title: Rethinking support for the digital age: support for online learners from a teaching staff perspective

authors: Lewis, Narissa

subjects: online learning

abstract: Although the internet has contributed to a rapid increase in online education provision and student numbers, the withdrawal rate in online settings is higher than that in face to face.  Consequently, the need for adequate infrastructure and support systems for online education cannot be ignored.  With a growing online student base, there is a need for tertiary organisations to be responsive and supportive to students who are completing their education outside of the traditional, face to face classroom scenario.  However, within the tertiary organisation that this study takes place, support services are predominantly focused towards students who are studying face to face.  The purpose of this research was to identify current thinking and practices of support for online students from a teaching staff perspective to contribute to the development of support for online students.  As the main point of contact for students who are studying online with the organisation, tutors of online programmes were interviewed to identify how they currently support their students and in turn, enable them to progress with their education.  Tutors were also interviewed to identify the organisational factors they believe should exist when supporting students who are studying online. This study identified that tutors believe that managerial staff who make decisions about offering online courses perceive these as an extension of face to face courses.  As a result, the time and effort required to develop, teach and support online programmes and students is underestimated which causes challenges for teaching staff.  Nevertheless, tutors in this study were committed to supporting their students and do this through providing timely feedback, encouraging online learning communities and self-directed learning.  Tutors are driven to provide this level of support as they describe their students as having many commitments in addition to their studies.  They also describe students as second-chance learners who may have had negative educational experiences in the past.  This awareness of students’ circumstances drives tutors to provide support when students are studying which can be after hours or during weekends.  Tutors also believe that support services should be more flexible and operate during these times.  To compensate, tutors take on roles that they might not otherwise do in the face to face learning environment.  However, such practices are challenging and may be unsustainable if the number of courses and student numbers are to increase.  Tutors in this study would prefer a collaborative organisational approach to online education to ensure the services and resources required to develop, teach and support online programmes are provided in a seamless manner.  This study does not suggest that support services are made available 24/7; rather, it recommends that the organisation first needs to clarify their position and staff roles in online education to ensure those who develop, teach and support online programmes have a shared understanding of the resources, time and effort required for these programmes.

text: Rethinking support for the digital age: support for online learners from a teaching staff perspective Although the internet has contributed to a rapid increase in online education provision and student numbers, the withdrawal rate in online settings is higher than that in face to face.  Consequently, the need for adequate infrastructure and support systems for online education cannot be ignored.  With a growing online student base, there is a need for tertiary organisations to be responsive and supportive to students who are completing their education outside of the traditional, face to face classroom scenario.  However, within the tertiary organisation that this study takes place, support services are predominantly focused towards students who are studying face to face.  The purpose of this research was to identify current thinking and practices of support for online students from a teaching staff perspective to contribute to the development of support for online students.  As the main point of contact for students who are studying online with the organisation, tutors of online programmes were interviewed to identify how they currently support their students and in turn, enable them to progress with their education.  Tutors were also interviewed to identify the organisational factors they believe should exist when supporting students who are studying online. This study identified that tutors believe that managerial staff who make decisions about offering online courses perceive these as an extension of face to face courses.  As a result, the time and effort required to develop, teach and support online programmes and students is underestimated which causes challenges for teaching staff.  Nevertheless, tutors in this study were committed to supporting their students and do this through providing timely feedback, encouraging online learning communities and self-directed learning.  Tutors are driven to provide this level of support as they describe their students as having many commitments in addition to their studies.  They also describe students as second-chance learners who may have had negative educational experiences in the past.  This awareness of students’ circumstances drives tutors to provide support when students are studying which can be after hours or during weekends.  Tutors also believe that support services should be more flexible and operate during these times.  To compensate, tutors take on roles that they might not otherwise do in the face to face learning environment.  However, such practices are challenging and may be unsustainable if the number of courses and student numbers are to increase.  Tutors in this study would prefer a collaborative organisational approach to online education to ensure the services and resources required to develop, teach and support online programmes are provided in a seamless manner.  This study does not suggest that support services are made available 24/7; rather, it recommends that the organisation first needs to clarify their position and staff roles in online education to ensure those who develop, teach and support online programmes have a shared understanding of the resources, time and effort required for these programmes.

year: 2014

title: Deconstructive replication: How to tell if a thought experiment-population pairing is fit for purpose

authors: Weijers, Dan M.

abstract: Thought experiments/scenarios are often rolled out to help answer research questions
The idea is that they tell us what people really think, value, etc. about the research question
But how do we know whether the judgments elicited are really about the research question?
Scenarios might work well for some people but not others.
What we need is a way to assess a scenario-population pairing’s fitness for purpose in relation to a particular research question

text: Deconstructive replication: How to tell if a thought experiment-population pairing is fit for purpose Thought experiments/scenarios are often rolled out to help answer research questions
The idea is that they tell us what people really think, value, etc. about the research question
But how do we know whether the judgments elicited are really about the research question?
Scenarios might work well for some people but not others.
What we need is a way to assess a scenario-population pairing’s fitness for purpose in relation to a particular research question

year: 2017

title: HE PI KA RERE 'An Early Childhood Approach to a Cultural Milieu'

authors: Karu, Joceleen Helen

subjects: Early childhood education

abstract: This study explores the issues surrounding the inculcation of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori, Māori language customs and values among early childhood teacher educators in a tertiary setting and how these academics go about preparing students with limited or sufficient knowledge of te reo Māori (Māori language) me ngā tikanga Māori (Māori cultural practices) to meet expectations. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is a curriculum commonly referred to as a bicultural curriculum that contains two expressions of the curriculum, one for general early childhood centres and another for kōhanga reo, neither of which are translations of one another and further asserts the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/ the Treaty of Waitangi and the responsibility of teachers for bicultural development in the education of all children. Equally important, Te Whāriki acknowledges the dual heritage existent within Aotearoa/ New Zealand and further encourages teachers in early childhood settings to have knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. Policy imperatives reflected within the New Zealand Graduating Teaching Standards (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2010) and the Ministry of Education’s document Tātaiako/ Cultural Competencies (2011) place further emphasis on the need for those in initial teacher education to demonstrate their conversancy with te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
The purpose of this study is to provide a narrative of the ways in which the early childhood initial teacher education programme prepares students to use te reo and tikanga Māori. It offers a premise to engage in further discussion of the continued effectiveness of early childhood teacher educators in the maintenance and delivery of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and sets in motion a cyclical platform for further research from a traditional worldview which reflects and embodies the Māori language, culture and identity through a Kaupapa Māori philosophy and praxis.

text: HE PI KA RERE 'An Early Childhood Approach to a Cultural Milieu' This study explores the issues surrounding the inculcation of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori, Māori language customs and values among early childhood teacher educators in a tertiary setting and how these academics go about preparing students with limited or sufficient knowledge of te reo Māori (Māori language) me ngā tikanga Māori (Māori cultural practices) to meet expectations. Te Whāriki, the early childhood curriculum is a curriculum commonly referred to as a bicultural curriculum that contains two expressions of the curriculum, one for general early childhood centres and another for kōhanga reo, neither of which are translations of one another and further asserts the importance of Te Tiriti o Waitangi/ the Treaty of Waitangi and the responsibility of teachers for bicultural development in the education of all children. Equally important, Te Whāriki acknowledges the dual heritage existent within Aotearoa/ New Zealand and further encourages teachers in early childhood settings to have knowledge of te reo and tikanga Māori. Policy imperatives reflected within the New Zealand Graduating Teaching Standards (New Zealand Teachers Council, 2010) and the Ministry of Education’s document Tātaiako/ Cultural Competencies (2011) place further emphasis on the need for those in initial teacher education to demonstrate their conversancy with te reo me ngā tikanga Māori.
The purpose of this study is to provide a narrative of the ways in which the early childhood initial teacher education programme prepares students to use te reo and tikanga Māori. It offers a premise to engage in further discussion of the continued effectiveness of early childhood teacher educators in the maintenance and delivery of te reo me ngā tikanga Māori and sets in motion a cyclical platform for further research from a traditional worldview which reflects and embodies the Māori language, culture and identity through a Kaupapa Māori philosophy and praxis.

year: 2015