INFORMATION OVERLOAD TO KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT: TRANSFORMING TUTOR INDUCTION ON A SUMMER PRE-SESSIONAL
INTRODUCTION
Student numbers for summer pre-sessional courses have been on the increase at many UK universities, and, with this, an increasing need for summer English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tutors. This challenges the resources of many EAP centres to provide adequate and effective support and development for tutors, especially those transitioning into EAP, as often their first foray into the field is through intensive summer pre-sessional courses (Ding & Bruce, 2017). Whilst face-to-face (f2f) inductions are common, their effectiveness can be limited, as new tutors are often overloaded with information as they attempt to understand the practicalities and content of their new teaching contexts. As Alexander highlights, ‘a pre-sessional course provides
little scope to develop EAP expertise. Courses are short and very intensive, but induction is brief and often related to management issues rather than course content’ (2010, p. 5). Innovative ways are needed to maximise the effectiveness of induction resources to ensure the needs of tutors new to teaching EAP (NTEAPs) are met. This paper details an online, web- based element for summer tutor induction incorporating key practical information, context and theory, course content and tasks. It highlights the opportunities and challenges of this endeavour and considers whether an Online Tutor Induction (OTI), accessible prior to a f2f induction, can balance practical information with opportunities for tutor development, particularly focusing on tutors transitioning to EAP from other contexts.
