‘Sometimes I wonder if our best really is our best’: Tutor reflections on the challenges of shifting to online tutoring during the pandemic

Abstract

Tutors play an important role in higher education, as they may facilitate learning, promote engagement, and assist with student success. Students also often feel more comfortable seeking assistance from them than from lecturers. Yet, tutors tend to be sidelined in the literature on teaching and learning, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. The paper is framed by an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) approach and seeks to understand how three tutors in an online academic literacy module experienced the shift to online learning. Data, in the form of personal reflections, were collected online and analysed thematically. It was found that the tutors experienced the shift negatively and they raised practical concerns, as well as interpersonal ones. Implications for tutor training are discussed.