Tutoring Workshop
Schedule:
• Materials at Oxford
• Tutorial organisation and preparation
• Giving a tutorial
o Teaching style discussion
o Refreshments
o Group dynamics discussion
• Course assessment and feedback structure
Dr Susie Speller
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Materials at Oxford
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The undergraduate course structure
Components of teaching
What is special about Oxford
Examinations
Summary
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Undergraduate Course Structure
Materials Science (MS) course
Year 1 MS1 – Structure of Materials
MS2 – Properties of Materials
MS3 – Transforming Materials
Maths for Materials and Earth Scientists
PRELIMS EXAMS
Year 2 1. Structure and Transformation of Materials
2. Electronic Properties of Materials
3. Mechanical Properties of Materials
4. Engineering Applications of Materials
NO EXAMS
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Undergraduate Course Structure
Materials Science (MS) course
Year 3 Options Courses
Students choose at least 8 out of 16
Team Design project
Characterisation / modelling practical module
FINALS EXAMS (4 core papers plus 2 options papers)
Year 4 8 month research project
NO WRITTEN EXAMS
* Materials, Economics and Management (MEM) students follow the
MS 1st year, but cover the core Materials over the 2nd and 3rd years
along with Economics and Management papers. They are examined
on one options paper in 4th year.
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Teaching Components
3-tiered approach
• Lectures
- Scheduled for the mornings
- Introduce the material on the syllabus
• Tutorials and classes
- Typically 2-3 students
- In-depth discussion of the topics
- Aids understanding
- Continual assessment of individual students’ understanding
• Laboratory work
- Each practical scheduled to take 3 afternoons
- Tie in with lecture courses
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
What is special about Oxford ?
… Colleges
• Students are admitted to the University for first degree
courses by the colleges
• The colleges are responsible for academic progress and
providing tutorial teaching.
• Decisions on progression and change of course are taken
by the college
• Permanent academic staff usually have joint appointments
as University lecturer and college subject tutor
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
What is special about Oxford ?
Each academic year consists of three 8-week terms
• Michaelmas Term (MT):
Oct-Dec
• Hilary Term (HT):
Jan-Mar
• Trinity Term (TT):
Apr-June
Term dates can be found at
http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/university_year/dates_of_term.
html
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Examinations
Internal Exams (Collections)
• Generally set by the colleges at the beginning of each term to test the
students on the previous term’s work
• Encourages students to revise the work regularly
• Provides information for the tutors and college about their progress
• Some central departmental collections take place throughout the course
(beginning of Hilary Term (HT) and Trinity Term (TT) for 1st and 2nd years;
beginning of Michaelmas Term (MT) for 3rd years)
Public Exams
• Preliminary exams (Prelims) – at the end of 1st year
• Finals – at the end of 3rd year
• Set by the appointed examiners (a subset of the lecturers) although
each lecturer submits a selection of possible exam questions on their
course
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Summary
• Responsibility for teaching is split between Colleges and the
Department
• Important role of tutorials within the teaching system
o Main aim is to aid understanding
o Should be a discussion rather than the tutor just giving
the solutions
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Tutorial Organisation and Preparation
Starting point
• Course Handbook - syllabus
- reading list
• On-line lecture list (www.materials.ox.ac.uk/teaching)
• Usually one tutorial per 4 lectures
• Timing of tutorials - should aim to follow lectures
- timetable provided by college subject tutor
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Arranging Tutorials
The college subject tutor usually devises a timetable outlining which
week each tutorial should take place
this is flexible
The actual time of the tutorials is arranged directly between you and
the students.
• Tutorials must fit around the lectures and practical classes
• Decide who initiates choosing tutorial times
• Easier to arrange all tutorials at the beginning of term
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Arranging Tutorials
Where to give tutorials
• College – may be inconvenient for you
• Departmental meeting rooms
- may be available (booked through Lyn Richmond on (2)73777)
- bookings might be moved or cancelled at late notice
Submission of written work
• Ask students to submit work to reception or your own pigeon hole
• Most tutors ask for the work to be handed in the day before the tutorial
- you can ask for it earlier if you need more time
• If the students submit by 1pm, the work will be delivered to your pigeon
holes by 5pm (usually at about 3pm)
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Preparation
• Familiarise yourself with the lecture course
• Syllabus and reading list in the Course Handbook
• Handouts, question sheets and answers are usually
available from the Academic Administrator
• Give yourself plenty of time as it may be necessary to
contact the lecturer directly
• Decide what questions to set the students
• Do not need to use all lecturers’ questions or can select
some of them
• Tell the students at least a week in advance, which
questions to attempt
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Marking Written Work
• Every tutor marks written work differently
• Detailed comments ?
• Grade ?
• No rules, but worth checking if college subject tutor
has any preference
• Give yourself plenty of time to look at the students’ work
• tailor tutorial to students’ needs
• How ? – covered in next session
• Make written comments legible
• Keep a record of students’ performance
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Problems
If you have any difficulties with the courses or question sheets
don’t be afraid to ask!
• Lecturer
• Other tutors
• List of who teaches what given in handouts
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Giving a Tutorial
• 3 video clips showing contrasting tutorial styles
• Group dynamics
• Expectations
• Problem solving
• Time management
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Group Dynamics
Discuss how to handle …
• students with very different abilities
• an overconfident student
• a very quiet student
• a student who hasn’t submitted much work
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Expectations
* They wont be able to do it all
• Essay questions
• Have they read around the subject or just regurgitated
the lecturer’s notes ?
• Numerical questions
• Have they correctly assessed the problem ?
• Can they technically solve it ?
• Problems often occur with applying the equations
derived in lectures to real situations
• Talk to other tutors of the same subject
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Problem Solving
It is very important to help students develop problem solving skills
• It is now the case that questions on A-level Physics must not
depend on the student taking A-level Maths
• We need to teach the students how to couple the science with the
maths
Physical phenomena
Idealised conceptual model
of relevant features
Explanation of mathematically
posed problem
Mathematical
formulation
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Example
Thermodynamics, 1st Year, MT, A. Kirkland (Part II, Q3)
The vapour pressure over solid Magnesium was measured as a function of
temperature:
Change T
into K
T/C 424
p/Pa 1
456
3
496
10
Calculate the enthalpy of sublimation.
Clausius Clapeyron
dP PH sub

dT
RT 2
535
30
584
100
Should P be in
Pa or atm ?
 P   H sub  1 1 
  
ln  2  
R  T2 T1 
 P1 
ln P 
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
 H sub
 const
RT
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Tricks of the Trade
Encourage the students to:• Draw a picture
• Check dimensions
• Check order of magnitude
• Check signs
As a tutor:• Encourage different solutions
• Look at similar problems posed differently
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Time Management
• Typically 1 hour long
You can’t cover all questions in detail
• Plan what you are going to spend time on – but be
prepared to be flexible
• Don’t be too ambitious
• Give students enough time to think and participate in
the discussion and also make good notes
* It takes experience to get it right
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Assessment and Feedback
• College reports
• Disciplinary procedures
• Revision classes
• Personnel involved in the organisation of
undergraduate teaching
• Questions ?
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
College Reports
The college will ask for reports for each student you teach every term in
6th or 7th week
• Progress report on each student – can be filled in online using
universal login (www.oxcort.ox.ac.uk)
• If you are paid hourly by the term you will not receive payment
until the report forms have been submitted
• You may be asked to mark collections at the beginning of term
Remember
• Keep records during the term of students’ performance in written
work and tutorials
• Reports are read by students as well as the college subject tutors
and are kept on file in the college
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Poor Performance
• Talk to student
• Talk to college subject tutor
o do not wait for end of term reports
• If necessary, college tutor will involve the college’s Senior Tutor
• Penal collections may be set
o student must pass to continue with course
Other problems
• Illegible scripts
• Copying other students’ work
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Disciplinary matters
• Not turning up to tutorials
• Lack of respect in tutorials
* Talk immediately to college subject tutor
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Revision Classes
* New tutors often find revision classes more difficult Content
usually decided by the students
• Past exam questions very useful
o Can be found online (http://oxam.ox.ac.uk)
o Answers to exam papers (complete for 2003-2007 with some
available for earlier years) – Ask academic administrator
• Can ask the students in advance which questions they would like
help with or ask them to hand in their attempts
• Encourage students to have revision tutorials early – to give time to
get back to them if necessary.
• Should I bother to learn this ?
o check if examinable
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
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Materials at Oxford
Tutorial organisation and preparation
Giving a tutorial
Course assessment and feedback structure
Personnel
Director of Studies
• secretary
Dr Adrian Taylor
Ms Marion Simons
Academic Administrator
Ms Philippa Moss (Maternity
cover for Dr Laura Jones)
Receptionist
Mrs Lyn Richmond
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08
Please take a few minutes to fill in these questions to help me improve the course
for next year.
Feedback
1.
Which section of the course did you find most useful ?
2.
Was the right amount of time spent on each part of the course ?
3.
Is there anything that you think has been left out ?
4.
Any other comments ?
Tutoring Materials Workshop, Dr Susie Speller, 31/10/08