Summary of reports CED UCM staff wrote about their visits to UKZN studycentres at Bergville and Msinga – 24 March 2007

Participants were asked to comment on their observation of contact sessions, their discussions with tutors and their discussions with students. Finally, they were asked to make a list of what they learned that they could ‘take back’ to Mozambique.

Students

Many participants commented on the commitment of the students to their distance education study. They remarked on:

  • High student motivation - even though there are difficulties with DE study (long distances to travel, other family commitments etc);
  • Students seeing the course not only as a way to upgrade but a way to improve their performance as teachers;
  • Students’ understanding of the DE model and its needs and how this helps them succeed;
  • Motivation being increased by materials being delivered on time, and good collaboration between students.

However, on the negative side, they said that

  • The students don’t have the opportunity to work in groups outside of contact sessions.
  • There are some problems with assessment.

Participants also noted that:

  • Curriculum definition must start by research into the target group.
  • There are many more women students in the KZN programmes than in Mozambique (80% of students are women).
Tutors

The motivation of the students was seen as related to

  • The skill/commitment of the tutors;
  • The fact that tutors are trained to listen to and respect different students’ experiences;
  • Tutor training – to act as tutors, rather than teachers
  • Using tutors who have previously gone through the course and can motivate students (it makes the students confident that they can reach their dreams);
  • Employing tutors who live and work in the community where the centre is, but with university staff responsible at different levels for the quality.

More than one participant spoke about the fact that the circle of communication between the module coordinators, tutors and students really works.

Materials and contact sessions

Participants commented favourably that

  • there was no lack of material (hand-outs, books and guides)
  • different instructional media were available to students (eg video cassettes)
  • materials were received before contact sessions, so that students can prepare and therefore participate in the sessions.

They also noted that the contact sessions

  • have lots of activities – opportunities for discussion in groups [this helps to reduce the isolation of DE study] in which tutors make the students feel free to talk
  • are used to facilitate interaction between students in order to solve the students’ own problems

DE delivery is actually an advantage – students bring different experiences from different contexts to share in the sessions, and the university goes to the students through the centres.