Educational forum and pedagogical mediation in distance education - analysis of the tutors’ participation in educational forums

Abstract

This paper analyses the participation of tutors in educational forums aiming to identify whether their involvement influences the students' one. Besides, this paper also analyses what kind of comments made by the tutor arouses a greater participation of the students in forums. The research context is the discipline English Language III B - Written Comprehension and Production. The data collection occurred in three forums of three tutors, totalizing nine analyzed forums. The results demonstrate the importance of a challenging and questioning participation of the tutor to maintain the participation and interaction of the students.