UA PROFESSOR DEVELOPS MENTORING SYSTEM TO IMPROVE INSTRUCTION ON THE WEB

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A study conducted by William Brescia, UA assistant professor of educational technology, showed that applying traditional mentoring techniques to Web-based learning can enrich the learning process and guide students to engage in more reflective class discussion. Brescia developed a telementoring taxonomy as an easily accessible system to assist instructors in guiding class discussions on the Web.

"By combining the success of mentoring with a Web-based course, instructors can be even more successful with threaded discussions than with traditional classroom discussions," Brescia said.

The professor leading the class that was studied had assumed that the on-going discussion on a topic, known as a threaded discussion, would offer him an opportunity to ask good questions. Through using systematic telementoring, he discovered that he could do much more. With the list of telementoring techniques posted next to his computer screen for easy reference when drafting his messages, he was able to "organize the discussion, challenge students to participate in a reflective manner, and support their good ideas."

Brescia notes that almost every society has used trusted counselors or mentors to pass important lessons on to learners. He suggests that each student who is working alone in a Web class can have a one-on-one relationship with the instructor that is similar to the traditional mentoring relationship. While the students are actually participants in a group discussion, Brescia found that individual students responded to telementoring posts directed to other students as if they were directed to themselves.

The strategies of the telementoring taxonomy fall into three broad categories of mentoring behavior: coaching through participation, providing structure, and supporting individual students.

Coaching techniques include modeling good analysis, clarifying discussion through bringing in new links or information, challenging the hypotheses put forward by students, and questioning students’ ideas and conclusions. The "Providing structure" strategy offers three segments titled "Frame tasks," "Summarize," and "Encourage reflection." When engaged in the strategy of supporting individual students, the professor returned the discussion to ideas that had not been pursued by the group or defended good points in a discussion or conflict.

The class professor suggested the addition of simple feedback, for example, making statements such as "good post." Although the simple feedback contradicted the researcher’s initial guideline that telementoring messages explain why a post is good, it appeared that the students responded well. They understood a positive response to one student’s contribution to be affirmation that the discussion as a whole was going well.

The class professor used almost all the telementoring strategies at one time or another in the class discussion and was enthusiastic about the techniques. While he most often helped students "Frame the task" for the discussion or used the technique called "Nourish good ideas," he believed all the strategies fostered reflection. He suggested that more guidelines be provided for instructors offering their first Web-based class.

Brescia’s study was published in the October issue of the Journal of Public Affairs Education.

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