In the context of e-learning, Seufert & Euler (2005) distinguish between e-tutoring, e-moderation and e-coaching. E-tutoring refers to helping students with exercises (in particular in the context of e-instruction). E-moderation refers to organizing on-line group work, and e-coaching refers to coach students in more project-oriented designs.
Coaching is the thread running through the entire apprenticeship experience; diagnosing problems, providing feedback and generally overseeing the learning (Gottlieb, 2000), retrieved 15:38, 29 October 2007 (MET).
From a learning psychological point of view, coaching refers to teaching strategies that will facilitate learners' efforts to construct knowledge through interaction with experience and reflection. So - basically - the idea is to help the learner engage in relatively open-ended learning activities. One form of coaching is mentoring.
Class, Barbara & Daniel K. Schneider (2004) Tutorat, socio-constructivisme et capitalisation des connaissances dans un portail communautaire utilisé en éducation à distance, paper presented atColloque sur "L'industrialisation du tutorat en formation à distance". [1]
Gottlieb, Marvin (2000). Foundations of E-Learning, Communication Project Magazine, (3) 1. HTML, retrieved 15:38, 29 October 2007 (MET).
Sabine Seufert, Dieter Euler (2005), Learning Design: Gestaltung eLearning-gestützter Lernumgebungen in Hochschulen und Unternehmen, SCIL-Arbeitsbericht 5 September 2005. [2]