Overview

Please start by watching the following short video:

It is in the early stages of a module that 'welcoming encounters' are likely to be crucial to beginning to create the conditions in which transactional distance can be reduced and a sense of social presence can be created. This unit provides you with the opportunity to reflect on the early tutor interventions that can help students to feel motivated to participate and to share their experiences whilst, at the same time, familiarising themselves with the modes of interaction and the types of activities that they will be expected to participate in as the module progresses. If you hope to develop an environment in which students are prepared to take risks and challenge each other, this early stage is likely to be crucial. Whilst it may be particularly important to focus on this in modules with a high proportion of students who are new to the programme, it is always worth revisiting these aspects at the beginning of each module.

We estimate that it will take you approximately 30 minutes to read through the content of this unit, plus however long it takes you to work through the activities and/or look at the additional resources.

Outcomes

After working through Unit 4, you should be able to:

Identify, describe and apply some strategies for setting appropriate expectations at the beginning of a module.
Reflect on the importance of developing and applying shared expectations for behaviour, language and communication in online discussions, and apply this to an activity focusing on netiquette or developing shared 'ground rules'.
Plan practical steps to model expectations.
Identify appropriate methods for your module of getting to know your students, and beginning to understand their motivations and how this might change over time:
- Monitoring individuals' approaches to discussion boards.
- Accessing analytics information available within the VLE to identify how individuals are taking part in different types of interactions.
Critically assess the timing of interventions in early discussions using this information, and of making decisions on whether to do this publicly or privately.

What next?

You will have the opportunity to analyse an introductory tutor announcement at the beginning of a module and consider the goals and possible benefits of the approach taken.