1. Dr Mpine Makoe Institute for Open and Distance Learning
A student-centred approach – Incorporating students’ experiences in the development of a student support system
Dr Mpine Makoe
Institute for Open and Distance Learning

2. Outline of the presentation
Student Centredness
Student Support
Student characteristics
Demographics
Case studies
Experiences of distance learning
Unisa context
Open and Distance learning
Elements of student support

3. Student-centredness
Focuses on an individual student’s experiences, perspectives, background, capabilities and needs
Gives learners greater autonomy and control
Based on the needs of the learners than on teacher’s needs

4. Student-centredness
requires that students are seen as the main foci of the educational process and they are supported to take progressive responsibility for their learning. However, the pedagogy employed should enable successful learning establish links between students’ current meanings and new knowledge to be learnt, and encourage independent and critical thinking.

5. Student-Centredness Teacher-Centredness Approaches Dominant theory
Construct their own knowledge with the assistance of the lecturer
Discovery and independent learning
Centre of knowledge
Transmission of information from a knowledgeable individual to a student
Dominant theory
Constructivist and sociocultural
Behaviourist or Positivist
Processes
Personalised and individualised responses
Collaboration and dialogue among students and lecturers
Process-oriented instruction that focuses on authentic tasks and problem solving strategies
Directs and controls the learning processes
One-way communication from lecturer to students through study material
Study, memorise and mirror the correct view
Roles
Students are active
Lecturer is a facilitator, coach, mentor and a resource person
Students are responsible and accountable for their learning
Students are passive
Lecturer focuses on the content – sylabbi; discipline based

6. Student Support
tuition support in the form of detailed, individualised and timely feedback to formative assessment; regional tutorials in a medium (face-to-face, online, telematic etc) that is accessible to students; remedial interventions such as responsible open access programmes to help underprepared student achieve success in order to decrease the distance between student and teacher;
peer support in the form of institutionally arranged and supported peer self-help groups;
in-text support in the form of well-designed well-integrated courseware encouraging active learning and promoting dialogue between teacher and student in order to decrease the distance between student and study materials;
administrative support in the form of timely, accurate and accessible information from institution to students about all aspects of the learning process, from registration to graduation.

7. Elements of support systems
Registration
Tutoring
Counselling
Peer groups
Learning centres
Assessment
Educational technologies

8. Teaching and learning Study material
Teaching and assessment goes hand in hand – continuous assessment
Reveals students’ strengths and weaknesses and suggests where the student might need help
Feedback is very important

9. Age demographics

10. Age demographics

11. Johannes Age – 22 Urban areas Formerly from rural areas
Full time student
Son and a brother
Student since 2003

12. Mokgadi Mid 30’s Rural areas
Mother, wife, daughter-in law, community worker
Teacher
Student since 1993
Switched from degree to diploma

13. How do we support
our students?

14. Principles of student-centredness
Cognitive and metacognitive factors
Motivational and affective factors
Development and social factors
(McCombs and Vakili, 2005)

15. Student support services
Cognitively
Affectively
Systematically
(Tait, 2000)

16. books

17. Position Unisa as a leading provider of quality distance education
programmes through an academic product that
expands on its comprehensive character

18. thank you very much