Developing a Pedagogy of ITV Teaching Experience through a Teaching Circle

Abstract

Objective: Distance learning through the use of interactive television (ITV) has been a part of Social Work education for more than two decades. Amidst abundant proof of the overall successes of ITV programs, there are limited accounts of the pedagogical experiences and challenges encountered by faculty who are called upon to teach distant learning courses. This paper describes a pedagogy of ITV teaching experience derived through a teaching circle in a rural undergraduate program. Method: A teaching circle comprised of four social work faculty enabled data gathering through focused discussion and critical thinking of the ITV teaching experience. Results: Extended preparation, augmenting instructional design and technology to enhance interactivity and instructor comfort with the technology emerge as key observations. Pragmatic barriers like the technology and restricted face-to-face contact are workable challenges. Conclusion: Social Work education would need a sincere examination of the interface of synchronous and asynchronous teaching with sensitivity to context and course curricula.