QUESTIONS 15-27
YOH
are advised to spend about 20 minutes on Questions 15-27 which refer to
Reading
Passage 2 below
READING PASSAGE 2
Characteristics of Open and Distance Learning
Open learning is generally seen
as a goal of
education, characterised by increasing
flexibility of methodological and
administrative practices in the interests of
maximising the options and support available
for students Distance teaching is characterised
by four things 1) the need to individualise
learning, 2) the use of a range of teaching and
supervisory strategies which are not primarily
face to-face, 3) the need to determine, in
advance of teaching, the activities,
interactions
and resources necessary to achieve the
purposes of a course unit or subject, and 4) an
openness to the educational possibilities
afforded by developments in computer and
communications technologies
R
• the complexity of the administrative
arrangements which support the learning
program
• the extent to which the lecturer can
influence the learning environment of the
student
The university believes that good teaching
requires that these distinctive characteristics be
recognised
n
The ma]or educational distinction between on-
campus and distance
teaching is the reliance on
group-based strategies in the former and the
obligation to individualise instruction in the
latter These individualised strategies also need
to be supported by a compatible administrate e
system For academics whose experience is
primarily of study on-campus, there is some
challenge in distance education, because the
assumptions which underpin individualised
learning may be quite different from those with
which they are familiar The Distance
Education
Centre provides support to
academics who are teaching students at a
distance with the aim of helping them
understand the different demands of this kind
of leaching
r
Perhaps the most critical element of this view
of distance education is the reliance it places on
students taking a greater degree of
responsibility for their own learning than is
generally the case for on-campus study This
expectation sits reasonably comfortably with
elements of adult
learning theories uhich
encourage respect for students and their
experience as well as the familiar patterns of
higher degree study
F
It is important to understand that there is a
general movement in higher education towards
the individualisation of learning generally Old
distinctions between internal and external
enrolments will have less meaning oxer time as
the range of resources and strategies in both
on-campus and distance teaching are
increasingly shared between these modes
While some administrative distinctions will
necessarily prevail,
the characteristics of good
teaching will increasingly be those which allow
individual students to pursue their studies in
flexible and supportive ways
Major differences between the teaching modes
result from the following factors
• the logistics of communication
• the degree to which the lecturer is able to
respond to student input
• the role of peer-group influence
• student access to learning resources
Questions 15-19
In the box below is a list of headings for the 5 paragraphs of Reading Passage 2.
Choose the appropriate heading for each paragraph
and write the corresponding
number i-vii in the spaces numbered 15-19 on the answer sheet.
Note that there are more headings than you need.
15. Paragraph A
16. Paragraph B
17. Paragraph C
18. Paragraph D
19. Paragraph E
List of Headings
i Anticipated changes in course delivery
ii Factors influencing the differences between on-campus and distance
teaching
iii Problems experienced by academics
iv Why support is important
v How academics adjust to distance teaching
vi Student responsibility
vii The main features of teaching at a distance
Questions 20-27
The major characteristics of on-campus and distance learning are listed below,
together with those features which are common to both modes. Sort them into
their groups and write either OC (On-Campus), DL (Distance Learning) or BM
(common to Both Modes) in the spaces numbered 20-27 on the answer sheet. One
has been done for you as an example.
Example:
Answer:
The lecturer does not see the students.
DL
20. There are opportunities for the exploitation of communications technologies.
21. The lecturer is able to treat the class as a group.
22. Academics may experience difficulty with a different mode of delivery.
23. The teaching methods are familiar.
