Reflecting on tutorials
In the subjects I teach, I usually take 3 - 4 tutorials, which means 3 - 4 groups of approximately 24 students at different times. This is unlike classroom teaching where one has the same group of 30 or so children. One reflects on what one can improve on, and makes adjustments for future lessons.
What has fascinated me about the university teaching process is how each tutorial group can be so different. They can be different dynamically, in terms of contribution, volume, feedback, and interest. Individuals can make a notable difference, especially those with confident personalities. The same 'lesson' that goes well in one tutorial may not go so well in another. This is despite my former premise/assumption that the third or fourth tutorial would be the 'best'. (Third time's a charm ...) The setting, the context, the demographic of students are all similar, yet I am continually surprised at how differently a tutorial can play out, despite me, as the facilitator instigating the same process.
In taking time to reflect on 'what went well', and 'what I would do differently next time', etc., the sound pedagogy of reflective practice is evident. But what I must make allowance for is the diversity that a group of people may have, separate to another group. This brings a unique richness, which has proved to be a fascinating difference evident in tertiary teaching.
posted by Nicola @ 5:44 PM
1 Comments:
Huge factors I found affecting the flow and quality of my tutorials were two external factors I had no control over:
1. later evening tutes where the participants had already been working all day and were tired when they arrived for class; and
2. tutes with a high proportion of students with heavy part time work commitments, who were often younger than the first cohort, but with less time management skills so appeared to have done much less reading prior to the tutes. It was not unusual for me to talk to struggling students working in excess of 30 hours a week while trying to carry a full time uni work load.
So sometimes the time the tutorial is scheduled, as well as the participant work profiles, can
have a significant effect between groups being taught the same material by the same person.
While we can adjust the pace and content [breaking it up, allowing short break or interspersing something distracting and fresh to enliven a dullish but unavoidable slog] these external factors appear to be having more of an impact each year.
What I find interesting is the reason the full time students give me for their heavy allegedly part time work commitmnts - it is invariably to pay for mobile phones, relatively new cars [not the bombs we drove in between catching public transport], clothes, restauant meals, alcohol, entertainment and overseas travel. If it were rent or food, it would be more understandable.
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