Facilitating Learning Through Correspondence Tuition

1. Facilitating Learning Through Correspondence Tuition Welsh Assessment and Feedback Practitioner’s Event Tuesday 5 May 2009

2. Correspondence Tuition • Assessment • Individual tuition and personal encouragement

3. What is the function of correspondence tuition? • Encourage • Teach • Facilitate skills development • Attainment of learning outcomes • Individualise learning experience

4. What is the function of correspondence tuition? • Provide for flexibility in response • Explain evaluation process • Provide space for reflection • Feed forward • Self assessment

5. Tutor as assessor or facilitator? • Facilitator • Academic gatekeeper

6. Promotion of student ownership of learning • Engaging in dialogue • Providing criteria by which TMA is judged in advance • Providing feedback on how well the learning outcomes have been achieved • Requiring students to submit some form of self assessment

7. Correspondence tuition is useful when it … • Is returned promptly • Is supportive and encouraging • Gives benchmarking information • Does more than offer corrections • Is explicit

8. Correspondence tuition is useful when it … • Helps students to develop skills they don’t yet have • Models how to ‘tweak’ students’ own words • Helps students see how to take forward skills and ideas to next assignment • Encourages students to become skilful at self-assessment

9. What is not useful to students? • Illegible handwriting • Being patronised • Instructions that cannot be interpreted • No explanation for lost marks/why grade is as it is • No suggestions for how to improve • Late return of TMA

10. Evaluation of effectiveness • Reflect on own practice • Consult mentor (new tutors) • Monitor • Staff Tutor • Students

11. The OU in Wales18 Custom House StreetCardiffCF10 1AP029 2047 1019 www.open.ac.uk