University of Tauranga

Online > Support

 

The University of Tauranga do not believe in just giving you the training material then leaving you to it - we believe the best results are achieved then the learner has a support group around them to encourage and drive them to work hard, to understand the learning and to deliver good results.

When you sign up with Tauranga we set up a support environment which can come from the university faculty, fellow students and even your own friendsa or family, and we will help you get this in place right from the outset.

Mentorship

The aim of mentorship is to promote learner development drawing out and giving form to what the student already knows. A mentor serves as a guide rather than a provider of knowledge and serves the function of introducing students to the new world, interpreting it for them, and helping them to learn what they need to know to function in it. Mentors in education teach by interpreting the environment and modeling expected behaviors. They also support, challenge, and provide vision for their students.

A major benefit to online mentorship is the opportunity for frequent, convenient communication between mentor and student. Weekly or even daily journals and communications can be sent between mentor and student via e-mail, providing an ongoing “dialogue” which supports the development of the mentor relationship and offers numerous opportunities for timely feedback on student questions, concerns and issues.

Small Group Work

In small groups, learners discuss content, share ideas, and solve problems. They present ideas as well as consider ideas put forth by others. The forum or even direct contacts provide the student with their own small group where they see a variety of viewpoints on a subject. There are many small group formats that encourage and provide opportunities for interaction:

Discussion groups

Discussion groups are small groups looking at a particular area of learning. They allow learners to reflect on a subject under discussion and present their views. Discussion within the small group may vary from low, to very high levels of intellectual discourse.

Guided design

Here the focus is on developing learners’ decision-making skills as well as on teaching specific concepts and principles. Participants work to solve open-ended problems which require outside class work to gather information. This format encourages learners to think logically, communicate ideas, and apply steps in a decision-making process. Learners must apply what they have learned, exchange ideas, and reflect on suggested solutions. The instructor’s role is to act as a consultant to the groups.

Benefits

Online learning environments offer several distinct benefits for small group work. First, they allow small groups to work independently while still having access to the instructor. In some cases where it is difficult for all members of an online class to meet synchronously, small groups can be organized according to their time zones, making it possible to find a convenient time to meet synchronously. Larger groups can benefit by communicating asynchronously via the forum. A second benefit of online environments for group work is that they equalize control among participants. Factors such as geography, gender, or disabilities do not disadvantage learners in this environment. Finally, the instructor is able to respond directly to questions and needs of particular groups without taking the time of other groups.

Projects

Online projects give students opportunities to pursue special interests individually or within groups. Projects also provide students with practical experience and a sense of accomplishment. Using projects in a learning activity makes the learning more relevant to the learners. Products can be shared with others in the class and critiqued or by the facilitator alone. By sharing individual projects with other participants, the learner obtains more diverse viewpoints and feedback.

Many of the instructional strategies discussed on this page can be considered group projects. Group projects can include simulations, role playing, case studies, problem solving exercises, group collaborative work, debates, small group discussion, and brainstorming. As with individual projects, projects for participants in groups should receive peer feedback to expose them to diverse viewpoints. With independent and group projects learners pursue special interests, write or create for an audience, and publish or present their findings and conclusions via the Internet. The Internet provides the potential of receiving feedback from experts or interested peers outside the course by accessing the project online.

Collaborative Learning

Collaborative learning is the process of getting two or more students to work together to learn. Compose small groups’ participants of differing ability levels and use a variety of learning activities to master material initially developed by an instructor, or construct knowledge on substantive issues. Each member of the team is responsible for learning what is taught and for helping teammates learn.

Collaborative learning methods are used in nearly two-thirds of higher education courses, according to a recent survey conducted by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute. Employers want workers with collaborative skills and are looking for graduates of educational programs that teach these skills. Collaborative learning can be more effective than interpersonal competitive and individualistic efforts in promoting cognitive development, self-esteem, and positive student-student relationships.

Online learning models are natural environments for collaborative learning, but they are not collaborative learning environments by definition. Learners may interact with other participants without collaborating, for example when receiving on-line tutorial help. Design learning activities for collaboration the best effect.

Case Study

The case study requires learners to draw upon their experience, is participatory, and has action components that are links to future experience. The key to a successful case study is the selection of an appropriate problem situation which is relevant both to the interests and experience level of learners and to the concepts being taught. The case report should include facts regarding the problem, the environmental context, and the characters of the people involved in the case. It should be factual, but also contain the opinions and views of the people involved. Learners should have access to the problem solution, but not until they have reached their own conclusions and can then compare their results with the actual decision taken to resolve the problem.

Learners, in a case study, can work independently or in groups. One advantage of using the case method is that it emphasizes practical thinking and assists learners in identifying principles after examining the facts of the case, then applying those principles to new situations. Case analysis is equally effective when used in combination with other instructional strategies.

In the online environment, present case studies on web pages and discuss in conferencing groups. Cases can be developed by class groups as collaborative projects. In addition, tap the vast resources of the Internet to contribute data, information, and expert advice to case development and analysis.

Forum

The forum is an open discussion between one or more resource people and a group. A moderator guides the discussion and the audience raises and discusses issues, make comments, offers information, or asks questions of the resource person(s) and each other. There are two variations of the forum- the panel and the symposium.

Conclusion

The online learning environment allows educators and students to work and exchange ideas and information together on projects, around the clock and from anywhere in the world, using multiple communication modes. Given the advantages and resources of this rich learning environment, how can multiple instructional strategies best be utilized for online learning? Just as in the traditional classroom, instructional strategies are most effective when employed specifically to meet particular learning goals and objectives. Effective course design can begin with asking and answering the key question: what are the major learning goals and objectives for this course? Once one articulates these goals and objectives, address the questions of which learning strategies, activities, and experiences to employ.

Online learning can employ any of the strategies discussed here. Much of the power of learning via the Internet lies in its capacity to support multiple modes of communication including any combination of student-student, student-faculty, faculty-student, faculty-faculty, student-others, others-students, etc. Taking into account the varied learning styles of learners and providing opportunities for self-directed and collaborative learning, educators can facilitate powerful, effective courses geared to achieve specific learning goals and outcomes using the vast resources and capacities of online learning.

The online learning environment is, after all, just another learning environment. In some ways, it is similar to and in other ways different from environments that are more traditional. When we move our classes to the Internet, plan for and make the best use of the online environment. The instructional strategies we use to meet the goals and objectives of our courses are likely to be similar in each environment. However, the ways in which we utilize the strategies will differ as we make the best use of the characteristics and capacities of each environment.