Post-graduate supervision : cycle one in an action research project

Abstract

This research-in-progress paper reports on post-graduate supervision in an open and distance teaching context. The students are registered for the Masters (with specialisation in the teaching of English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL)), a field that is especially relevant in Kachru’s Outer and Expanding Circle teaching contexts (Kachru 1990) and thus the majority of the students come from as far as Namibia, Zambia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. The entire interaction frequently takes place in cyberspace without the parties having met in person. The research is an action research project with the status quo representing the first research cycle. The aim is to describe the status quo, which includes a recommended text that provides e-mail enrichment and a system which operates using tutorial letters, extensive e-mail interaction and track change commentary on submitted work. The number of graduations attests to the fact that the system works. However, this action research project is based on the belief that the learning environment must be enriched. The aim is to describe cycle one and then to enter the phase of critical reflection. In cycle two improvements will be devised to enrich the on-line learning environment so that fewer students become lost in transmission.