Learning to teach at a distance: exploring the role of electronic communication

Abstract

The Open University is now training the third cohort of PGCE students since its inception in 1994. Approximately 1,100 graduates are trained to teach in primary and secondary schools each year on an 18 month part-time distance taught course. In addition to traditional text based materials, video and audio cassettes, students are loaned an Apple computer for the duration of the course complete with Clarisworks, a Stylewriter printer, a modem and the electronic conferencing system, FirstClass. In this paper some of the issues that have emerged to date will be explored in an attempt to illustrate the potential of this form of communication for teacher education both in traditional institutions and in distance education for beginning teachers and teachers in the early years of their career. These include the establishment of the system, the training and workload implications for staff, and the students’ perceptions based on questionnaire data gathered to date.