Student and tutor perceptions of effective tutoring in distance education

Abstract

Questionnaire responses of 457 students and 602 tutors were used to investigate conceptions of a 'good tutor'. In each case, factor analysis identified scales that reflected key constructs; cluster analysis identified subgroups with different patterns of scale scores; and discriminant analysis determined the scales that contributed the most to differences among the clusters.Both sets of data yielded conceptions of tutoring that were described as task-oriented and student-oriented, respectively. The students' data yielded an additional, career-oriented conception. The tutors' data yielded two additional conceptions that were described as knowledge-oriented and impersonal, respectively. The distribution of the tutors' conceptions (but not that of the students' conceptions) varied across different faculties, suggesting that tutors from different disciplines have different beliefs about effective tutoring. The study suggests that both tutors and students would benefit from having a better appreciation of the importance of support in facilitating learning.

Tutors’ influence on distance language students’ learning motivation: voices from learners and tutors

“…Subject matter expertise should therefore also cover proficiency in the target language, which is perceived to be a characteristic of effective language teachers (Brosh, 1996). As in the conventional language setting, Jelfs et al (2009) found that both tutors and distance students value tutors' subject matter expertise. In another study which examined both tutor and student views on distance language learning, both groups agreed that tutors should "have native or near-native speaker competency" (Murphy et al, 2010, p. 125).…”

“…The teacher's personal relationship with the students may therefore influence the latter's learning motivation (Ghanizadeh & Moafian, 2010;Oxford, 1998). A good tutor-student relationship is particularly important in distance education given the frequent separation of tutors and students in space and/or time (Jelfs, Richardson, & Price, 2009;Murphy et al, 2010;Shelley et al, 2006). According to the tutor Maxim of Honesty, that is, "work for an honest, supportive relationship," identified by White et al (2005) in their work with distance language tutors, teachers should be able to "provide accurate feedback, encouragement, and support in such a way that the student feels 'reassured, valued and respected'" (p. 93).…”

Exploring the relationships between perceptions of tutoring and tutoring behaviours: a focus on graduate students serving as peer tutors to college-level chemistry students

“…Four components of tutor's perceptions of tutoring have been investigated in the literature: their perceptions of their role as tutors and the purpose of tutoring (Colvin, 2007;Moore, 2009;Bailey, 2010;Galbraith and Winterbottom, 2011), characteristics of effective tutors (Jelfs et al, 2009;Xiao, 2012), characteristics of tutees (Bailey, 2010), and characteristics of effective tutoring (Wood et al, 1976;Topping, 1996;Lepper et al, 1997;Falchikov, 2001).…”

Teacher Presence and Social Presence in Virtual and Blended Courses

“…Cole, 2009;Feldman, 2007;Jelfs, Richardson, & Price, 2009;Lawrence & Sankey, 2008;Lee, 2008;Oliver, Osborne, & Brady, 2009) have found that the unique characteristics of a virtual community are likely to create in students a sense of personal empowerment that enhances the learning process. The learning environment must enable a dynamic process in which students feel safe to be active participants (Pelz, 2004;Splitter, 2009).…”