Overview
MDDE 650: Tutoring and Student Support in Distance Education and Training introduces variations in tutoring and student support as well as critical concepts and issues. Students will critically analyze concepts, issues, and problems in the provision of tutoring and student supports.
Practices and plans for the provision of tutoring and student support services will also be addressed. The course concludes by having students create a plan for tutoring and student support in their own organization or in an educational environment of their choice.
Outline
The course is organized in three units as described below.
Unit 1: Concepts and Conceptual Frameworks
This unit introduces concepts and conceptual frameworks that are relevant to tutoring and student support systems. Students are encouraged to explore these and other concepts further as they relate to their own interests and concerns.
Unit 2: The Elements and Administration of Tutoring and Student Support Systems
In this unit, students will analyse how tutoring and student support systems in distance and workplace learning are used to fulfill functions associated with both academic and non-academic support for a variety of types of students using local, regional, and/or central services. Students will examine the roles, functions and elements of tutoring and student support systems and explore how or when they require adaptations to deal with circumstances associated with curricula, clients and technological systems. Students will also examine the organization, administration, and evaluation of tutoring and student support systems.
Unit 3: Designing a Tutoring and Student Support System
In this unit students will focus on the development of a tutoring and student support system for curricula and clients they have identified. The activities will focus on how the elements might be organized, what elements may be included, and how the system may be assessed, evaluated and revised.
Evaluation
Students will be graded on the basis of three assignments and course participation.
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Complete a review and critique of a selected article. | 20% |
| Assignment 2: Complete and present a review and critique of a selected article. | 40% |
| Assignment 3: Students will prepare a tutoring and student support plan for a population of students in a program of their choice. | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
Materials
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
Crawley, A. (2012). Supporting online students: A guide to planning, implementing and evaluating services. First Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Simpson, O. (2012). Supporting students in online, open and distance learning. London: Kogan Page Ltd.
Other Materials
Study Guide and Readings.