Tutorial system in higher education

1997

Revamping The Law Tutorial N ad ja Spegel and Ann Black* The lecture/tutorial format is the dominant structure through which law is taught in Australia. This article examines the learning environment o f the law tutorial, and suggests approaches aimed at maximising the learning experience for students, on the basis o f students' learning preferences. The discussion utilises Golay's learning pattern assessment in developing an understanding o f the different learning styles o f students. Based on this analysis, activities are advanced which advocate and implement jo in t tutor-student responsibility for learning within tutorials. It is argued that students will learn more effectively, and expand their learning experiences when involved directly in the structure, format and content o f the tutorial itself. Nadja Spegel is a lecturer and Ann Black a tutorial fellow at the TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland. In recent years they have published journal articles and presented conference papers on legal education 1

Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 2014

In an effort to remain both competitive and attractive to prospective and established students Higher Education institutions, both at a national and international level, are actively seeking innovative ways 'of improving the student experience and student progression/retention' (National Audit Office, 2002 in Stevenson, 2009, p. 117). This paper reports on an original approach to tutorial organisation to enhance the learning experience of undergraduate students on a practice based foundation degree at a UK university. Students' perceptions of tutorials prior to and post their active engagement with a Tutorial Stations system (TSS) within the classroom learning space will be shared and discussed. Whilst there is student calling to sustain usage of the system as part of other taught modules on the programme further research is needed to evaluate the impact of the system on improving student attainment.

Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, 2015

ENGR 141: Engineering Mechanics is a foundational course in the UVic Engineering Faculty that serves all of the engineering degree programs: biomedical, civil, mechanical, electrical, computer and software. Between the 2013 and 2014 offerings of the course, the ENGR 141 population grew dramatically, by well over 50%, necessitating changes in the course structure and methods of student assessment. In addition to addressing logistical challenges, the changes were designed to develop the students' confidence in their ability to wield fundamental mechanical principles independently and in peer-to-peer working environments. This was done by repurposing the tutorial sections of the course to create student driven exploration, analysis and solution of complex three dimensional mechanics problems. A series of 22 problems lying outside the domain of the assignment problem sets were addressed-two in each week of the tutorials. The assignments and midterms problems were constructed so that the impact of tutorial work on students mastery of the course Intended Learning Outcomes could be extracted. Under the new tutorial format, instructors monitored group dynamics, helped troubleshoot and provided encouragement. Presentation of solution strategies were made by select student groups each week. The current work describes the motivation for the changes made, observations made at implementation and some preliminary results from analyses of the impact of the new course structure on student mastery of the course learning outcomes. Important conclusions are that the student-led tutorials should be accompanied with additional instructor contact hours that provide opportunity for students to receive tutelage on a one-to-one basis and that individual testing should stress the procedures and tools emphasized in the tutorials. In addition, students found that assessments made through multiple choice testing contradicted values and principles being stressed in the tutorial and seminar sessions.

ECPS - Educational, Cultural and Psychological Studies, 2013

Higher education institutions have been confronted with demanding challenges regarding especially the quality of teaching and learning. The constant technological evolution, the rapid growth in the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge, and the constructivist views of learning bring into question the precariousness of rigid answers, and the kind of information conveyed by textbooks or crystallized lectureship. In addition, academic staff have been the target of an ongoing, widespread and sometimes superficial process of innovation, and the object of evaluation and criticism by the public and by a society that has changed profoundly in the last half century. This article discusses the challenges and the transformations in teaching and learning processes stimulated by the «Bologna Process». Pedagogical processes are intended to go beyond a mere feedback on the accuracy of a given assessment and should become exploratory, constructive and critical, an essential component in the development of a shared teaching and learning process. Reflecting on these issues is fundamental so that professors can gain new competences and implement new teaching and learning practices in their daily routines.

Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 2013

The study investigates factors in problem-based learning tutorial groups which promote or inhibit learning. The informants were tutors and students from speech-language pathology and physiotherapy programmes. Semi-structured focus-group interviews and individual interviews were used. Results revealed three themes: Responsibility, Time and Support. Under responsibility, the delicate balance between individual and institutional responsibility and control was shown. Time included short and long-term perspectives on learning. Under support, supporting documents, activities and personnel resources were mentioned. In summary, an increased control by the program and tutors decreases student's motivation to assume responsibility for learning. Support in tutorial groups needs to adapt to student progression and to be well aligned to tutorial work to have the intended effect. A lifelong learning perspective may help students develop a meta-awareness regarding learning that could make tutorial work more meaningful.

International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 2021

In higher education, one commonly used teaching approach that is intended to develop deep learning is that of the ‘Oxford’ tutorial—a personalized Socratic approach in which an instructor discusses course-related issues with a handful of students. Even though this conventional tutorial model is well supported in the literature, it may be neglected by research-driven academics and is expensive to operate. The latter issue has placed tutorials in the spotlight because higher education institutions are facing huge funding cuts worldwide. In light of these problems, a scoping review was conducted to explore financially viable alternatives to the Oxford tutorial for management education. Articles in highly ranked management education and development academic journals were collected by searching these catalogs and compiling a database of 48 articles published in four premier journals. These articles were reviewed by two independent raters in order to arrive at 8 alternatives to the Oxford...

Journal of Further and Higher Education, 2017

This article delivers an evaluation of a pedagogical intervention implemented within a firstyear undergraduate university module. The intervention, termed the student-led tutorial, is based on the concept of the tutorless tutorial and presents a platform for student learning which was designed to increase active learning prior to their participation in more traditional and tutor-led modes of university teaching. To evaluate the efficacy of this method, a mixedmethods approach to the data collection was undertaken. The sample for the study was drawn from students enrolled on a Sport Development degree programme at a university in the North West of England. The first component of this methodological approach entailed the repeat completion of a questionnaire by 62 first year undergraduate students on two separate occasions. The questionnaire was administered in two phases: a baseline wave at the beginning of a core module, and a secondary wave 16 weeks later. In addition to this, a focus group consisting of five students was conducted within two weeks of the second round of questionnaires to gain a more in-depth understanding of students' experiences and perceptions of the SLT model. The findings demonstrate that SLTs hold the potential to facilitate active learning and aid comprehension and understanding. Students particularly the social aspect of the SLTs which enables extended peer-to-peer interaction. The data suggests that students develop a sense of responsibility for and ownership of their learning, yet for the SLT mechanism to be effective, all members of the group must buy-in to the concept. Where commitment and contributions to the group process are uneven and inequitable, resentment and discord within an SLT may be fomented.

Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology / La revue canadienne de l’apprentissage et de la technologie, 2015

This case describes the two-year development of a set of interactive tutorials for students and faculty at a number of community colleges and one university in order to target information literacy skills among their students, primarily searching for and evaluating information found online. The tools created were published under a Creative Commons license and made available to faculty members and instructors for the purposes of both online and classroom delivery. The main problems encountered dealt with collaboration issues arising between participating institutions, the availability and skill sets of the main contributors and the beta testing of materials developed for the target clientele.

Int. J. Education Economics and Development, 2017

Most institutions of higher learning complain about poor pass rates and poor throughput rates. A common intervention is the tutorial system. While research has shown the positive impact of this intervention, yet tutorials alone do not produce the requisite results. This study focused on a university of technology in South Africa in order to determine whether there is a close relationship between attending lectures and tutorials and positive student outcome. A cohort of first year students of Cost and Management Accounting was chosen as the population. Data were collected using class attendance registers, tutorial attendance registers and students' results sheets. The results suggest that lectures are critical to student performance, but more importantly tutorials assisted some students thus supporting the notion that tutorials are a necessary intervention. This research is relevant to teaching and learning as it backs the argument for a structured tutorial program that supports regular classroom engagements.

2009

Following the documentation of significant and reproducible student content learning gains through the use of the Tutorials at the University of Colorado (CU), we seek to understand the meaning that students are making of this reform. Spanning five years of Tutorials use at CU, we investigate if students' perceptions of the Tutorials shift (become more or less favorable) after the Tutorials have become fully institutionalized. We find that they do not. We observe some semesters where the majority of students perceive the Tutorials to be highly useful for their learning, but this is rarely the case. We determine that students at CU generally do not like the Tutorials. Students' perceptions of the utility and enjoyment of Tutorials do vary significantly on a semester-by-semester basis suggesting that both the lead and secondary faculty members involved in a Tutorial course may influence the students' experience in Tutorials.

IEEE Transactions on Education, 2000

Traditional teaching styles practiced at universities generally do not always suit all students learning styles. Students enrolling in university courses are not always engaging in the learning for many reasons. New methods to create and deliver educational material are available but do not always improve the learning outcomes.

2014

Introduction: Problem-based learning (PBL) is an educational approach that reflects a resourceful way of thinking about teaching and learning. PBL is a student group-focused pedagogy that uses an inquiry-based tutorial approach to learning. PBL is characterised by small group that uses tutorials rather than lectures as opposed to a didactic, lecture-based curriculum and it is commonly used in medicine and the health sciences in combination with traditional learning methodologies, as it helps students to develop the higher order thinking skills required to be successful in the medical profession. Aims: This study has two aims. First, it examines the influence of four demographic characteristics (gender, age, educational level, home language) of the students in the MBBS medical program at Bond University, Queensland, on their perceptions of PBL, verbal interaction in PBL and academic achievement. Secondly, the results of the Bond University study was utilised to assess the feasibility of using a hybrid PBL approach that combine PBL and didactic teaching to a multicultural Middle Eastern Dental Hygiene program in Kuwait. In order to meet these aims, two measurement instruments and one data collection method, were used. The study was divided into two parts: Part A (survey) and Part B (utterance analysis). Methods: In Part A, a questionnaire was developed to canvas Bond University medical students' perceptions of PBL. The questionnaire canvassed Year 1-3 students cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In Part B, a validated instrument was used to record the instances of students' learning-oriented utterances. Students' end of year (phase) assessment results were collected and correlated with their learningoriented utterances. Results and Discussion: This study found that PBL is accepted as a learning experience regardless of students' demographic characteristics or backgrounds. Although the demographic characteristics of students in the present study did not impact significantly on their acceptance of PBL as a learning experience, one demographic factor (age) was found to impact on students' perceptions of and IV performances during PBL tutorials. To this end, younger students (16-20 years old group) perceived PBL positively more than did older students. Year of study was identified as another factor that could influence students' views and learningoriented utterances during PBL tutorials. First year students scored higher in two of the inventory subscales: group process and tutor practice. Moreover, Year 1 students engaged critically but constructively by asking higher order questions more than did their second year counterparts. The correlation between student and tutor learningoriented utterances was both weak in magnitude (less than 1) and direction (negative sign). No evidence of association was found between the students' verbal interaction and their academic achievement. The proposition that students with different demographic factors perceived PBL differently was proven incorrect in the present study. Conclusion: The inclination toward a more tutor-directive style might be due to the lower levels of prior knowledge and lower confidence of younger students. Tutors with content knowledge can, however, have a positive and negative impact on students' contribution. The findings of the current study of a diverse group of medical students suggest that hybrid PBL approach might be appropriate as an educational approach for the Dental Hygiene program (College of Health Sciences, Kuwait). V DECLARATION This thesis is submitted to Bond University in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. This thesis represents my own original work towards this research degree and contains no material which has been previously submitted for a degree or diploma at this University or any other institution, except where due acknowledgment is made.

This paper explores a new innovation in the traditional tutorial model of an Oxford education. The tutor and the tutorial have been a central part of the English tradition of higher education at Oxford and Cambridge Universities for nearly half a millennium. That tradition, though presently under siege from a British government obsessed with parsimonious legislation, has served the British people and the global academy with distinction. However, with the onslaught of educational Re-Inventing the Tutorial in an Internet World: An Enhancement of an Old English Tradition 523 technology, the increasing demand for a restructuring of the traditional model of tutor/tutorial matrix is daily being called for and, in this paper, there has been a carefully constructed response to that call. This paper explores the use of the internet as an enhancement of the traditional tutorial and draws from a five-year employment of what is now being called the E-Tutorial.

1998

Abstract Tutorials for large subjects entail a considerable inveshnent of teachingresources. What are we tryingto acconipIishin this enterprise? Studentsin a second-yearcore computingsubjec~ Infcmnation Systems3 (IS3), were surveyedto determinetheir perceptions and desires regarding the tutorial componentof the subjecL Surveyresults were matchedto final exam score. Students' level of pwticipationin tie tutorialwas the most significant factorin determiningoutcomeon the exam.

The Independent Journal of Teaching and Learning , 2021

Online tutorials (e-tutorials) have the potential to address challenges that higher education has grappled with for many years, and even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa, increased access to higher education by members of previously disadvantaged groups has caused severe strain on existing infrastructure and posed new challenges for lecturers in the classroom. E-tutorials do not only address infrastructure challenges related to the shortage of physical learning space in universities but also create a platform where students can engage with learning content outside the classroom. This study seeks to investigate the experiences of tutors engaged in an online tutorial programme at a rural university campus in South Africa. We deploy a qualitative approach to make sense of the experiences of the tutors for purposes of developing a focused online tutorial training programme. Data were gathered from selected participants using structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were analysed using the five stages of Salmon's e-moderating framework. The limitations of the study include the limited population sample and the rural context in which the study was conducted. As a result, the findings of the study may not be generalisable to other, non-rural contexts. The findings indicate that tutors need specific training to effectively facilitate learning in an online environment. 1