Online and Distance Education Commons^™

Cross-Cultural E-Mentor Roles In Facilitating Inquiry-Based Online Learning, Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke, Geetha Kulasekera, Malinda C.B. Kumarasinha, Charlotte Nirmalani Gunawardena

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper discusses how cross-cultural e-mentoring facilitated inquiry-based learning through community and knowledge building and the multiple roles e-mentors played in fostering transformative learning in protégées. A series of professional development programmes on “online tutoring and mentoring” were conducted by the Distance Education Modernization Project (DEMP) implemented by the Ministry of Higher Education in Sri Lanka. These programmes were conducted in the form of a blended online course using the MOODLE learning management system. The main aim of these programmes was to develop the capacity of faculty and other professionals who would be responsible for designing and delivering online programmes. …