Exploring an assessment module in distance education at the University of Pretoria

Abstract

The study aimed to describe many aspects of a Distance Education (DE) assessment course at the University of Pretoria. The researcher wanted to examine how the course evolved from pre- to post-COVID-19. This included looking at the content and assessment of the module, as well as the pedagogy and technology used, using the TPACK framework. The researcher used a descriptive qualitative case study, with semi-structured interviews with the tutors and administrators of DE and Google Form surveys for the 30 students that took part. They commented on the DE management, the Blackboard LMS, the tutors' pedagogy and the course’s content and assessment. The management of DE was described as successful, and the students liked the content of the assessment module as well as the assignments and pedagogy of the tutors. The students and tutors suggested possible improvements in the content and assignments. The Blackboard LMS was described as easy to use, but some students experienced problems with connectivity and lack of data.