D. Noreen Ek, R.P.N., B.A. (Spec.), M.A., Ph.D
Assistant Professor, Brandon University

The author has been challenged, first in the conceptualization of how one teaches counselling and assessment courses by distance and second, in how to make the experience qualitatively equivalent for on and off site students. Both courses, one would think, depend on a highly interactive mentoring of the student by the professor in a face to face format. Despite the furor evident in the wake of internet based delivery of courses, the reality faced by many education programs is that distance delivery is the fastest-growing segment of the higher education industry, and students, particularly working adults, are flocking to such programs (Confessore, 1999). The Bachelor of Science in Psychiatric Nursing Degree Program is no exception.

The student’s experience with computer’s and their individual access to computer’s with adequate configuration and processing speeds are increasingly essential elements of distance education. Difficulties which students have experienced will be discussed with a view to the negative impact this has on subsequent course evaluations. It is essential to support students prior to entry into Distance Delivered courses to ensure a positive experience. The nature of the support will vary according to type of course delivery as well as course content and demand on the student’s computer system capacity. A discussion of this in relation to the above courses will be presented.

Appeal level so essential to any product being sold will also be examined as it pertains to distance education. How we can increase the interest of our lectures; increase the applicability and transfer of the content of the course into real life situations and touch the lives of the students which are potentially a great distance from us. Attentional capacity will be of increased concern, as more and more courses are offered on the World Wide Web, how do we get the students away from the computer and interacting with others. This is especially important when one considers that training counsellors, will demand that there be an interactive element. What is the best way to achieve this when the course is delivered on the web and the course content is focused on very sensitive interactive interpersonal skills, indeed, highly complex psychotherapeutic skills.

How do we incorporate variety in our approach and what methods are most appropriate in relation to course content. (text based, web based, audio conferencing and combinations thereof). Are there issues related to workload and copyright that need to be addressed by university labor agreements which may differ substantially by method chosen for delivery. Which methods do the students prefer; how we incorporate student involvement (the use of video taped exercises which prior students have completed; student presentations within the web site delivery) will be discussed.

Underlying processes such as individual learning styles (auditory vs visual learners) will be discussed in relation to the above methodological issues. A student’s attributional framework (internal, external, global or stable) for their success and their evaluation of satisfaction with the course format will be tentatively explored.

Implications for improvement of distance delivered courses will be an important outcome of the presentation/discussion. The experiences related to two courses, each in their infancy in terms of distance education involving assessment of children and counselling theory and practice will provide a backdrop to the above discussion.

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