(812.pdf) COULD YOU HELP ME WITH TOUCH-SCREEN? E-TUTORS AND COACHES' ROLES IN A TEACHERS' BLENDED LEARNING EXPERIENCE

摘要

Since many years the growing use of new technologies in professional development trainingcourses has redefined teaching and learning approaches, underlining the core role of some neweducators figures, such as e-tutor and coach. These profiles are assuming more and moreimportance in all training initiatives addressed to adult workers in different sectors; usually,however, the two terms are wrongly used as synonymous and it is not clear what each of thesefigures are expected to do. The paper aims to better outline the features of e-tutor and coach,presenting an evaluation case study referring to an Italian governmental program for teacherprofessional development aimed to improve the educational practices innovation through thediffusion and the use of interactive whiteboards (IWB) in Italian primary and secondary schools.The analyzed blended training course has involved almost 400 teachers expected to cover a roleof e-tutor and coach and over 20,000 teachers as learners. The paper, first of all, exposes theselection criteria for the 400 subjects, describing their main features, and, then, focuses on theactivities realized during the training paths, distinguishing between those that connote them as etutorsor as coach. These subjects, in fact, were expected to play the role of e-tutors during thefirst steps of training course, i.e. during the “methodological training phase”, and the role of coachduring the following steps, i.e. during “didactic activities' support phase”. Basing on theirevaluations and opinions expressed trough a web survey and online focus group, it will be deeplyanalyzed in which ways the two different roles of e-tutor and coach have been covered, both inpresence, both online. Data show that the role of e-tutor has especially implied a mediationbetween learners and training content, promoting and coordinating the relationships amonglearners and helping them to experiment the use of the IWB in classroom. On the other side, therole of coach has required more “interventions on the job”, supporting learners in the planning,realization and conduction of activities in classroom, stimulating reflexive practices on didacticmethodologies and styles, identifying resources and instruments more suitable for innovative praxisand evaluating learners' achievements. Finally, the paper identifies which elements have facilitatedor have hampered them toward their effective support to learners helping to better distinguishtutoring and coaching roles and competences.