Exploring Tutor Experiences of 21st Century Skills during and after COVID-19: An ODeL Case Study

Abstract

In this study, the researchers argue that the changes in 21st-century socio-economic and educational environments have significantly determined the requisite tutor skills in the 21st century. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge of technology education has become an additional determinant for effective teaching in a 21st-century environment. This study aimed to interrogate tutor experiences concerning teaching approaches and pedagogies adopted during this period. The pedagogical expectations now demand that tutors integrate technology into teaching as well as transform the traditional teacher-centred to a learner-centred pedagogy. It is imperative that tutors should not only embrace pedagogical strategies involving ICT but also align the teaching-learning strategies to subject knowledge. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed for this study with a sample of five part-time tutors and two Tutor Coordinators who were purposefully selected to be interviewed online following an open-ended interview schedule. The study was anchored on the following questions: What were tutors’ teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how did they transition to online tuition? The findings depict the need for comprehensive training of tutors on digital literacy, combined with integrating pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge. The researchers applied the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as the theoretical lens to interpret the data. The findings should contribute towards bridging the literature gap but also equip the 21st-century tutor with the requisite skills for the complex teaching and learning environment dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic.