Informal staff development via a centralised tutoring system

Informal staff Informal staff development via a development via a centralised tutoring centralised tutoring system in an online system in an online lecturer education lecturer education programmeprogramme

Aileen McGuiganUniversity of Dundee

ECER Cadiz 2012

Will technological developments continue to march on and multiply at the current rate? Will the technology we’re using today still be in use next year? How can we equip our teaching staff to be ready for the challenges ahead?

All… staff of higher education institutions should be equipped to respond to the changing demands of the fast evolving society (European Ministers

responsible for Higher Education, 2009:2)

blog

email

micro- blog

method

TQFE-Tutor for professional development:framework

strengths weaknesses

transparency&consistency

collegialityneed for adherence to FAQs

need for strong team ethos

knowledge of cohort

time saving &resilience

over-dependence on email

increase in admin

transparency & consistency

‘it’s not the secret garden syndrome’

‘on another distance learning programme I work on, very part-time and there it’s very much that each member of staff has their module and their marking… people want to feel they’re not exposed in any way, but there’s no real benefit in learning from that’

‘there’s a transparency to what we’re doing’

collegiality

‘you do feel in touch. Although I’m not up [in Dundee] much, I do still feel in touch with the rest of the team and there is contact’

‘it does keep you… part of that bigger picture’

‘in the spirit of a group of people … a feeling of unity’

Knowledge of cohort

‘you see more of issues from other perspectives… it’s like we’re all appreciating what each other are dealing with’

‘we’re all responsible for the full cohort and their problems or issues, their successes’

‘it is an advantage for all staff to see learners engaging and responding online and helps to motivate tutors as well as benefiting those participants who want the answers’

time saving and resilience

repetition avoided

one-to-many

peer collaboration

cover for absent staff

alleviates stress for staff

weaknesses

need for adherence to FAQs

need for strong team ethos

over-dependence on email increase in administration

conclusions

opportunities for informal cpd

social learning opportunities

sense of belongingness

time savings resilience

finally

TQFE-Tutor: supporting new ideas for a new kind of academic

any questions?

Aileen McGuiganAileen McGuigan, MA, PhDProgramme Director, Teaching in the College Sector

School of Education, Social Work and Community EducationUniversity of Dundee

email: [email protected]: +44(0)1382 381496

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