Facilitator not teacher: a role change for tutors in open learning nursing education

Open learning is now an established, if rapidly changing, part of post-compulsory education and training in the United Kingdom. It has also developed in significant ways within nurse education. A key role in successful open learning is that of the tutor. Differences between the activities of teaching and facilitation are defined and ways of mapping the tutor's role within these are suggested. Differences in approach can be clustered around the topics of: the locus of control; learning methodology; the learning context and media; and the curriculum. These are discussed in turn to elicit what are the key issues for tutoring in relation to each one.