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* Corresponding author: tjoubreva@mti.edu.ru
Distance learning: the practice of intercommunication between a
tutor and students
Tatiana Zhubreva1, *
1Moscow Technological Institute, 199334, Moscow, Russia
Abstract. The conducted investigation has included monitoring of the provision of educational services in
a remote mode – distance-learning format for adult students at Moscow Business School (MBS). It is aimed
at finding best approaches for increasing a degree of “reaching” every student. The problem is that some
people, including potential candidates for distance-learning programs, blame distance education for the lack
of communication with teacher/tutor. They say that distance learning does not allow applying the principles
of customization to it; for some of them there is no difference between E-learning and distance learning.
The results of this action research show rather clearly that there are ways in the framework of distance
education to use an individual approach for each of the students by the tutors. Some types of
intercommunication with students in written form could be rather exhausting ones, but others could be
successfully carried out by a creative tutor
1 Introduction
The content of postgraduate education in Russia is
defined by the education reform that provides
educational institutions with more opportunities in the
development of educational programs, filling them with
content that matches the needs of potential and present
students. As a result, postgraduate education becomes
more flexible, able to respond not only to the needs of a
labor market, but also to the interests of an individual.
Nowadays, there are many business schools in Russia,
which suggest education in a distance format, and the
competition for students is rather strong. According to
the [1] Moscow Business School occupies the 74th place
out of 112 listed schools, while its program “MBA Start”
takes the 11th place out of 25 shown in this rating list
[2]. The program “MBA Start” has been introduced to
the educational market at the beginning of 2008, and it is
fully distant. During all the years, tutors have been
making every possible endeavor to meet the natural need
of students in individual communication with tutors.
Constant investigations, data analysis and continuous
improvement help to bridge the gap between the student
and the tutor.
2 Literature Review
2.1 E-learning vs Distance Education
Distance education around the world is widely used for
professional higher education, postgraduate programs,
and training. “Free access to knowledge is an important
tool for economic, cultural and social development” [3,
p. 29]. However, some people, at least in Russia, hardly
understand all the possibilities of this type of education,
there is no sustainable understanding of the nature of the
service. “Distance format is usually identified with E-
learning – exclusively electronic online self-study.
However, this is not quite correct, since E-learning is
just one element of the set of information transfer
technologies. Technologies can be different: E-learning,
face-to-face, correspondence, etc.”, specifies the Rector
of Open Business School Boris Fedorov in his interview
for the journal “Expert North-West” in October 2009.
[cited in 4]. The situation is changing, now we confirm,
“…the most important feature of a tutor and his/her work
is a highly individualized approach, which takes place
rather often and at times excels academic face-to-face
lessons” [5]. Distance education technology still requires
explaining and clear reasoning its positive features and
the ways of their augmentation.
In practice, in remote mode learning both short-term
and continued, long-term training programs are
introduced on educational market. As far as we make
focus on MBA programs it is worth to say, that all of
them split into two categories: self-study of materials
provided by school and a report on the work done
(usually testing, mainly in automatic mode) and self-
study with tutor support and active interaction with the
last one. In the first case, it is pure E-learning winning
some customers because of rather convenient, time and
money saving, format. The reality is that the majority of
potential and present students prefer the second category
– distance education with a tutor taking an active role,
close interaction with s/he, quick and meaningful
feedback. These become possible because of the Internet
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© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution
License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
technology; tutor and student need only a PC, tablet or
smartphone, with relevant software.
The advantages of the second variant of training will
be discussed below. The obtained results are based on
almost 10 years of experience in tutoring activities for
the “MBA Start” program at the Moscow Business
School and more than 25 years of experience as a teacher
at classical higher school. The tutor in distance education
does not just replicate book knowledge, but s/he is the
link between the technology and the audience and at the
same time – personality organizing information space.
Today in distance education, more than ever, the priority
is given to developing skills of independent searching of
information, exchanging of relevant information between
students, solving non-standard tasks and exploring a
creative approach to their solution. All these give
necessary professional knowledge and skills.
2.2 The Role of a Tutor in Distance Education
What is a tutor? Discussions with colleagues show
that the definition of tutor’s “official duties” are highly
ambiguous, despite the fact that in Russia the position of
tutor was formalized in the lists of educators.
However, the author of the article [6] in my opinion
rightly says, “...these descriptions do not allow
presenting a professional activity in its entirety – such is
the nature of this format”. In confirmation of the above
said and my own thoughts, I will give one more quote:
“In fact, there are a lot of definitions of ‘tutor’ … in
different cities and countries. Unfortunately, the term
‘tutor’ rather often is narrowed to denote a coach,
mentor, supervisor, assistant, thereby not realizing the
difference, …! [5]. I agree with the next saying – “Tutor
is historically a special pedagogical position, which
ensures the development of individual educational
programs of students and accompanies the process of
individual education...” [7].
Therefore, we can see the importance of tutorial work
in distance education, the importance of its continuous
improvement on the base of internal investigations and
communication with professional society.
3 Research Methods
All the investigations were conducted within the
phenomenological paradigm, which is concerned with
understanding human behavior; under this paradigm
“…social reality is dependent on the mind” [8, p.53] of
participants; the investigated phenomenon and its
investigator cannot be separated.
An analytical qualitative research approach was
adopted for finding the ways of increasing the level of
students’ involvement in educational process, and the
ways of overcoming negative features (weaknesses) of
distance education. According to [8, p. 11] in this type of
research “the researcher goes beyond describing the
characteristics, to analyzing and explaining why and how
it is happening’.
The population is students, distributed
administratively for the studying the materials of module
6, where I was designated as the leading tutor. In a
random sample were students who asked for tutoring
support and/or submitting written work on E-seminars.
The primary research data was collected via
participant observation “in a natural setting”, which
means full involvement of researcher “with the
participants and the phenomena being researched” [8, p.
159], when “the observer acts as both an observer and
participant” [9].
The method of action research was used for the sake
of constant improvement of teaching and learning
processes, finding appropriate balance between spent
time and the level of educational services customization.
It is a type of applied research, when a researcher makes
“a continuous change in a partly controlled
environment” [8, p. 65] with the aim to bring about a
change and to monitor the results; “and the researcher
and the research itself are the part of this change” [8, p.
64]. This action research had started approximately 5
years ago, and gave rather optimistic results described
below.
4 Findings
At Moscow Business School MBA students’
teaching is carried out in a remote format with tutor
support. Thus, a tutor is not only the organizer but also
the teacher working with each student, taking into
account the student’s background and business
experience, his/her personal characteristics, and the
potential, both an individual student or a group of
students as a whole. Individualization of the approach is
provided by an IT technology to support learning and
teaching processes (platform Mirapolis). MBS internal
documents, regulating the duties of tutors, are
encouraging the individual work with each student.
However, we have to take into consideration that in-
depth intercommunication is time consuming that is why
it is extremely important to find the balance suiting both
sides: tutor and student.
Depending on the type of lessons tutors work with
students differently: in the on-line mode – when
conducting webinars (public defense of final qualifying
works – diploma thesis – are also held in remote mode, if
the student has no opportunity to attend the defense in
person) and off-line – when conducting E-seminars. E-
seminars are held at forum branches with different
modes of access for a tutor and for students. During
module 6 students have an opportunity to take part in
three E-seminars (the participation is not compulsory).
Testing of knowledge is obligatory for all the students;
they have to pass three tests related to the main topics of
module 6 for completing it.
4.1 Knowledge Testing Procedure
Testing takes place without a participation of tutors
in an automatic mode. Each student has three attempts
for passing each test. Any student has the right to appeal
to a leading tutor of the module for clarification and
assistance in preparation for testing and in case of failing
the test. Leading tutor can monitor the process of testing
using the corresponding resource, where s/he can see the
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number of attempts used and the obtained by student
mark. S/he also has the right to mark the test upon
fulfilling by student so called “work on the bugs”.
During first year of program “MBA Start” running,
we could observe the situation when some of students
after failing their first attempt in a testing asked the tutor
to mark this test on the base of “work on the bugs”, as it
was much easier for them to pass the test.
MBS administration has made the correcting action:
it was prohibited for tutors marking “work on the bugs”
before students fail all the three attempts. It worked for
some time, but some tricky students found out that it was
easier and less time consuming to fail all three attempts
in the IT system of distance education, then make “work
on the bugs” at home looking into the textbook, and
receive good mark from the tutor. As soon as this mark
appeared in the IT system of distance education, nobody
could know how it was obtained. For some instance, it is
the violation of the interests of hard-working students.
The other drawback of this situation was that tutors were
overloaded with checking “works on the bugs” and
seemed to be underpaid for their work.
The next correcting action took place two years ago.
Since that time, those students who fail all three attempts
and submitted “work on the bugs” could not receive the
mark more than 62 point out of 100. Now we can
observe the situation when the majority of students
(approximately 98%) successfully pass tests applying to
a leading tutor only in case they need additional
explanations of study materials when preparing to pass
tests in the IT system of distance education. The good
result is obvious – tutors can trace not very successful
students and spend more time on E-seminars.
4.2 E-seminars
Everybody knows that a well-organized practice is
the most effective tool for deepening theoretical
education and applying theoretical knowledge to real
business situations, as well as it is a stimulus and base to
further professional growth. How in a remote format of
education students can obtain not only knowledge, but
also skills and to consolidate both? Usually, teachers and
tutors use the method of case analysis.
Assessing the case-study technology in distance
learning, V. A. Traynev with colleagues [3, p. 206]
wrote that it was the first of the technologies applied for
distance education. Problem based method in the form of
case studies plays a significant positive role in the
technology of distance education. Normally teacher or
tutor uses published cases, which “are designed to
expose students to the choice, challenges, opportunities,
and constraints faced by…managers and to help them to
develop the understanding, skills and judgment
necessary to function effectively” [10] in real business
world.
However, already at the very beginning of my career
as a tutor for adult students it became apparent to me that
students respond differently on the discussed cases. They
were more enthusiastic and aimed when the core of the
case was close to their background and managerial
problems they face as employees or business owners day
by day. They also prefer and demand cases on the topic
of the day. This observation allowed me to change the
nature of the tasks for E-seminars.
The first correcting action was undertaken regarding
tasks of the first E-seminar. Normally students were
proposed for the discussion of the standard case studies
for acquiring skills of analyzing business situations (this
is common practice). Then they were asked to write a
case of their own as a description of problem situation
they were involved in. The ways of solving such cases
and giving evaluation of their own actions and the
actions involved in the problem colleagues become more
involved. It promoted the increased number of
participants in the E-seminars as well as increased the
activity and students intercommunication. One more
advantage is in widening the information field about real
business especially for less experienced students.
The next corrective action is described below. The
best cases written by students of one group were
proposed for discussion in other groups (under written
permission of the authors). In contrast to standard cases,
where the result of problem solving is not obvious, in
hand prepared cases tutor knows how the problem was
actually solved. Students are usually very interested to
compare their own suggestions with the implemented
methods of problem solving. Again, it helps students in
the acquisition of skills for business administration.
During the third E-seminar we run a business game
aimed on searching creative solutions for real business
problems of the company that students work for or the
owner (co-owner) of which is one of the group members.
The format of the E-seminar makes it possible to discuss
up to three business situations (duration of E-seminar in
the off-line mode is about 8-9 days). About 15 (8 – 22)
students attended this E-seminar, it creates active
discussions and form live information field, in which
some students are able to share existing knowledge and
practices, while others get them and translate to their
own business challenges and options for actions.
To make this E-seminar we started to use rather well
known method of Six Thinking Hats invented by Edward
de Bono. Originally, it is a meeting of six or more
participants involved in searching for creative decision
of an existing problem. At least five research actions
were made before the most effective way of using the
core rules of the game were found out and implemented
in the practice of distance education. The result exceeded
expectations. Some students started using the method on
their working place in parallel with seminar and reported
the results, showing what works and what does not. In
this case students (and the tutor also!) have good
opportunity to learn more about the variability of
business and the ways of its administration.
4.3 Assignments and Diploma Thesis
Another stage of training is the preparation of a final
paper on the module. It could be either an assignment or
a research proposal. Individual assignments and
individual feedback on works performed also soften the
fact of “remoteness” of a tutor from a student. Nowadays
the intention of tutors and administration is to exclude
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assignments and make research proposals compulsory
for the students finishing module 6. It seems to be a
positive corrective action.
In addition to the electronic platform provided by
MBS, tutors and especially supervisors of diploma thesis
increasingly use cloud technologies and social networks,
creating a temporary communities of students. The
observation of this practice shows that in the cloud it is
very convenient to monitor the activity of each student.
It also helps stimulating this student activity (it is often
happens that students themselves “rush” lagging group
members), and to organize group discussions. Finally,
close intercommunication between a tutor and students
results in loyal Moscow Business School graduates.
5 Conclusions
Personal experience of training masters of business
administration at the MBS leads to the conclusion:
distance education lets you “bring” a student to a teacher
with proper organization of the learning process. It
happens when the management team and tutors
constantly undertake corrective actions, thus making
distance education no less individualized than the
classroom activities in the traditional format. Especially
when the creative approach of a tutor to his/her job
happens.
By observing students’ activities, their attitude
towards study materials and given tasks, a tutor is able to
see what is to be improved and what changes should be
implemented for increasing students’ interest and
involvement in educational process.
The conducted research clearly proves a
practicability of encouraging students for bringing the
business experience of their own to a group study. The
most optimal way for that is writing by them mini-cases
and assignments on hot topics. Combined efforts of
students and a tutor result in an increase of educational
services customization level in distance education.
References
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http://www.mbatoday.ru/university/stat000.htm
2. Ranking of MBA program. URL:
http://www.mbatoday.ru/university/stat001.htm
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information and communication technologies in
education (Moscow, 2013)
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http://www.mbatoday.ru/analytics/83.htm
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