The tutorial system of teaching aims to foster independent learning and encourage a spirit of enquiry. Much of its value arises from the independent preparation and study undertaken by the student before and after the tutorial itself.
1. Preparation should take from about 2 to 3 days (about 15 hours) for a BM tutorial to perhaps almost a whole week for an FHS tutorial (as much as 30 hours)
2. Clarify precisely the subject under discussion – ask the tutor if necessary and discuss this with your fellow students and others
3. If you have an essay to write, give attention at the outset to deconstructing the essay title – ask yourself, ‘what question(s) am I being asked to think about?’, ‘what does the essay title mean?’
4. Read as widely as possible on the general subject to begin with
5. Start with general texts on the subject – make notes on sources and ideas
6. Progress to reading a few (more than one) general, recent reviews of the subject (use the search term ‘REVIEW’ in PubMed if to find these if they have not been recommended) – again make notes
7. You may have been recommended a number of pieces of primary literature to read – often one or two examples to explore in depth. In each case ask yourself, ’how has this knowledge been acquired?’,’how do we know this?’; ’are the authors claims valid?’ – this should lead to to finding out exactly how the experimental work was done – make notes again
8. Search the literature yourself for more recent or other pertinent pieces of primary or secondary literature – PubMed
9. Read anything further of interest – again make notes
10. You’re now ready to start writing!!
11. Write the essay (or prepare your presentation) – which should be a scholarly, intellectually stimulating piece of writing. In so doing you should:
a. Plan, plan, plan!!
b. Write in your own words – use as few as possible and get them to say precisely what you mean
c. Deconstruct the title of the essay – directly answer the question or address the title
d. Organise a logical structure to your essay – a beginning, a middle and an end
e. The beginning (introductory paragraph or two) should succinctly capture the essence of the problem and tell the reader how you propose to tackle it
f. Cite evidence in support of your argument; remember to cite this in sufficient detail (i.e. discuss the experiment) to demonstrate its strengths and weaknesses – this is more important than stating the name of the authors and the year of publication!!
12. Remember to write in your own words – learning to express your thoughts precisely, saying no more or no less than you intend, is a fundamental part of acquiring the ability to learn independently. This will be hard work to begin with.
a. Your essay should be a scholarly piece of writing
b. You should therefore acknowledge the sources of your ideas and evidence that you cite; remember that if you think you have a good idea it is likely that someone has had that idea before
c. Directly quoting or otherwise using large parts of other people’s work without acknowledgment is plagiarism, and will not be tolerated.
13. Ensure that if you have to hand a piece of work in by a particular time that you do so; don’t miss deadlines! Plan your week to ensure that you meet your deadlines! If there is a good reason why you cannot complete a piece of work in time, you should let your tutor know as a courtesy.
It should be clear from the foregoing that if you have not prepared properly for a tutorial its value will be diminished. Moreover, not preparing fully is not just letting yourself down, but is a discourtesy to the tutor and much more importantly, to your fellow students. Remember that we are all in this together; the better prepared everyone is for each tutorial the greater will be the learning experience for all.
The tutorial itself is an opportunity to discuss the subject at hand in depth; to test ideas and evaluate ways of thinking about the subject.
- It often, but not always, as a starting point involves looking at a piece of writing on the subject produced by the student.
- Remember that this is not (should not be) a one way flow of dialogue or learning: students learn from each other; students learn from their tutors; and of course tutors learn from their students.
- Critical analysis is integral to the tutorial dialogue. This includes criticism of:
o the subject at hand
o the title of an essay
o other people’s writings on the subject (including those of the tutor!)
o and of course of the student’s thoughts and writing on the subject
- Don’t be afraid of constructive criticism; in any event, acquiring a true spirit of enquiry and an ability to learn independently should lead you to being your own biggest critic.
Your work should not end the moment that the tutorial ends! One of the most valuable intellectual skills to develop (certainly one that examiners value) is to think broadly across many subject areas, integrating ideas and concepts, and seeing connections between these. Therefore:
- Keep thinking after the tutorial, this should help you to develop an integrative approach to thinking and seeing relationships and connections between many subject areas. Always think in the broadest way possible
- Continue to refine and improve your writing skills, taking on board criticisms from your tutor, your fellow students and yourself!
- Continue to refine and improve your ability to explain your ideas verbally
- Follow up specific questions that arise in the tutorial with further reading
- Particularly at FHS, remember to up-date your review of the literature on this subject (perhaps 3-6 months later) so that you are aware of new work published, new ideas on the subject and new connections with other subjects
mjaw
7.x.2002