Ο προσδιορισμός των ικανοτήτων αποτελεσματικής διδασκαλίας στο πεδίο της δια βίου εκπαίδευσης από απόσταση με την τεχνική Delphi

Abstract

In this paper, the design, implementation and results of a research aiming at identifying the effective teaching competencies in the field of distance lifelong education are presented. To this end, a three round modified web-based Delphi technique was conducted, supported by MOODLE. The research sample was a group of geographically dispersed expert educators and executives/ managers of General Secretariat for Lifelong Learning, the responsible organization for the public lifelong learning policy in Greece. A list of competencies retrieved from the literature was utilized in the first round. The expert participants identified nineteen competencies to be quite or very important for online adult teaching and a consensus about their importance was demonstrated in the third round. Knowledge of adult learning theory, assessment skills and coaching and feedback skills were indicated as the most important. The main difference to the previous research studies, which were related to the tertiary distance education field, was the identification of competencies related to the adult education, i.e. knowledge of adult theory and knowledge of learners' needs and characteristics. This study contributes (a) the list of the nineteen identified competencies which can be utilized to curriculum design on adult teacher education for online teaching and (b) the Delphi technique dissemination to the greek educational community as a “bottom-up” democratic approach which can utilize the expert practitioners knowledge for decision making in education policy.