WIPO Academy:The key role of tutors

Ray CorriganSenior Lecturer in

Technology

OU Origins and teaching methods Charter granted 1969

First student intake 1971

First Degree Ceremony 1973 with 900 graduates

All students receive tutorial support

Blended learning

The Open University in 2009 Europe’s biggest University Currently 250,000 registered students

In the top five UK universities on teaching quality ratings

Internationally renowned for excellence of teaching and research

Teaching QualityPercentage of Subjects Ranked “Excellent”

since 1995

1 Cambridge 96.3

2 Loughborough 94.4

3 York 93.8

4 LSE 87.5

5 The Open University 86.7

6 Oxford 85.7

7 Essex 84.6

8 Imperial 81.8

9 University College London

77.4

10 St Mark and St John 75

The Open University is ranked 5th in the UK (above Oxford University)

Why?

Our tutors

People and places

1,124 full time academic staff

1,200 academic related staff

200 academic staff based in the 13

Regional Centres around the UK

2000 other staff in design, administrative

and operational divisions like student

services

People and places

8,000 part time tutors

Exam venues in 90 countries

OU student population represents 35%

of UK part time higher education

More than 3,000,000 students ‘through

our doors’ since 1971

Tutorial SystemAllows scaling-up of Operation

Full time staff

8000 ALs

Materials can include…. High quality illustrated printed materials Course calendars CD-ROMs/DVDs for interactive exercises DVDs to illustrate case studies Websites and e-conferencing Web tools Study guides Residential schools Local tutors Assignments Examination

Quality Assurance

Multi skilled course team in course materials and curriculum development

Continuous assessment / evaluation by students and staff

Internal and external monitoring of tutors, assessments and examinations

OU Directly teaching students in… Austria Belgium Canada Cyprus Denmark Finland France Germany Greece

Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands New Zealand Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland

OU Partnerships in… Brazil Bulgaria – NBU China – PKU,

CCRTVU Czech Republic – OMI Ethiopia – Ministry of

Education + BC Hong Kong – OUHK Hungary – ECBS India – NIIT, Delhi

University Middle East – Arab OU

New Zealand – OPNZ

Romania – CODECS Russia – IIM LINK Singapore – UniSIM Slovakia – OMI South Africa –

UNISA, SBL, edegree

Spain – UOC Uzbekistan

Secret of success…

For 40 years…

And >1 Million graduates…

…?

Foundation stones

Course team – peer reviewed materials

Central infrastructure Regional infrastructure People in touch with people

The key

People… Goodwill… Tutors…

The key

The tutor His/her support for the student Facilitating student self help

People in touch with people system

Full time staff

8000 ALs

How do you support?

You’re the expert You’re the teacher You’re the educational adviser You’re the ‘critical friend’ (adviser) You’re the personal contact You’re the friendly face You’re the motivator

DL students unique problems

Studying alone At home Isolated Real life problems Fitting it in Study skills

Motivating students to study

Students study from home

Have contact via email/phone/occasional tutorials/web-tools

Questions: how do they measure their progress? how do they gain motivation to study? how do they avoid falling behind?

Pace and level

Students need to know that they are studying at the right pace the right level

Pace is partially addressed by using a calendar which says where students should be within the course

glyn

do we need so many calenders?

Assessment is important Why?

Outcomes of assessment matter to: self-esteem

Grades crucial to career advancement, further educational

opportunities, sponsorship Helps to schedule pace of study Provides motivation

Formative and summative assessment

summative assessment: contributes to final grade

formative assessment, module tests, saqs: helps student reflect and assess progress without

having to worry about influencing grade Tutor role – generating teaching activities and

sample answers

Module tests, saqs

Enables learners to monitor their understanding and progress

It should be diagnostic so feedback is designed to identify areas in need of improvement

Helpful if start early in the course

Formative assessment, activities, tests

Exists within course texts Self Assessment Questions (SAQ) and activities In Text Questions (ITQ)

Generated by tutors These are used to enable students to engage with

texts They interrupt reading in order to avoid the illusion

that simply reading the text is providing sufficient understanding

Summative assessment

Most OU assessment is summative

Students are highly motivated if their grade depends on doing the work

WIPO DL course exams

Forms of assessment

Assessment Multiple choice (module tests?) Tutor generated VLE tests?

End of course assessment Examination Dissertation: i.e. project report, essay

Possible tutor generated VLE quizzes Multiple choice

have to have a correct answer

Automatic marking possible in some cases can design automatic feedback to give guidance on

why students might have chosen the wrong answer

If designed well they don’t have to be set around numerical questions

They don’t test students ability to explain answers

OU continuous assessment

Tutor marked assignments (TMAs) usually but not always summative designed to:

assess and grade students as they progress on a course

provide feedback on progress and how to improve Typically 6 TMAs on a 60 point course and 4 on

a 30 point course

Tutor marked assignments

Key teaching tool for tutor WIPO DL courses: One2one and VLE forum Feedback as important as grade awarded Tutors spend about an hour marking and commenting

on each assignment Comments have to motivate as well as inform students

should if possible be positive must be clear as to exactly why and where marks were

lost

Assessment and learning

Some students are assignment focused they study the minimum required to pass each assignment

Many more are assignment conscious assignments have a substantial influence over their study

behaviour

Students spend most time on what is assessed Tutor role to help focus

The key role of tutors: what students expect contact at the beginning of the course providing constructive feedback giving online or face-to-face tutorial support facilitating the exchange of ideas between students guiding them in their studies and monitoring their progress helping them to prepare for an exam referring them to their regional or national centre for

support

The key role of tutors: what you provide You’re the expert You’re the teacher You’re the educational adviser You’re the ‘critical friend’ adviser You’re the personal contact You’re the friendly face You’re the motivator

You’re connected to WIPO and other tutors

Tutoring online

Tutor networking/sharing online

Managers should network too

The key role of tutors: what you provide You’re the expert You’re the teacher You’re the educational adviser You’re the ‘critical friend’ adviser You’re the personal contact You’re the friendly face You’re the motivator

You’re linked to WIPO, other tutors & students

Thanks and Qs