Online synchronous tuition in the distance learning context is thought to provide many benefits for the learner. These include opportunities to engage with peers as well as with teachers while enhancing learning and skills development. Our recent research has suggested that some of these opportunities are rarely valued by students (HEA Manchester 2017). We have further explored student perceptions of online tuition and systematically examined student learning behaviours in online classrooms. Our findings suggest that whilst students appreciate some of the benefits of this approach such as the ability to view recordings of online tutorials after or instead of attending live events many appear to have a set of expectations of successful online tuition which conflict with our view as teachers. In particular conflict are the teacher and student view of the merits of peer to peer learning.
The aims of this session are to describe the differences found between student and teacher expectations and experiences as applied to tuition in online settings and to discuss implications for this mode of delivery.
