environments Knowledge-centred environments are educational settings designed to help students to increase their knowledge. This means that this environment focuses on the kind of information and activities that help students to develop an understanding of subjects and topics in a specific area. In these environments, the most important goal is the transmission of knowledge and the acquisition of routines that an expert in a certain area would have. In this case, the most important thing is probably to find out and make explicit the information that fits into the learners’ previous knowledge. The major challenge when designing a knowledge-centred environment is to strike a balance between activities that promote understanding and those that promote the development of automatic skills necessary to undertake a specific job or work. This type of paradigm may be best for this purpose. In this sense, the instructional paradigm seeks the development of intellectual and attitudinal skills and the teacher is a model for the student. To make the task easier, information can be divided in small units and the teacher can provide continuous feedback about the students’ performance. Alternatively, in distance education, materials are designed to promote self-correction by the learners themselves. We may assume, in this case, that evaluative assessment is most important.

Learner-centred environments The major concern of instructivism is information, so the students are taught best when the focus is directly on the content to be taught. Instructivism assumes the possibility of an objective view and instruction takes the material out of the context in which it will be used. Lectures, tutorials, drills, demonstrations or other forms of teacher controlled teaching are seen to be best, and interactions between the teacher and learners dominate the learning environment. Learners are assessed using individual testing to demonstrate mastery of knowledge and practice.

Learner-centred environments refer to those that focus on the prior knowledge, beliefs, skills and attitudes that learners bring to the educational setting. Therefore, these environments emphasise cultural appropriateness and cultural relevance, paying attention to the cultures or subcultures of the learners, their mode of being and their cultural idiosyncrasies. Also, learnercentred environments respect the language practices of the learners as a basis for future understanding and change.

Constructivism is a broad approach that includes theories coming from a cognitive tradition and from a social psychological interactionist perspective. From a constructivist point of view, learning is a change in meaning constructed from the learner’s experience, i.e. it is a process where individuals construct new ideas based on prior knowledge. Instructional goals are framed in experiential terms by specifying the kind of problems the learner should solve, the kinds of control the learner needs to exercise over the environment, the activities in which they engage in order to solve their problems and the ways in which learners reflect on the results of their activity.

Learner-centred environments fit into diagnostic teaching, i.e. attempting to discover what students think about problems and topics, discussing their misconceptions and providing experiences and activities that enable the learners to adjust (or readjust) their ideas. Diagnostic teaching provides the insight to design a teaching structure on the basis of activities and experiences that challenge the learners.

The major concerns of constructivism are learning and construction of the knowledge process; this process is viewed as being subject to the learner’s situation. Methods like discussion and collaboration among learners, focusing on case studies or project work, open-ended assignments linked to changing learning objectives or assignments constructed to reflect “real world” conditions are the most suitable. The learning environment can be learner-centred or community-centred. It is based on a particular social context, deliberately constructed with others learners and it is assumed that all participants are motivated by a common interest in some issue or problem. The teacher is the facilitator and the architect of the learning process. In teaching the main tasks are creating and assigning “good” problems that stimulate exploration, creating group activities and modelling and facilitating the knowledge construction process. Continuous assessment based on active authentic experiences is used rather than a focus on the final products of learning.

4. PEDAGOGICAL ENVIRONMENTS Different goals for education and instruction require different environments. We will explore three important kinds of environments: knowledge-centred, learner-centred and communitycentred. 48 • Getting started in ODL

In practice, a teacher who favours a learner-centred environment is aware that learners construct their own meanings and they act as a bridge between the learner and the subject matter. Meanwhile, they attempt to help the students make connections between their previous knowledge and their current academic tasks.

Community-centred environment New developments in computer technologies and pedagogy suggest that a community-centred environment is relevant for ODL. This kind of environment arises when aspects of community develop, such as a sense of being interdependent enhanced by social interactions and norms that value the search for understanding. In this environment, learners are free to make mistakes when learning because their peers are not competitive, but rather cooperative and collaborative. Underlying community-centred environments is a set of practices including emotional peer support and the encouragement of value discussions amongst students, problem solving and projects in small groups or with the whole class. This type of environment is similar to a real community of practice, where there are common goals and where everyone attempts to collaborate to achieve those goals. In ODL, asynchronous communication tools, like forums, may contribute to establishing community-centred environments. These tools provide environments in which students can read mateGetting started in ODL • 49

rial and post to a discussion board with their perspectives and ideas. Also, asynchronous environments allow students to take time to think and reflect on learning materials or on the contributions from their peers and teacher.

5. PEDAGOGICAL MODELS The physical separation of the student from the teacher leads, from a pedagogical point of view, to the fact that learning becomes centred in the learner. That is, the student assumes full responsibility for their study process, for choosing the rhythm that best suits their situation, for selecting strategies according to their characteristics and for managing their time. On the basis of this, methods and techniques used in distance learning can be addressed according two main perspectives or pedagogical models: “the independent learning model” and the “the collaborative learning model”.

push the students to think critically and to apply what they are reading and analysing. Besides its cognitive benefits, collaborative learning is particularly useful to develop social skills such as respect for others, tolerance and team work. On top of this, in a collaborative learning environment each student must take into account several perspectives on a topic; thus, this approach leads to flexible thinking. These two pedagogical models are not incompatible; they can even be considered complementary. The independent learning model benefits the autonomous and self-directed adult learner. A student with these characteristics can manage time, balance learning tasks with professional and personal commitments, and arrange work to suit their needs and interests. The second model can help to decrease the feeling of isolation characteristic of distance learning, opens up the possibility for mutual support amongst students -both emotional and cognitive - and gives students the benefits that arise from interacting to build common knowledge.

Independent learning model Independent learning relies on self-directed learning controlled by the learner. It is based on the expectation that the students are able to guide themselves autonomously and define their own targets with support from the readings and tasks recommended by the teacher. For this, it is desirable that the readings and tasks have targets and clearly defined objectives and that the subject is organised in relatively autonomous sections so that the study process is easier for the student. Following this model, the most common organisation of course contents is to have a subject divided into small units including a series of tasks, followed by self-evaluation activities. For the success of this model, the selection of tasks to be undertaken by the student and the technological resources selected to provide information should be designed in keeping with the different learning styles of potential learners. A variation on this model involves the setting of supported individual projects. In this approach, the student identifies their training needs and works to define a learning project to fulfil these needs. The student defines their learning targets and tries to identify the necessary resources. In this context, the teacher acts as a coach: guiding the learning process, facilitating resources, and providing support and direct instruction as necessary. It must be emphasised that this approach requires a high level of maturity from the student and individual attention from the teacher, especially if the project has a high degree of complexity. In short, the model of independent learning provides opportunity for just-in-time, just-enough and where-I-am learning.

Collaborative learning model The second pedagogical perspective is based on learning through personal or social interaction amongst learners. A collaborative learning process can help students to share goals, exploit learning materials and achieve deeper levels of understanding and knowledge built by the social construction of meanings and knowledge.

One key condition for the success of both models is that students are provided with clear and practical instructions about the course. These are guiding principles about the subjects to be studied, the methods to be used when working on them, what each student is expected to do for each topic, an estimate of the time that will be needed to accomplish each task, the assessment methods to be used, the system of marking and timing of assessments.

6. THE TEACHER’S ROLE Instructor and coach In ODL the learner is face-to-face with the materials and not with the teacher as in a real classroom. They read texts, do assignments and answer the teacher’s questions on their own. In a community-centred environment, they interact with other students and construct knowledge by sharing perspectives, opinions and values. This kind of work requires a different mode of teaching. The teacher is less instructor and more facilitator. In theory, in the independent learning model, the student works autonomously, defines their targets, plans their time and manages their own learning process. However, in practice things do not always run this way, even when learning materials are well structured and designed to facilitate selfstudy. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is that usually we are not facing mature adult learners used to having control over their working processes and their learning. Second, the student is isolated and has to remain disciplined on an ongoing basis, which is not easy, especially if they have not clearly defined their priorities and targets. Third, it is quite common for the student to lack confidence in their abilities and to be unable to decide on the best working methods, especially when an individual has a poor level of prior education or has been out of education for a considerable length of time. Fourth, the student may lack adequate skills to approach a certain subject due to poorly structured prior knowledge.

Students work collaboratively or cooperatively in teams. Several different activities can be included in this category: group discussions around a certain topic where it is expected that the students benefit from an exchange of perspectives and critical assumptions, cooperative problem solving and collaborative project work.

Since most students have a low degree of autonomy they need permanent guidance from the teacher; a central task of distance teachers is to help students develop themselves as learners who are able to manage their learning process.

Content can be delivered through readings, assignments, case studies and simulations, with guidelines for students about how to work collaboratively. These activities should be designed to

In a self-directed learning approach, the teacher is the main interlocutor and is committed to a set of tasks such as instructing, training and supporting, that is to provide instruction about the

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contents of the learning; to clarify specific items to students; and to provide individual support to the student so that they can recognise their abilities, gain self-confidence, identify the best study methods and self-evaluate acquired learning. A teacher, acting as an instructor in a certain subject, has to motivate students to perform planned tasks and activities. For this, it is highly important to clarify the learning programme in advance, make the targets explicit and, if possible, provide an indication about how to achieve the goals. If learning takes place under a blended model, this clarification and general guidance can be given in face-to-face sessions. This can also allow the students an opportunity to meet and get to know one another as potential team mates for group work, like in a face-to-face class. After distributing the work programme to students, the next stage is an interactive one where the teacher uses communication tools like the telephone or email. Quite often the students will not take the initiative to contact the teacher with their doubts or to ask for guidance, so the teacher should contact the students to help break down the natural barriers and inhibitions. The teacher must realise that an insecure student is likely to feel uncomfortable talking with the teacher in ODL. As far as instruction and student support is concerned there are two main approaches: cognitive and organisational 34. The former can include aspects related to support; subject understanding; and development of cognitive skills, learning strategies and motivation. The latter refers to student time management and counselling. In discussing ODL the former should be emphasised due to its importance for the success of distance learners. The cognitive approach requires several things of the tutor: • To explain and clarify content-related aspects that students have pointed out as problematic. • To collect and analyse students’ formative work and evaluate their progress by providing feedback, either formally (with the support of computerised evaluation programs) or informally. The analysis can be made on the basis of real and practical problem solving that takes into account the knowledge students are supposed to have acquired. • To help students to identify efficient learning strategies. This is a critical point since learning strategies are idiosyncratic; a teacher whose students face specific difficulties should try to understand what strategies have been used already and suggest others (for instance, taking notes can be important for one student while for another it is best to underline and comment alongside the text). The teacher can also help the students to identify their learning style so that they can enhance their work and select the best approach for a given subject. • To encourage the student to study the subject deeply and not superficially. At the first stage, without the immediate support of the teacher or a peer group, many distance students, are not confident about their learning and skills when reading material and tend to concentrate on memorising facts and details. Therefore, they can end up with a poor understanding of the course material. This is the result of a “superficial approach”, which can be summarised as follows: a) focus on discrete elements and on the language itself; b) memorise information and procedures for tests; c) non-reflective association of facts and concepts; d) fails to distinguish main concepts from details, new information from old; e) fails to search for evidence; f) emphasis focuses on demands, assignments and tests leading to knowledge that is cut-off from personal experience. The teacher must be attentive to this and help the students to become more selective and more focused in their learning in order to give rise to a “deep approach”: a) focus on the arguments in the text; b) distinguish and relate new ideas and previous knowledge; c) relate information to everyday experience; d) distinguish and relate arguments and evidence; e) organise and structure context; f) focus on how instructional material is important to their job, personal life or everyday life in general. 52 • Getting started in ODL

To support students to overcome delays, providing guidance to recover and prevent dropping out. When students lack self-confidence and appropriate learning skills to approach the subject matter, the teacher must help them more directly. In this case it is important to provide a bibliography or further assignments. Sometimes supporting students can be as simple as having an attitude that shows interest so that the students feels the teacher is interested in their work and results and has positive expectations about their development. Reference has to be made to the use of synchronous sessions mediated by computer (as chat) for lecturing. In distance teaching, unless face-to-face sessions are foreseen as part of a blended learning regime, lectures from a teacher do not have the role they have in traditional teaching. In fact, oral presentations are replaced by readings and content analysis. If an instructor uses chat to lecture, what students will receive are lengthy pieces of text that are not likely to capture their interest or attention.

Facilitator and moderator In a collaborative learning model the teacher’s role is that of a facilitator and moderator of discussions and manager of collaborative learning processes. Learning is supported in two types of interaction: interaction between learner and content and interpersonal interaction. In the selfdirected learning model, the first type of interaction predominates. In the collaborative learning model, interaction among learners about the content is privileged. In the latter model, the teacher assumes the role of facilitator of interactive processes among learners, trying to manage this interaction in order to achieve high learning standards. Learning environments centred on collaboration can be implemented in face-to-face sessions in a blended learning regime. However, the use of ICT provides a powerful asynchronous tool in the creation of these environments, which is the discussion forum. Chat, as a synchronous tool, shows some pedagogical potential for collaborative learning. However, it is limited, since it is a communication processes in real time. In fact, communication in real time limits reflection due to the speed required to reply. Chat is best used to enable teamwork. In order to make the best use of chat, groups should be kept very small. Small groups also create an environment in which all voices are likely to be heard. Otherwise, it is easy for participants to disperse and discussion deviates from the subjects under discussion. In contrast, in asynchronous environments students can study materials made available by the teacher whenever they want, analyse others’ interventions, make an autonomous search of complementary materials and share these with their fellow learners, considering and enlarging discussion and deepening learning. “The result is a great ability to make meaning out of the material under study and to engage with it” 35. The teacher’s role as facilitator and moderator in collaborative team-centred environments comprises three main areas: pedagogical, social and organisational (management). To these should be added a technical area relevant for environments mediated by computer 36. • Pedagogical - concerns the role of the teacher as organiser and facilitator of learning. Amongst their tasks are to: formulate common objectives for the group, suggest tasks and problems, suggest readings and research, question students in a creative and stimulating manner, encourage students to participate, stimulate reflection and argue in and moderate discussions. • Social - concerns the establishment of a human environment promoting positive interactions among group members, group cohesion and development. At this stage it is vital that the teacher promote meetings amongst the group to help members get to know one another and form close relationships. Getting started in ODL • 53

• Organisational - concerns negotiation with the group around timetables, procedures and responsibilities. The technical component can be important if the collaborative community is organised around ICT. It concerns the role of the facilitator in the student-environment interaction creating routines for the use of software, so that this does not constitute an additional problem for students. In the case of blended learning, the introduction of students to the technology can be done more efficiently in practical face-to-face sessions.

7. PEDAGOGICAL TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL ODL PROGRAMMES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Berge, Z.L. (1995), “The role of the Online Instructor/Facilitator”, http://www.emoderators.com/moderators/teach_online.html Brookfield, S. (1995), “Adult Learning: An Overview”, in A. Tuinjman (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Education, Oxford, Pergamon Press. Burge, L. (1988), “Beyond Andragogy: Some Explorations for Distance Learning Design”, Journal of Distance Education, vol. 3.

This chapter shows that there are many substantial pedagogical aspects to take into account in developing and delivering ODL courses and programs. From a practical point of view, before starting an ODL program, a teacher should ask themself about several features, in order to plan a suitable approach. Namely, they should decide on basis of the questions below 37:

http://www.eurodl.org/materials/2001/icl01/laister.htm

Who are my students? Are they adults? What are their qualifications? Are they trained in selfdirected learning? Is it the first time they have engaged in an ODL program? Are they technologically literate? Will they have access to the technology the course will be delivered with?

Keegan, D. (Ed.) (1993), Theoretical Principles of Distance Education, N.Y, Routledge.

What are the main goals of my programme? What is suitable for my students - a structured program or an unstructured programme?

Lumsden, L.S. (1994), “Student Motivation To Learn”, Eric Digest, Number 92.

What are my resources to deliver content and activities? (Print, video, audio, web pages, etc.) What technological communication tools can I use? Should I provide technological training before starting the programme? How and by whom will technical support be provided during the course of study? According to the course’s main goals and according to my students, what is the best pedagogical environment? Is it a knowledge-centred environment? Or a learner-centred environment? Or a community-centred environment? Should I combine these over time to get the best aspects of each one? Which model of ODL is available for this program? If it is blended learning, what content should I choose to deliver in face-to-face sessions and what is the best for learning at a distance? Which is the best pedagogical model for my course? Or, what sections of my programme fit best in an independent learning model and in a collaborative model? What is expected from me in each case? How can I manage my time when using these models? After answering these questions one can draft the project plan describing the chosen models, techniques and technologies as well the tasks to be completed and the estimated time needed by the teacher/tutor/trainer.

54 • Getting started in ODL

Joanneum, T. (2001), “3rd Generation Learning Platforms Requirements and Motivation for Collaborative Learning”,

Knowles, M.S. et al (1984), Andragogy in Action, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Moore, M. (1986), “Self-Directed Learning and Distance Education”, Journal of Distance Education, vol. 1. Moore, M.G. (1993), “Theory of transactional distance”, in D. Keegan (Ed.), Theoretical Principles of Distance Education, N.Y, Routledge. Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (2001), Lessons from the Cyberspace Classroom, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Palloff, R. M. & Pratt, K. (1999), Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Peters, O. (2001), Learning & teaching in distance education, London, Kogan Page. Simpson, O. (2000), Supporting Students in Open and Distance Learning, London, Kogan Page. Trindade, A.R. (1992), Distance Education for Europe, Lisbon, Universidade Aberta. Weinstein, C.E., & Mayer, R. (1986), “The teaching of learning strategies”, in M.C. Wittrock (ed.), Handbook of research on teaching, New York, Macmillan.

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