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Tutoring at Bond has been written specifically for tutors at Bond University. A tutorial at Bond means a learning experience comprised of a small group of university students (maximum 12) who collaboratively inquire into, apply and action curricular knowledge and process with the facilitation, support and guidance of a discipline scholar (tutor). Bond has Australia’s lowest student to staff ratio and small class sizes, which means Bond students receive personalised attention and mentoring throughout their degrees. Engaged learning occurs within a collaborative community of inquiry, in which students are able to communicate openly, explore, inquire and integrate new understandings, all facilitated and directed by an educator’s teaching presence (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 2000). Tutors are an integral part of creating a distinctive learning experience for our students.

The aim of this booklet is to provide tutors with practical advice drawn from experience and underpinned by teaching and learning scholarship, all with the student perspective weaved throughout. Specifically, this booklet is about teaching to small classes.

In this booklet, you will learn from the experiences of your peers, and from student feedback about what works in the tutorial classroom and what enhances students’ learning. This booklet presents tips, strategies and resources on facilitating an active learning environment in the tutorial classroom. We recommend you use this booklet as a primer to assist you with getting started, moving beyond surviving to thriving in your first classes and as a handbook reference throughout your tutoring.

Tutoring at Bond

Suggested Citation for this booklet is -

Kinash, S. & Knight, D. (2011). Tutoring at Bond. Gold Coast, QLD: Office of Quality, Teaching and

Learning, Bond University.

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CONTENTS

Welcome to Bond University 6

QTL Director’s Introductionto Tutoring at Bond 8

The Importance of Tutorials 11

Cooperating withYour Subject Coordinator 12

Your Role as a Tutor 15

Bond’s Graduate Attributes 16

Successful Beginnings 18

Introductions and Ice-Breakers 19

Learning Students’ Names 20

First Day Checklist for Tutors 24

Understanding How Students Learn 25

Learning principles 30

Tutoring is About Connecting 32

Tutors’ Top 10 Dos and DON’Ts 35

Students’ Top 10 Dos and DON’Ts 47

Promoting Student ParticipationAnd Motivation 58

Asking questions 59

References 63

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Welcome to Bond University

Bond University recognises that tutors are central to fostering an environment of learning. Other than individual study, students often identify the tutorial as their primary source for learning.

Through Tutoring at Bond, experienced educators as well as your peers who have only just begun tutoring at Bond, share with you, some of what they have learned from others and from their own successful – and not so successful – experiences. In this booklet, we have intermingled teaching and learning principles with hands-on practical advice, and more important, the student voice on what works and what does not. So often, the student perspective and student voice are excluded from teaching and learning scholarship, but Tutoring at Bond has endeavoured to weave the student experience throughout. What you may perceive as good teaching practice may not measure equally with students’ perceptions of good teaching practice; this booklet helps you challenge and accommodate diverse perspectives.

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We hope you will find useful tips and ideas, whether you have had prior teaching experience or none at all. Use this booklet as a supplement to the foundations of your discipline. The tips and strategies you will find in this booklet are intended to be general, remembering that our tutors are extremely diverse in disciplines, personalities, needs and goals. The booklet’s content is intended to guide your teaching philosophy in the aspiration that you will draw on applicable strategies and adapt, as your teaching style and preferences change and evolve with more experience.

Why Tutoring at Bond?

As with most skills, teaching is a skill that is learned and improves with practice. Certainly, no amount of reading on relevant pedagogy, much less a guidebook, can substitute for classroom teaching experience. However, as a new tutor, Tutoring at Bond will give you a good head start. Utilise others’ experiences as your own learning experiences. Without guidance, new tutors have only their own experiences as students, and with luck, a supervisor, colleague or mentor to consult.

If this is your first time tutoring, you will be nervous. You may experience high levels of anxiety. You may even be so overwhelmed by self-doubt, you decide you are not cut out for the job. After all, you were trained to be a scholar in your discipline, not to stand in front of blank faces, all expecting to receive whatever knowledge you decide to impart.

Use this booklet to help calm your nerves and settle your butterflies. We encourage you to try out some of the pointers, keep the ones that work for you, and adapt as you discover your personal teaching style.

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Last week I was a parent spectator at a children’s sporting event and I sat chatting with another mum. This mum is a student at Bond. Our conversation turned to Bond and she volunteered information about her favourite university teachers. What stood out for me in this conversation was that only one of the people she named was a full-time academic. The other four people she listed as her favourite teachers were all tutors. She did not differentiate between the teacher who I know is an Associate Professor and the others who are Tutors. These titles did not seem to be on her radar. She had obviously developed a relationship with the tutors. She shared snippets from their conversations. She knew details of their lives beyond Bond. She told me which of them inspired her and why. The impression they had left on her had to do with their work beyond Bond and the research they had published and were currently doing. For me, this conversation reinforced how our tutors are a vital resource at Bond.

Tutors are a crucial resource at Bond University. Our tutors and our tutoring model are one of the main factors that are responsible for our success at Bond. Did you know that Bond is Australia’s 2012 highest rated university according to the Good Universities Guide? Bond

University achieved 5-star ratings in 10 categories including Student-Staff Ratio and Teaching Quality. There are five key factors that differentiate Bond from other Australian universities. These are:

• We have low student-teacher ratios which ensures individualised attention for our learners.

• We run three full semesters per year, in which our students are dedicated to full-time study.

• We maintain strong relationships with industry, meaning successful career outcomes for our graduates.

• We were created as an international university and are dedicated to internationalisation of the curriculum.

• We have a beautiful, well-resourced campus and ensure that our students benefit from on-campus face-to-face teaching enhanced with online pedagogies.

Tutors and the tutoring model explain each of these factors. First, the way in which we maintain small class sizes and tailor-made education for the unique learning needs of each of our students is through hiring and supporting motivated,

QTL Director’s Introduction

Tutoring at Bond

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highly-qualified tutors. Whereas other universities’ lecture sizes are getting larger and many of these universities are usurping tutorials to increase the length of time dedicated to mass lectures, Bond University lectures are remaining small and students are organised into very small tutorial groups to put lecture learning into practice.

Our students are here for a relatively short and intensive experience. Soon after enrolment, most feel inducted as Bondies. It is the close relationship with tutors that makes this full-on experience into a doable pursuit.

Career outcomes and career orientation are defining characteristics of our program design and of our students. Students look to their tutors as mentors in the career journey. They are interested to know how tutors’ own studies have prepared them for employment. Students look to tutors as models of career paths and for advice about their own journeys. Whereas other campuses were designed as Australian universities that accepted international students, Bond was designed as an international university. This means that Bond is global in perspective and ensures that learning prepares our students to contribute to a global world and to research and work in multicultural contexts. In addition, student enrolment tends to a 60/40 balance between domestic and international students.

Our tutors are as diverse as our students. In fact, most of our tutors are students and at least 40% were born and completed their schooling in countries other than Australia. Tutors are thereby leaders and role models for our students. Further, the close contact and intensive work styles our tutors have with our students explains why our international students

consistently proclaim Bond as a great place to study.

Finally, it is for pedagogical reasons that we insist our students learn on-campus here at Bond. Whereas many other universities are growing their distance education so that they can move more students through at a quicker pace, Bond University is dedicated to a quality teaching and learning experience through having students present at our campus. In order to support this pedagogy we need our tutors. It is our tutors who foster a community-of-scholars model with our learners. Another factor in an on-campus model of education combined with the dedication to global perspective is educational technology. Bond supports the use of mobile learning to ensure that our students are connected and skilled in digital technologies during, throughout and beyond their studies. Tutoring ensures that there is an engaged teacher behind every computer and every digital support system. In summary, it is Bond’s tutors who allow small class sizes, positive learning dynamics, career connections, international diversity and digitally connected on-campus study.

Above, we addressed how the role of tutor is important and unique to Bond. It is also important to discuss how tutorials are unique and differentiated from lectures. Bond University has a pedagogically oriented definition of tutorials.

A tutorial at Bond means a learning experience comprised of a small group of university students (maximum 12) who collaboratively inquire into, apply and action curricular knowledge and process with the facilitation, support and guidance of a discipline scholar (tutor).

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There are three main components of this definition. First, a tutorial is definitively small. Small is only an authentic adjective if it is grounded in a small-group teaching pedagogy. This brings us to the second component of the definition. Bond tutorials are designed to give students hands-on and heads-on experience of the information presented in the lecture. Tutorials are differentiated through high levels of cognitive, social and tutor presence and engagement. Students are actively wondering, questioning, experimenting and doing through tutorials. In order to make this happen, it is necessary to have a skilled tutor. The tutor must have the disciplinary knowledge-base in order to help the students process and apply what they are learning. The tutor must be a gifted facilitator to keep students on-track and inspire them to learn.

This sounds like a tall order for tutors. It is. What makes an exceptionally good tutor? In order to find out, we asked our tutors and our students. We facilitated a number of focus groups and gathered all kinds of information and opinions about tutoring. The end-product was four top-ten lists. There is the top-ten Do’s and the top-ten Don’ts from the perspective of the tutors and from the students. These lists are presented and elaborated in this booklet. There was one key factor that appeared on all four lists thereby indicating strength of theme. That factor was relationship. One of the points hitting the Top Ten DO List from Tutors is – engage students – don’t talk at them. In defining what this relationship should be, the Tutors clarified – Don’t mother them. The students’ DOs were points like – Get to know your students; build rapport and Smile – enjoy what you are doing. The top Student Don’t was – Don’t disrespect your students. This means that the tutor-student relationship is a good starting point. If you want to be a good tutor, dedicate time and attention to

fostering a positive, constructive learning relationship with your students.

Our key message throughout this booklet is that tutors matter. We are proud to have you here at Bond! We hope that this resource booklet heightens that experience for you and for your students.

DR SHELLEY KINASHAssociate Professor and DirectorQuality, Teaching, and Learning

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“It’s the one-on-one experience...our tutorials are so small, you’re able to create a rapport with your tutor”

Postgraduate student, Law

The Importance of

TutorialsAt Bond University, our faculties keep tutorial classes capped at 12 students per class. Teaching in these small groups can be a rewarding experience for both the tutor and the students.

Tutorials enable students to deepen and expand their understanding of the subject material introduced in lectures. They also provide an environment in which students are able to participate in collaborative knowledge building. By sharing individual nuggets of

knowledge with each other, students collaboratively clarify their comprehension and draw connections together.

In order for students to make the most out of the tutorial setting, the tutorial requires facilitation by way of rich and robust group discussions and hands-on experimentation and application of content and process. Maximising students’ benefits from tutorial groups also requires student preparation, participation and a willingness to learn from their peers.

Objectives of a tutorial group:

• Learning from each other• Creating knowledge• Experimentation and

application of content and process

• Pooling resources• Mutual support• Sharing ideas

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Cooperating With Your Subject Coordinator

At your initial meeting with the subject coordinator, you may want to inquire about the following:

• whether there is a structured learning guide or agenda for tutorials• whether the subject coordinator has preferences for the way tutorials are

conducted• whether there are any past examples of tutorial activities with which you

can familiarise yourself• whether there are any subject materials, textbooks, lecture notes, etc. you

can access in advance• what the procedure is when you are unable to take a tutorial• how your performance will be evaluated

Consulting with your subject coordinator is essential to providing consistency. For example, you may not be emphasising the same content that the subject coordinator has highlighted in lectures, or your analyses of content may vary from the subject coordinator’s analyses. Consulting with your subject coordinator also ensures consistency between you and the other tutors of the subject. Further, consistency means that the procedures, expectations and rules established in Week 1 are maintained throughout the semester. Changing your expectations of the students, or your classroom rules may lead students to lose confidence in you and your authority.

We therefore recommend the following tips, as well as a featured tip and example from Associate Professor Jeffrey Brand (pages 13-14), to assist you and your subject coordinator with keeping on the same page.

1. Know your roles and responsibilities.

2. Meet your subject coordinator well in advance before the semester begins.

3. Meet your subject coordinator regularly throughout the semester.

4. Keep an accurate record of your work.

5. Seek opportunities for updates with other tutors working on the same subject.

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The strategy behind my development of weekly agendas or run-sheets for my tutorials arose out of my own need to ensure I could get through my agenda for a tute.

As enrolments in my subjects grew, I also saw that verbal communication and short written descriptions of tutorial activities in a subject outline was an inadequate way to ensure consistency and fluidity across tutorials, particularly in a class that had multiple tutors.

I already had a brief agenda, so I just padded it out for my tutors’

consumption by typing out what was already in my head and planned for the particular lesson.

My agenda had reminders for me about what readings I had assigned, and included the weekly tutorial question that I had my students respond to in writing blog entries. So it seemed logical to script a run-sheet.

The benefit was immediately apparent. Not only were my tutors clear on what I had envisioned for the class, but they were able to communicate back to me their own thoughts and questions. This dialogue,

provoked by a written document, ensured that different ways of seeing were addressed in the curriculum and over time, I think my classes were improved.

Moreover, regular consistent advice about assessment has meant that we get better assignment submissions, particularly where mechanical requirements (such as referencing) are concerned.

Dr Jeffrey BrandAssociate Professor

Communication and Media Studies

Create weekly agendas or run-sheets

for your tutorials.

FEATURED TIP

FEATURED TIP #1

For an example of a run-sheet, see p. 14

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Your Role as a TutorAn important part of preparing to teach is knowing your role and duties as a tutor.

Before you start teaching, make sure you know what your subject coordinator expects of you. Identify your teaching responsibilities, as well as your objectives as a tutor. Generally, your role will be that of a facilitator, rather than an expert.

A few objectives may include:

• Engage students in exploring a variety of perspectives.

• Help students in discovering new perspectives.

• Emphasise the complexity and ambiguity of issues, topics or themes.

• Facilitate experimentation and application of content and process.

• Help students recognise the assumptions behind many of their habitual ideas and behaviours.

• Encourage active listening/attention.

Social Support

Meet other tutors, either in the same subject or in other disciplines. Giving and getting support from your colleagues may be the key to surviving and thriving as a new tutor!

If you are meeting with colleagues in the same, or a similar subject, they may be able to share teaching tips and experiences that assist with achieving your objectives as a tutor.

“The structure at Bond is there, and if you’re prepared to ask...they’re very happy to have you in their tutorials to watch what goes on. They’re very open to questions that I have and are available to answer any questions. The coordinators are also always available and really good about answering questions.”

Teaching Fellow , HSSregarding Bond’s support network

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Bond University endorses a selection of Graduate Attributes which underpin curriculum development and assessment at Bond University. These are the skills and qualities Bond students acquire during their studies at the University, regardless of the discipline of study. These attributes focus on student-centred learning and enhance both construction and application of knowledge.

Reflect on Bond’s Graduate Attributes and your teaching practices, in particular, whether you are encouraging your students to develop and hone these skills. Use the table on the next page to assist you with understanding the Graduate Attributes, as well as to reflect on your teaching practices and how they support development of the skills and qualities that set Bond graduates apart.

Bond’s Graduate Attributes: How You Can Help Your Students

Achieve Them

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Graduate Attributes Related Tutorial Tasks

1. Knowledge and Critical Thinking

Helping students to consolidate and enhance their understanding of a subject or discipline, as well as developing their capacity to critically evaluate, manage, reflect on, integrate and apply it.

• Clarifying concepts, theories and procedures

• Reflecting on interconnections

• Testing understanding through examples, cases, illustrations

• Reviewing evidence in light of theories

• Learning how to ‘set’ and solve problems or approach questions and issues

• Enhancing capacity for logical reasoning and formal argument

2. Leadership, Initiative and Teamwork

Helping students to develop and mature as individuals, and contribute to their discipline or profession as an effective leader and as a member of collaborative, cooperative and successful teams.

• Clarifying attitudes, articulating and reappraising values

• Developing in self-confidence and self-esteem

• Evolving a sense of responsibility and commitment

• Setting, allocating and monitoring tasks

• Supporting and encouraging other members of the group or team

• Initiating, directing and leading tasks

3. Communication Skills

Helping students to develop and mature as individuals.

• Clarifying attitudes, articulating and reappraising values

• Developing in self-confidence and self-esteem

• Evolving a sense of responsibility and commitment

4. Responsibility

Helping students to take progressively greater responsibility for their learning by being aware of the standards, ethics and values of their discipline, in both the local and global context.

• Clarifying goals as learners

• Managing study time and effort and setting priorities

• Accepting responsibility for evaluating work and progress as learners

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Successful Beginnings

Surviving and Thriving in Your First Classes

THE FIRST DAYS of each class are the most critical, as they will set the tone and environment for the rest of the semester. Your goal for your first classes will be to convey that your classroom will be a positive, effective and comfortable learning environment. Reflect on your own experiences, feelings and expectations as a student, when entering new classes. What strategies did your tutors use to make you feel more comfortable?

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

It is a good idea to address the types of study habits and review techniques that will help students succeed and do well in your subject. This would be especially helpful for first-year students, international students from different cultural backgrounds and mature-aged students who are returning to study.

Many of the study practices we associate with higher education may appear fundamental and we often take them for granted. However, classroom expectations, study skills, class

participation and time management skills may not be immediately obvious to some of your students.

For example, in one student focus group, a mature-aged student shared, “For the first few weeks, I didn’t know I was supposed to go to tutorials, and missed

my classes... I thought they were optional. I wish someone had told me how it all worked.”

Preparation and Planning

Good planning will save the day. As the tutor, you have the advantage of setting up a teaching structure that suits YOU. Once you are comfortable, you will be able to maintain confidence and authority in your classroom.

Whenever I take up a new subject, I go to two or three other tutors’ classes each week to see how they do it, how they teach... so I’m gathering knowledge from them, and then I can put my individual slant on presenting it.

Teaching Fellow, HSS

“The first tutorial with a new tutor is always a little bit scary because you have to figure out what their style is.”

Postgraduate Student, Law

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Introductions and Ice-Breakers

Introductory activities allow you to familiarise yourself with your new students and set the ‘tone’ you wish to establish in the classroom. They also allow the students to familiarise themselves with you and one another. Ice-breakers assist you and your students past any initial anxiety in the first moments of a new group, as students will be reluctant to participate if they feel uncomfortable. An ice-breaker activity also conveys to the group that active participation will be required in the small group learning environment. Start with some of these ideas and a great tip from Russell McPhee, Senior Teaching Fellow.

True or False?

Russell shares this ice-breaker as a way to get to know the students in an interesting and fun way.

Instead of having the students take turns introducing one another and getting nervous about it, I write on the board what I want them to do - Tell me your name, where you’re from, what your favourite colour is, what you’re going to study, what your favourite food is, and then tell me three things. Two of them must be true, and one of them must be false, and the rest of us have to guess which one is false. Students have to write them down so it isn’t obvious to the rest of us which one is false. All they have to do is read it off the board or their paper in front of them, rather than come up with a paragraph about themselves. So we learn a lot about each other this way and share a few laughs. I tell them to be interesting if they can.

TP Ice-Breaker

Pass a roll or two of toilet paper around the classroom and ask the students to tear off squares. Do not tell your students why or give them any further direction. Once everyone has torn off some toilet paper, ask them to count how many squares of toilet paper they have. For each square of toilet paper in a student’s possession, the student must share something about him/herself with the group.

The Name Game

The first person starts by saying his or her name and a favourite food, animal or superhero power. The next person then repeats what has been said and adds his/her own name and favourite item. The third person repeats the two previous students’ names and favourites before adding his/her own. It goes on until the last person in the group (you) has to remember all the students’ names and their favourites before introducing him/herself, any background information, the subject, and so on.

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HELLOMy name is

Learning Students’ Names

Name tags. Bring a folder, blank sheets of paper and a few bold black or blue markers to the first class. Have students write their names on the paper and fold the paper so that it sits in front of them on the desk. Collect the name tags at the end of the class and keep them in the folder you have prepared for that tutorial. Bring the name tags with you to class for students to place on their desks over the next few weeks.

Guess Who? Bond tutors are given attendance sheets with students’ ID photos, as well as attendance lists. You might try to test your memory by playing a game of Guess Who? with yourself. Cover up students’ names underneath their photos and match them with the list of students’ names.

Use students’ names as often as possible. Repetition enhances memorisation. As you use your students’ names in tutorials, it is more likely that you will remember them.

Have students give their names before they speak. This technique also emphasises repetition - it is more likely that you will remember students’ names if you hear their names repeatedly from them. This is especially effective because you are also able to associate students’ faces with their names.

USING STUDENTS’ NAMES is an effective way to build rapport and boost students’ self-esteem because you are identifying the students as individuals and conveying to them that you are interested in their learning. However, it can be a daunting task to memorise the names and faces of all your students. Here are some strategies to help you have all your students’ names memorised by Week 2!

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FEATURED TIP

FEATURED TIP #2

Know your students personally.

Tune into their space.

I use the ‘Getting to Know You Better’ handout as the students’ first written assignment to find out early in the semester as much as I can about my students.

I then use highlights of the information - without mentioning any names - in the first tutorial to illustrate the wide variety of interesting students we have in the class.

When students come to see me, I always refer to the information to help build a strong, caring connection.

The ‘Are We Having Fun Yet?’ questionnaire gives students the opportunity to provide feedback halfway through the semester on their experiences with both the subject and the tutor (and lecturer)...sort of an early TEVAL.

This allows the tutor (and lecturer) to address concerns that might be raised, and gives the students a sense of sharing some control in the way the subject is taught.

Mike GrenbyAssistant Professor

Communication and Journalism

For Assistant Professor Mike Grenby, knowing his students individually and personally is an important part of his teaching philosophy. By using information-gathering handouts, he uses his students’ unique backgrounds to build rapport with them, as well as encourage an environment in which students are comfortable communicating with each other.

For examples of Mike’s handouts, see pp. 22 - 23

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“Getting to Know You Better” ☻ Hard copy due by start of Week 2 Class Forms part of your Participation Mark

Objective: Bond University prides itself on knowing its students personally. So we can get to know you better, please type the answers to the questions below. Feel free to update and turn in a previous version you might have done. Also, please attach – or preferably scan – a picture of yourself: an original photo or a copy of the photo on your student ID card, passport, driver’s licence, etc.

1. Full Name (and if different, what you would like to be called)?

2. Age?

3. Where were you born?

4. Now living?

5. Contact details (phone[s] and email)?

6. Taking this course because_________.

7. My major accomplishment(s) so far_____________.

8. I would also like you to know______________.

9. What mark do you hope to achieve in this subject (be realistic—allow for time/energy needed for other courses, partying, travel, etc.)

Pass (50-64%) Meet course requirementsCredit (65-74%) Exceed basic requirementsDistinction (75-84%) Far above basic requirementsHigh Distinction (85%+) Outstanding and original work

10.In your own (100-200) words, define plagiarism.

11.Scan/attach photo.

MUST BE TYPED • Remember to attach or scan in photoNote: this assignment forms part of your total 20% Participation mark for the course

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Are we having fun yet? As we head into the final part of this subject module, please complete both sides of this questionnaire and turn it in. I will review, summarise and next week discuss with you the comments and suggestions. 1) What is the most important thing you have learned so far?

2) Which class material so far have you found most helpful?

3) Less interesting or useful for you? 4) In which area(s) would you like more instruction?

5) What do you like about my approach?

6) How could I be more “user friendly”?

7) Other comments: Your name (optional) Thank you! Mike

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1. Get organised and be well-prepared

Thoroughly prepare the material, be familiar with the arrangements in the classroom and ensure all equipment is available, working properly and arranged to suit your objectives (e.g. overheads, whiteboard markers, eraser, etc.).

2. Start and end the class on time

Model the behaviour you expect out of your students. Show them that you respect their time, as they should respect yours.

3. Introductions

Introduce your role in the faculty or the subject, or provide a brief explanation of your professional background. Share something about yourself with your students – give students the sense that you are a “real” person. Share your philosophy of teaching with your students.

4. Prepare an ice-breaker activity

Get to know your students and allow them to get to know you. See ‘Introductions and Ice-Breakers’ on page 19.

5. Establish expectations and ground rules

Provide a structure for the class that is clear and unambiguous and ask the students what they expect of you.

6. Identify students’ fears about the subject and relate to those fears

Relating to students’ fears helps build rapport by encouraging students’ sense of belonging and sharing common goals and struggles with the subject.

7. Use students’ names in class

Using students’ names boosts their self-esteem, for example, by referring back to a student’s comment or question. See ‘Learning Students’ Names’ on page 20 for helpful tips.

First Day Checklist for Tutors

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Understanding

How Students Learn

STUDENTS LEARN differently, and as such, there is not just one teaching style or method that is successful for all students. However, “effective learning is most likely to occur if students have the opportunity to hear a lecture or discussion, see a demonstration or visual display, discuss the material, and have an opportunity to do something with this material” (Thomson, 2008, p. 11).

At university, the small group environment of tutorials is where students are most likely to do something with the content. In other words, your role is to help students engage with the content through active learning. As such, your role as the tutor is vital to student learning. Certain teaching styles or approaches may suit a student’s learning style better. Be sure to vary your teaching style from time to time to suit your diverse learners.

How Do Students Approach Their Learning?

Generally, learners may identify with a “surface approach” or “deep approach” to learning (Biggs & Tang, 2007). A surface approach to learning focuses on the bare essentials, or the minimum requirements to pass. Using the surface approach, learners focus on achieving an appearance of having learnt the material, either through listing memorised facts without understanding them, or learning select content as isolated facts from each other.

A deep approach to learning arises from the need to engage the task appropriately and meaningfully. Learners focus on underlying meanings, themes and principles, and their appropriate application to the subject. Students who have a deep approach to learning demonstrate higher-level thinking by relating ideas together and making connections with previous experiences. However, a student’s approach to

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learning is not independent of teaching, and there are many things a teacher can do to encourage deep learning. In other words, as teachers, tutors are able to change students’ approaches

to learning by teaching to encourage deeper understanding of content, rather than breadth of content. Learning styles, however, also have a significant influence on students’ learning.

Learning Styles

Different people prefer to learn in different ways. Being aware of students’ various learning styles is

important, as it can help you understand students’ strengths and weaknesses. Educational theorists identify three main types of learners: visual, auditory and tactile or kinaesthetic.

These types are described in the following table, along with a few tips on how you can help your diverse students learn more effectively. It is important to recognise that people are rarely one exclusive type of learner. Most people tend to use a combination of learning strategies with preference or reliance on one more than the others.

Teach to encourage deeper understanding of content, rather

than breadth of content.

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Learning Style

Learn Best Through

Learn Best By Tips

VisualLearners

Seeing and creating vivid images

• Reading

• Seeing the teacher’s facial expression and body language

• Looking at and interpreting diagrams, pictures, videos and movies

1. Provide material in alternative formats - e.g. tables/diagrams.

2. Present key ideas/facts/concepts in text.

3. Use colours or colour-code your material.

4. Avoid overstimulat-ing visual learners with too many visual distractions.

AuditoryLearners

Listening and thinking in words rather than pictures

• Listening to lectures and discussions

• Talking things through and listening to what others have to say

• Interacting with verbal rather than written texts

1. Encourage students to repeat what you have said.

2. Allow students to record lectures and discussion for future listening.

3. Repeat key material using different words.

4. Read instructions for assignments out loud.

Tactile/Kinaesthetic

Learners

Moving, touching and doing

• Actively exploring the physical world around you

• Physically engaging with the learning process

• Studying and learn-ing in short blocks of time

1. Imitate or act out key concepts.

2. Provide opportuni-ties for role play or simulations.

3. Encourage group activities that require students to move around.

4. Allow frequent breaks.

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More Learning StylesDyer (2008) identified that in addition to environmental differences in students’ learning styles, e.g. visual vs. auditory, learning styles also differ in the way the information is obtained, as well as how the information is processed once obtained.

At one end of the spectrum, learners may perceive information concretely, as black or white, or good or bad, whereas learners at the other end of the spectrum perceive information abstractly, as varying degrees of black or white, and in shades of grey. Further, learners differ in the way they process the information once it is obtained.

Sequential learners tend to order the information neatly, whether organised alphabetically, by colour or in categorised stacks. Random learners tend to place their information wherever space is available, with no apparent ordering process.

Consequently, Dyer (2008) recognised that learning styles may be identified according to which end of the spectrum learners demonstrate cognitive perception and ordering.

For example, these variations in cognitive processing are demonstrated by one student’s preference for tutorials to be tightly focused on the topic of discussion:

I want it to be always very focused. They are a waste of time if you just sit there and everyone just talks about what they feel like talking about. (Bond student, Law)

In contrast, another student preferred open-ended discussion:

Some tutors, they’ll actually encourage discussion. If you have a question that’s a little bit off topic, they’re still willing to go through it. I think it’s really important for teachers to encourage this because if you ask [them] about something and they say that it’s not really in the realm of this, then you get discouraged and you don’t find as much interest in your subject. (Bond student, HSS)

The following table describes the four types of styles in which learners perceive and process information.

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Learning Style

Learn Best Through

Learn Best By Tips

Concrete Sequential

Ordered and structured activities

• Being task-oriented

• Separating information into categories and subcategories

• Focusing and understanding the issues of each subcategory before moving on to the next

1. Use lecture handouts, workbooks/manuals, information sheets.

2. Encourage problem-solving activities and independent study.

3. Provide hands-on instruction.

Abstract Sequential

Relying on intellect and logic

• Being in an environment that is ordered and mentally stimulating

1. Organise the content by category or colours.

2. Provide opportunities for analytic/think sessions.

3. Provide a structured syllabus, supplemental readings and additional resources.

Abstract random

Anchoring the thinking process in emotions

• Experiencing an interpersonal aspect of learning

• Being exposed to variety

1. Avoid long lectures, or break up the lectures with periodic questions and answers.

2. Facilitate group discussions.

3. Present different media to supplement the content (e.g. films, games, movies, imagery.

Concrete Random

Relying on intuition and instinct

• Being inventive and competitive

• Being risk-takers

1. Utilise learning technologies to enhance content.

2. Encourage open-ended problem solving.

3. Use simulations, experiments and demonstrations.

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Learning Principles

It is important for learners to take ownership of their learning process. These learning principles have been drawn from the Teaching at Bond and Learning at Bond booklets, written to help Bond educators and students understand the best way to learn. These principles have been discovered, tested and used in practical situations. They provide insight into what helps people learn most effectively.

Access additional QTL resources:

http://www.bond.edu.au/about-bond/quality-teaching-and-learning/resources/index.htm

1. Learners need guidance and support.

2. It is important that you regularly provide feedback to provide students with “sign posts” for their learning.

3. Draw practical elements from the subject for future application in students’ careers.

4. Wherever possible relate the theory you are teaching to practice.

5. Learning is best facilitated when students’ existing understanding is related to new knowledge.

6. Try to connect new knowledge with what students already know about the subject.

7. Listening is not enough.

8. Learning is not a “spectator sport” and students need to act on information for it to become meaningful and integrated with their existing knowledge.

9. Social interaction is important to learning.

10. Encourage students to share, question, reflect on and challenge ideas so that their knowledge is modified and advanced.

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Reflect on the learning styles and learning principles and consider whether your tutoring style tends to benefit one style of learning over another, and whether your tutoring style emphasises the learning principles. Specifically, reflect on what you can do to try to encourage active learning in all your students.

My teaching style benefits…

• a Visual Learner

• an Auditory Learner

• a Tactile Learner

• a Concrete Sequential Learner

• an Abstract Sequential Learner

• an Abstract Random Learner

• a Concrete Random Learner

• a combination of ________________ and _________________

I will try these new strategies to complement my tutoring style:

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Tutoring Is About CONNECTING

Memorable teachers are the ones who taught us to think and helped us define and redefine ourselves, the world and our places in the world. As tutors, you are interacting and communicating with individuals. Just as you connect with different people in different ways, connecting with your students will require you to vary your communication techniques to connect with the individuals who make up your class. This section will provide ways you can connect with your students personally and activities you can use to promote student-student connections.

TUTORING is about:

• connecting with the students.

• connecting with the subject.

• connecting the students with the subject and its component parts.

• connecting the students with the world they live in.

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Create a Welcoming Classroom Environment

A healthy relationship between the student and you creates a comfortable classroom atmosphere, in which students can enjoy contributing to discussion, and you are able to challenge the discussion without making students feel insecure. To cultivate that environment, you should show personal interest, actively listen, be respectful at all times and find ways to challenge the students.

The relationship students have with the instructor can influence their participation, learning, self-esteem, satisfaction and even their motivation to succeed (Maulana, Opdenakker, den Brok & Bosker, 2011).

For example, Churukian (1982) measured a positive correlation between students’ perceived learning, and an interpersonal relationship that encourages individuality, empathy and congruence. Congruence refers to the tutor’s ability to be him or herself in interaction with students, and seen as a person with whom students can relate, i.e. a ‘real’ person. Consequently, the ideal classroom environment is one in which students feel connected to their classmates, as well as to the tutor (McGlynn, 2001).

What Students Want

Studies of students’ perceptions of teaching pet peeves and teaching practices that detract from a positive classroom atmosphere reported that the classroom atmosphere is a critical element in motivating students to come to class, participate and engage in active learning (Churukian, 1982; McGlynn, 2001).

Research also indicates that often, educators appear unaware of the teaching behaviours that students dislike, and have further misconceptions about what students want and perceive as good teaching (Miley & Gonsalves, 2003).

Surveyed students identified teaching behaviours, ‘Treats students as equals’, ‘Smiles and displays a friendly demeanor’ and ‘Greets students outside of class’, as behaviours that greatly enhance teaching (Miley & Gonsalves, 2003, p. 2).

Similarly, McGlynn’s (2001) survey sought to define what being “approachable” meant to students, when they identified it as a desirable teaching practice, and students responded with the following (p. 64):

• It’s important to me that the instructor knows my name and a little bit about who I am.

• I want to feel as if the instructor cares whether I come to class, and that he or she is invested in me learning the material and doing well.

• I want the instructor to show enthusiasm about the discipline and about teaching.

“Teaching is all about connecting – that’s my teaching philosophy. This is especially important for interaction in small groups. In small tutes it’s really good to be able to provide that interaction. That’s where the students get the most.”

Teaching Fellow, HSS

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Additionally, using humour in class, respecting your students and their opinions and being “human” or a “real” person contribute to developing rapport and connecting with your students. By being “human” or “real”, present a little of your personal side and share something of who you are outside of your role as their tutor.

Bond students have echoed the research and overwhelmingly supported the small-group learning environment Bond tutorials offer. Our student focus groups have identified a “one-on-one experience” and the ability to “create a rapport with your tutor who could also be your lecturer” as critical to the tutorial environment.

Moreover, our students perceived increased learning and motivation from creating that connection with the tutor because they “feel more comfortable asking questions” and “don’t feel like just a number.”

In our tutor focus groups, Bond tutors similarly identified the connection with the students as one of the most gratifying aspects of the job. Connecting with the students “creates a fun atmosphere” and is “inspiring and enjoyable.”

Our tutors also recognised that sometimes “you really have to put a lot of energy to draw out those personalities and create an environment where people want to share.... You just need to keep trying.”

What Students Do Not Want

Tutoring behaviours, both good and bad, have a great deal of influence on student learning. Avoid the following behaviours identified as tutoring practices that detracted from teaching and learning (Miley & Gonsalves, 2003; Perlman & McCann, 1998):

• Speaking in a monotone voice

• Poorly organised/poorly planned class structure (i.e. use of class time)

• Speaking too quickly or too slowly

• Lack of enthusiasm or interest

• Lack of interaction

• Unavailable to students

• Intellectual arrogance or talking down

• Disrespecting students

• Intolerant of questions

• Lacks application of theory to practice

“Be open without being open to vulnerability. Act authoritatively without being an authoritarian.”

Associate Dean Patrick Keyzer

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TOP TENDOs & DON’Ts

of TUTORINGThe Office of Quality, Teaching, and Learning (QTL) recognised that teaching in a tutorial requires a separate set of teaching skills from that required for lectures. We sought to put together a resource for our tutors, both new and experienced, not only with teaching and learning scholarship, but with practical tips and guides that have been tested and used in practice.

In order to create a valuable resource for our tutors, QTL asked Bond’s educators to share their teaching strategies and tips with you. Equally important, we also sought our students’ perspectives. Over a period of three months, we conducted five focus groups of eight to twelve participants each, representing each of our faculties and schools. Additionally, we conducted two student focus groups comprised of Law, HSS, Business and ISDA students. Lastly, we conducted a few personal interviews with our tutors and students. The result is a compilation of wisdom gathered from both learners and educators.

Many of these tips and strategies are dispersed throughout the booklet. However, we have distilled from these focus groups, top ten DOs and DON’Ts of Tutoring from student and tutor perspectives.

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TOP 10 DOs FOR TUTORS...by Tutors

1. MAKE EXPECTATIONS & GROUND RULES CLEAR AT THE START

Before the semester begins, clearly conceptualise your role as a tutor and your expectations of your students. At the beginning of the semester, clearly articulate these roles and expectations to the students. Identify the expectations with respect to the tasks they will undertake, what types of learning activities they are likely to come across during the tutorial and the semester, as well as behaviour and participation.

An effective way of making sure the students are aware and agree to the expectations and ground rules for the semester is to have the students establish them as a group. Students are more likely to follow the rules and expectations if they were set and agreed upon by the students from the beginning.

That way it’s not just you narking about them being late, they’ve all agreed to it, kind of like a contract. Bond Tutor

Ask the students to identify their expectations. For example, ‘You’ve chosen to study entrepreneurship or strategic management. What are you expecting from this semester? What goals do you have in mind?’

Try to get them to make a commitment to that goal, towards working well in a group and in their individual assessments. All of that type of expectation management is important at the start. Bond Tutor

Here are some suggested ground rules and expectations (for the tutor and the students):

• Arrive on time.• Respect each other’s point of view.• Listen to each other and do not interrupt when another person is speaking.• View mistakes as an opportunity for learning.• Mobile phones off/silent when not being used for learning.

2. BE CONSCIOUS OF STUDENT DIVERSITY

Students have a variety of educational, cultural and personal experiences. It is important not to generalise or make presumptions. Be sensitive to diversity.

For example, students with learning disabilities may experience difficulty with the way information is presented. When tutoring, be conscious to rephrase the message you

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are trying to convey and/or present it using multiple means of representation (e.g. audio, pictorial and text).

Bond is unique in that we were designed as an international university and approximately 40% of our students are international students. Many of these students come from non-English speaking backgrounds. Cultural and linguistic diversity may present a challenge for both you and the student, as well as between the students themselves. It is important to avoid using too many idiomatic expressions or cultural references that may not be understood and may result in alienating students who are not familiar with certain cultural references.

3. ADMIT WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW SOMETHING

It is okay to admit to students that you do not know the answer. Learning is a lifelong journey. Let the students know that whether professionals, students, tutors or lecturers, you are all learning together. Be open to suggestions and grow with your students.

When you do not know the answer to a question, there are numerous approaches you can take. Ask the students if anyone else knows the answer to the question. If the question is one that has multiple ‘answers’ organise a discussion or debate to probe it further. A high proportion of students bring internet connected devices such as laptops, iPads and smart phones into the tutorial with them. Ask the students to search the question and discuss the responses they derive. Alternatively, promise the students that you will find out and bring it to them next week or send it out in an email.

I find that students are particularly astute at knowing when someone doesn’t necessarily tell them the truth... You can’t just make up answers because people will catch you on it. Bond Tutor

4. ENCOURAGE THE STUDENTS TO BE MOTIVATED TO STUDY

Set tutorial learning outcomes and encourage students to be self-regulators. Research has shown that the self-regulating process can significantly boost motivation, and vice versa (VanZile-Tamsen & Livingston, 1999).

TUTORING TIP

When you encounter a question you do not have the answer to, you can also set it as the homework for the next tutorial. Assure the students that you will look it up and assign them to do the same, and next week you can compare and contrast responses.

Another approach some tutors use is to ask students to use their smart phones, tablets and laptops to search for responses on-the-spot.

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Zimmerman’s (1998) four phases of self-regulating academic study:

1. Self-evaluation and monitoring – Students test themselves to determine whether their current study methods are effective

2. Goal setting and strategic planning – Help your students develop learning strategies such as scheduling study time, using memorisation techniques and outlining course content.

3. Strategy implementation and monitoring - Students implement their study strategies and monitor their accuracy. Provide feedback and guidance to help students monitor accuracy.

4. Strategic outcome monitoring – Help your students evaluate how effectively they implement learning strategies, allow them to meet their academic goals and teach them to adjust their strategies as necessary.

Additionally, you might try to share your own difficulties with the subject, using anecdotes. This encourages a level of connection that lets students know that you are familiar with the difficulties they may be experiencing and can relate to them. Share the approaches you found to be effective, as well as approaches that failed.

5. USE EXAMPLES TO WHICH STUDENTS CAN RELATE

At times the subject matter can be outside of the students’ scope of experience and/or familiarity. To encourage students to acquire deeper understanding, provide examples to which students can relate. For example, when talking about multinational companies and industries, some students may not be able to relate because it is beyond the scope of their experiences. However, using current media stories of local businesses may help to scaffold information transfer and application to multinational affairs.

6. ENGAGE THEM RATHER THAN TALK AT THEM

Tutorials have been designed to allow a particular type of learning. Whereas the lecture is primarily intended to allow the teacher to share facts and information building on students’ current levels of knowledge, the tutorial is a small-group opportunity to experiment, debate, try and do. The lecture is to the tutorial, as the movie theatre is to the sandbox. Tutorials should not be conceptualised and treated as if they are an extension of the lecture. The tutor takes up concepts that are introduced in the

TUTORING TIP

Ask students to share an aspect of their lives that might relate to the class. For example, when tutoring in a subject on entrepreneurship, one tutor asks the students whether they are working and in what role. The responses provide the tutor with opportunities to apply theory to an experience to which students can relate.

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lectures and allows students to process, consider, reflect and discuss. The students come to their interpretation and application of what they heard in the lecture through trying content and process on for size in the tutorial. Students assimilate and coalesce their understandings through active experimentation, reflective questioning, critical dialogue with their peers and articulation.

7. BE AWARE THAT YOUR PERSPECTIVES ARE YOUR PERSPECTIVES

Your perspectives are your perspectives. Sometimes there are no black and white answers. Be open to students’ alternative views and questions, even if they are inconsistent with your understanding. Listen to the student, and redirect and challenge if necessary. It is important to avoid dismissing a student’s perspective as this may discourage the student from asking questions and expressing views in the future.

8. BE YOURSELF

Be honest with the students but not over-familiar with them. Remember you do not have to be perfect. When students can relate to you, it promotes a more comfortable classroom environment where they might feel encouraged to speak up, even when they are nervous or unsure.

9. RECAP

Encourage students to discuss tutorial questions, then spend the final portion of the tutorial wrapping-up by drawing clear and explicit links to assessment. For example, explain how this content might appear on a test and what elements of the response are important.

Students may often feel that their peers all sound as if they have the right answers, and tutors know that this is not necessarily the case. Recapping at the end of the session will clarify for the students what they should demonstrate to show understanding.

TUTORING TIP

At the end of the tutorial, it can be helpful to recap by reviewing what the subject coordinator would have expected the students to address if the questions were part of an exam. By doing a recap, you will highlight what the students should be able to articulate in assessment. For some it will be an affirmation of what they know and identified, and for others it might reveal a new way of looking at the content that they had not previously considered.

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10. KNOW WHAT RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE FOR STUDENTS AND POINT STUDENTS IN THIS DIRECTION

Students encounter difficulties, both academically and personally. As a tutor, your frequent interaction with students will give you the opportunity to notice when a particular student seems to be having difficulties. It is important that you encourage students to access the appropriate support services.

Familiarise yourself with Bond’s support networks:

• Student Learning Support - SLS offers personalised one-on-one consultations and small group workshops to improve academic skills.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/student-support/student-learning-support/index.htm

• Resident Tutor Fellows - Tutor fellows are peer tutors who provide on-campus academic support and are available for one-on-one consultations.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/student-support/support-for-resident-students/index.htm

• Counselling Centre - Confidential counselling services to assist students with academic as well as personal struggles.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/student-support/personal-support/index.htm

• Disability Support - Support for students with illnesses, disabilities, injuries or health conditions that may affect capacity to complete studies.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/student-support/disability-support/index.htm

• International Student Support - This service provides administrative, academic and faculty-based support for our international students.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/student-support/international-student-support/index.htm

• Career Development Centre - The Centre provides a range of services in all aspects of employment and career development.

http://www.bond.edu.au/student-resources/career-development-centre/index.htm

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TOP 10 DON’Ts FOR TUTORS...by Tutors

1. DO NOT ATTRIBUTE STUDENTS’ BEHAVIOUR TO PERSONAL DISPOSITION

Perhaps you have a student who sleeps in class or appears to be generally disinterested. Despite appearances, keep in mind that there may be other factors causing such behaviour, such as personal struggles at home, work commitments, medication or health conditions.

2. DO NOT MAKE NEGATIVE COMMENTS; BE MINDFUL

In other words, do not be insensitive. Part of being aware of student diversity includes being conscious of your own conduct, which may be unintentionally oblivious to students’ circumstances. For example, a remark made in jest may be hurtful to a student if made without consideration of students’ diverse situations.

However, it is impossible to be aware of absolutely everything going on in every student’s life. If you have inadvertently offended a student, make sure you address your mistake in an honest manner as soon as possible.

3. DO NOT FORGET PEOPLE LEARN AT DIFFERENT SPEEDS

In a class of 10-12 students, there is a great deal of variation in pace of learning. Understand that some students are going to pick things up very quickly and others are not. Adjust your pace accordingly and apply multiple means of processing content and process for diverse learners. Carefully listen for clues as to whether students are keeping up or not and respond accordingly.

TUTORING TIP

It is better to address these matters early with the student. Take the student aside and ask the student why they think they are behaving in a particular way. Never call a student out in front of the group to address inappropriate behaviour. If a problem persists beyond one or two tutorial occurrences or is affecting other students, draw it to the attention of the subject coordinator.

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TUTORING TIP

If you experience a student who is really struggling with a particular point and may be holding the class back, direct the student to meet with you after class or during consultation, so that you can go over the content and process again. This will give you an opportunity to review the matter, one-on-one, using different ways to explain the particular point of struggle.

4. DO NOT SPOON-FEED THE STUDENTS

Set up the environment so that it is consistent with the rigorous and scholarly level of university.

As part of establishing expectations and ground rules at the beginning of the semester, be sure to inform your students that the learning process is not about regurgitating spoon-fed information. Remind students that learning is not about being a passive spectator. Through actively participating in lectures and tutorials, students have the opportunity to learn through identifying reasonable and relevant questions, consolidating the information they are collecting and integrating the information with their existing knowledge for application and utilisation in new situations.

Remind students that your role is as a facilitator of their learning. Students must take an active role in their own learning process.

5. DO NOT FORGET THE QUIET ONES

Recognise that some students may be reticent or shy. It can be easy to overlook the quiet ones, especially if they are sitting at the back of the group. Avoid bullying them into participation in tutorials.

Remember not to let anyone drown either. Come quickly to the rescue if particular students seem seriously uncomfortable contributing to group discussions. You may need to make separate arrangements to help the student contribute in another format (e.g. by visual representations via diagrams or slides, or handouts). Bond Tutor

Students who distance themselves are sometimes trying to hide the fact that they do not know or understand the concepts being discussed. Students from some cultural backgrounds may be more used to pedagogical models in which they were expected to sit quietly and listen rather than actively participate, and they may need time, support and encouragement to engage in tutorials in the Australian way. For other students, it may be a matter of ‘still waters run deep.’ Some introverted students are actively engaging cognitively and will only be vocal participants when particularly compelled. Occasionally, non-participating students are ‘protesting’ something you are not aware of (e.g. a micro-inequity or an unintentional miscommunication).

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6. DO NOT ‘WING IT’

Prepare material thoroughly. Read through the documents provided by the subject coordinator and reflect – what do you understand, what do you not understand, what will students find difficult to understand, what questions should you ask about the material. Try to anticipate confusing areas and prepare more than one way to try to clarify the point for students in tutorial.

7. DO NOT IGNORE YOUR OWN ASSUMPTIONS AND BELIEFS

It is important to give consideration to assumptions you may hold about the learning behaviours and capacities of your students. You may also hold assumptions that are tied to students’ social identity (e.g. age, sex, ethnicity, religion, language, sexual orientation, etc.). These assumptions may manifest themselves through micro-inequities such as facial expressions that you might sometimes use in your interactions with students. For example, you may be unaware that you are less patient with particular students, or that you may be more encouraging to other students by responding with more ‘uh-hum’s or using other non-verbal indications of approval or disapproval. It is important that you are aware of any assumptions or beliefs you may hold that could cause you to unintentionally manifest these micro-inequities, which in turn could interfere with classroom dynamics.

8. DO NOT SPEAK TOO QUICKLY

Bond’s international student body is a part of what makes studying at Bond unique. However, it is important to remember that for many students, this may be the first time they are studying in the English language at the tertiary level. Speak clearly and moderate your speed so as not to exclude students who experience difficulties with the English language.

9. DO NOT MOTHER STUDENTS

Adopting the metaphorical role of mother is not suitable for the university environment. You should provide students with the information and point them in the right direction. Too much intervention is unlikely to benefit students’ development and learning processes.

TUTORING TIP

Try dividing the tutorial group into sub-groups for discussion. Students may be encouraged to speak and participate in discussion in more intimate groups, as these can be less threatening.

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There are components of tutoring that are similar but not synonymous with mothering.

Sometimes all a student needs is for someone to believe in him. Students may need someone who can sit them down and speak directly to them about their conduct or performance in the classroom. Ask the student why he is behaving a certain way (e.g. a class clown). Bond Tutor

When you connect with students on that level, then they see that you are willing to fight for them and they find a desire within, to fight for themselves as well. And then you two make a fantastic team going toward the finish line. Bond Tutor

10. DO NOT LET STUDENTS TAKE IT EASY AT THE START OF THE SEMESTER

You may be inclined to give students a little more wiggle-room at the start of the semester. Despite good intentions to give students time to settle in to the semester’s grind, doing so may be more harmful for your students at the end.

If students start out easy, then that will be the norm. If you encourage them to work hard at the beginning, then you will avoid tutor and student frustration at the end of the semester.

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10.

Top 10 DOs for TUTORS

...by Students

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TOP 10 DOs FOR TUTORS...by Students

1. BE CONSISTENT

As much as possible, maintain consistency in content and in technique. When asked to clarify, one student explained:

Make sure all the tutors are teaching the same thing, in the same way... For example, not only should the content be the same, but the way that the content is being presented should be consistent so that one batch of students from one tutor is not disadvantaged. Bond Student

Students experience frustration and concern when tutors are inconsistent with respect to content, focus, and process. For example, one tutor may facilitate the tutorial by “simply sitting there and waiting for the students to go through the questions” whereas other tutors may work through the questions alongside the students, demonstrate using conceptual models, and emphasise the key information that students should have identified by the end of the tutorial.

Students identified feeling disadvantaged when one tutor’s group of students received structured guidance, whilst another tutor’s group of students were expected to independently study with the tutor available only as a source of information when directly approached. Students expressed a desire for a happy medium between these extremes. One student used the metaphor of “receiving consistent guideposts” from their tutors along the learning journey.

Further, ensure consistency with yourself. Keep to your own expectations and ground rules, as well as classroom and assessment policies.

There’s nothing worse than have a tutor who says one thing, but then does something completely different. Bond Student

2. HIGHLIGHT AND RECAP THE IMPORTANT/ESSENTIAL POINTS

A principle of good teaching is to “teach deep understanding of fundamental concepts, even if this is at the expense of covering expansive content” (Kember & McNaught, 2007, p.36). In other words, a good tutor “asks oneself what matters in the content domain, and aims for deep understanding of central concepts, rather than a passing grasp across the surface” (Kinash, 2010, p. 17).

Students were overwhelmingly supportive of this principle, emphasising the desire for tutors to highlight and recap the important and/or essential content, rather than reviewing the broad and expansive content that the lecturer often presents.

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One student expressed particular concern about leaving the tutorial feeling uncertain about what to study.

Remembering that our tutors are diverse in personality, teaching styles and preferences, it would be unrealistic to require our tutors to present the content in the same way. However, one suggestion proposed by students is to have the subject’s tutors and their subject coordinator develop and agree upon a set of essential information that each tutor will review at the conclusion of each tutorial.

Tutors would be able to retain flexibility of teaching methods, but by providing a recap of the essential information for the students, students would be able to:

• Evaluate whether they have extracted the key content from the week’s study.

• Seek assistance from the tutor for clarification or further discussion on any of the identified key content areas for the week.

• Attend to consistent content, and in particular, consistent content focus, from each tutor.

3. MANAGE THE TUTORIAL TO ENSURE ACTIVE AND EQUITABLE PARTICIPATION

Establishing and maintaining an effective classroom “climate” that encourages students to contribute can be a difficult task. Ensuring active and equitable participation and, in particular, avoiding the dominance of a single student, is just as important as supporting and encouraging the quiet student(s) to contribute.

Students look to the tutor to “foster an environment where people want to engage” and to make judgment calls when posing sensitive questions. Some tutors may open the discussion up to the entire class, during which the more vocal and outgoing students may dominate. The flipside of this is when the tutor poses questions directly to individual students around the room in an effort to “manage” participation. However, students have identified that both methods detract from their learning experience in the tutorial.

Instead, students have suggested that if you choose to direct a question to an individual student, you might try to pose a general and open-ended question with more than one answer, or an inquiry-based question that has no right answer. This alleviates the pressure of providing the sole correct response, thereby encouraging the student to participate in a meaningful way. When posing specific questions, such as those that require deeper analysis, some students believe that the question should be directed to the entire class so that anyone may answer.

“Make sure the students know what they should have gotten from that tutorial. Go over it one last time at the end.”

Bond Student

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Thomson (2008) has suggested allowing “students time to think, perhaps discuss with the person beside them, jot down their thoughts, or formulate their own questions – before you require a response” (p. 25). You may be tempted to fill the silences; instead leave the time open to allow students to think through the question you have just proposed.

4. AVOID IRRELEVANT CONVERSATIONS AND/OR TANGENTS

Time is valuable – both yours and the students’. When a student is taking up class time with specific questions that may not contribute to the tutorial in a productive way, do not hesitate to redirect the student’s comments to the task or topic at hand. Alternatively, you might bring the student’s attention to the fact that there is limited time in a tutorial and important content to cover, advising the student to keep the discussion on topic. However, it is important to remember not to dismiss the student or discourage their inquiries. After all, the student is showing a genuine interest in the topic! Be sure to inform the student that you value his/her inquiries and would be available to discuss the issues one-on-one after class or during your consultation hours.

5. GIVE REGULAR, CONSTRUCTIVE AND TIMELY FEEDBACK

Feedback plays a central role in student learning. When asked the characteristics of feedback that matter, students described effective feedback as:

• timely

• individual and confidential

• empowering

• specific

• manageable

For example, one student described a tutor who, “at the midpoint of the semester, took everyone aside and had a one-on-one. He told you where you should improve, what you were doing well, and what you should continue doing.” This student appreciated receiving feedback earlier in the semester, giving him sufficient time to improve.

“Having that feedback halfway through the semester was really helpful because it either affirms that you’re doing what you should be doing, or lets you know exactly how you can improve.”

Bond Student

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6. SMILE – ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE DOING

The classroom environment is a critical motivational factor for students (McGlynn, 2001). Projecting a positive and enthusiastic attitude about the subject can be infectious. Similarly, being negative and unenthusiastic is equally infectious and will cause students to feel unmotivated, indifferent and bored.

McGlynn’s (2001) research echoes this sentiment from her students, citing “enthusiasm about the discipline and about teaching” (p. 64) as the quality teaching criterion most frequently expressed by students.

7. VALUE THE QUALITY OVER THE QUANTITY OF COMMENTS

Students expressed concern about being assessed on the quantity of correct answers they provide in tutorials, rather than the quality. One student would prefer tutors to “encourage students to focus on why they’re answering the question, not whether they have the right answer.” A related guideline is that tutors should provide clear and instructional guidelines as to how their tutorial marks are determined. Elaborate on what you are looking for when you are considering a student’s contribution.

For example, if a grading criterion requires students to demonstrate awareness and understanding of deeper and subtler aspects of the subject to achieve a Distinction mark, operationally define what is meant by this criterion in the context of the subject and specific assignment. Provide an example to ensure students understand what is required for a Distinction-level contribution to tutorial discussion and other items of assessment.

8. GET TO KNOW YOUR STUDENTS; BUILD RAPPORT

Part of fostering a welcoming and inclusive classroom atmosphere which enhances the quality of students’ learning experiences, is getting to know your students and letting them get to know you. For example, know the students’ names and use them. Also, you may want to share a little bit about yourself beyond your tutor role with your students, or share particular difficulties you had with the subject when you were learning so students are able to relate. Another way to build rapport is to use humour to break some of the tension or formality of the classroom.

Show interest in your students by asking about their day or how they are progressing with the subject. Demonstrating to students that you are invested in them and want

“The tutor’s attitude can dampen the tutorial, even if the students are eager to participate. If the tutor is passionate about the topic, then you’re motivated and don’t have to drag yourself through the topic. Even if you don’t feel it, just pretend.”

Bond Student

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to see them do well enhances confidence and feelings of self-efficacy. When students are comfortable in the classroom, their motivation to do well is enhanced.

9. RECOGNISE THAT SOME STUDENTS MAY BE QUITE SHY

Avoid stressing the quiet/shy students in the classroom. Forcing these students to participate in tutorials, especially near the beginning of the semester, often makes learners feel insecure and embarrassed. Instead, make the most out of sub-groups. For example, divide the students into smaller discussion groups, inviting volunteers from each group to report back. Shy or quiet students may feel less intimidated in a smaller group and will benefit from the small group collaborative learning context.

10. ENROL IN ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT

Students expressed frustration with tutors who are unfamiliar with teaching principles. One student commented, “There are a lot of tutors who are PhD candidates who have the knowledge, but not the skill to convey the knowledge to other people.” Although tutor training programs may not be compulsory across disciplines, it would be good practice to attend teaching workshops when they are offered.

For more information on professional development opportunities, contact the Office of Quality, Teaching, and Learning:

http://bond.edu.au/about-bond/quality-teaching-and-learning/office-of-quality-teaching-and-learning/index.htm

“If there are students who tend to be shy, pull them aside after class and inquire as to why they were so quiet. Show concern for students to do well.”

Bond Student

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TOP 10 DON’Ts FOR TUTORS...by Students

1. DO NOT DISRESPECT YOUR STUDENTS

Perlman and McCann (1998) reported that one of students’ pet peeves about teaching is when students felt they were not being respected. Similarly, Bond students echoed this sentiment when invited to focus group sessions on tutoring.

Tutoring students with respect means you should regularly analyse and question your own attitude in the classroom. For example, you may not be aware when students perceive you as talking down to them, favouring certain students or being intolerant of students’ questions. Do not focus only on the students with whom you are most familiar. Empathise with students by imagining role reversals and treating each as an individual with unique learning preferences, strengths and weaknesses.

2. DO NOT EXPECT COMPLETELY RIGHT ANSWERS

Students are sensitive to embarrassment when their responses are not correct. Repeated correction might lead to fear of humiliation, thereby causing students to disengage. Therefore, you might consider clarifying multiple times throughout the semester, that you do not expect students to come to tutorial with perfect answers. Explain to students that you will value their contributions when they demonstrate that they have come to class prepared.

3. DO NOT RESTRICT WORTHWHILE DIALOGUE

Some tutors approach classroom management and facilitation with a strict hands-up policy, in which only those students who raise their hands are permitted to speak and each student speaks in turn. However, students described this approach as restricting conversation flow and detracting from their learning because their ideas cannot naturally and synergistically build.

A strict hands-up system limits the flow of conversation. It’s more choppy because people who want to respond, might be responding to something that was said a while back. It breaks up the flow of the conversation, as well as thought. Bond Student

Find a happy medium. If the conversation starts going off and isn’t constructive, then bring it back but don’t restrict it so much that people’s comments are all over the place and may not make sense because they were not ‘next to speak’. Bond Student

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4. DO NOT GIVE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK WITHOUT BEING CONSTRUCTIVE

Poorly worded critical feedback is powerful and can lead students to feel unmotivated and subsequently withdraw, creating a negative classroom atmosphere. One student shared an experience in a tutorial where “if you said the wrong thing, the tutor would just say ‘you’re wrong’ and that would be it. She was just rude and had a crappy attitude. Don’t just shoot people down.”

5. DO NOT CALL ON THE SAME PEOPLE ALL THE TIME

Similar to recognising that some students may be shy or uncomfortable with speaking in front of groups of people, make an effort to avoid reverting to the students whom you know will not hesitate to speak. Once you allow particular students to dominate, students who are more hesitant to speak will accept their passive role and expect others to carry the dialogue. Use some of the techniques outlined in this booklet to “give people who are more quiet a chance to speak.” Try encouraging those students who are not speaking up and “ensure equal contribution by drawing people out of their shells.”

TUTORING TIP

Be specific when giving constructive feedback. When identifying weaknesses in a piece of assessment, make sure you are relating the feedback to a particular task and not to the student as a person. Give the students concrete suggestions of how to improve the specific work. Recognise the student’s sincere efforts and provide positive feedback as well. Always begin the feedback by identifying legitimate and concrete strengths.

TUTORING TIP

If equitable contribution appears to be a particular trouble-spot in a given semester, try using this classroom management technique. Hand-out three toothpicks to each student. Explain to students that they are required to use each of their toothpicks by the end of the session. Each time they speak at least two sentences they are required to go up to the front and deposit one toothpick in a box. When they are out of toothpicks, they are out of speaking turns. What you may find is that once the dominant students are out of toothpicks, they may be surprised by the contribution of the students who tend to be quieter. This technique also encourages humour and light-heartedness in the classroom dynamic.

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6. DO NOT JUST REPEAT WHAT WAS PRESENTED IN LECTURE

Avoid using the tutorial to extend lecture content. It is easy for tutorials to “degenerate into an extension of lectures, and for students to be as passive in tutorials as they are in most lectures” (Race & Brown, 2005, p. 28). Have a definite purpose for each tutorial and set out to achieve those learning goals. Take advantage of the small group environment for active and collaborative learning strategies.

7. DO NOT DIGRESS ON UNRELATED TOPICS

Students are especially conscious of their upcoming assessments and exams, and may get frustrated when they perceive that the tutorials are not preparing them to perform at their best when it is time for exams. Advise the students what will be covered in the tutorial and what they will be expected to achieve by the end – then make sure you stick to it. While other topics of interest may surface during discussion, be conscious of what you promised to achieve and keep to it.

8. DO NOT LOSE YOUR TEMPER

It may happen that a student will get the best of you and you become frustrated and impatient. What is important is how you handle the situation when a student is giving you difficulties. If you lose control of your emotions, you may lose the respect of the class. For example, if your students are having side conversations, speaking while you are speaking, or sleeping during class, do not ignore it. Firmly and immediately draw the students’ attention to the guidelines and expectations agreed upon at the beginning of the semester. Do not take it as a reflection on your teaching performance - their disruptive behaviour is unlikely to be related to you.

TUTORING TIP

Utilise the first or last five minutes of the tutorial for interesting discussions or sharing personal stories that build rapport. Alternatively, dedicate a discussion thread on iLearn for this purpose.

TUTORING TIP

Be honest about how disruptive the student’s behaviour is, and talk to the student outside of class. Seek to understand the reason behind the student’s behaviour instead of jumping to suspect the worst about the student’s attitude or your own teaching. Empower students to view themselves as learners by asking them what you can do to help foster their learning. This technique opens the door for heightened communication (McGlynn, 2001).

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9. DO NOT EVALUATE STUDENTS IN FRONT OF OTHERS

We have emphasised the value of feedback and praise in the context of motivating students. However, you must also be aware that praising a student or addressing a student’s weakness in front of others can equally cause students to disengage. If you regularly compliment a student’s contributions, other students may lose confidence in their own abilities and refrain from speaking up, fearing their responses may not be as praise-worthy. Similarly, identifying a student’s weakness in front of others may be a humiliating experience for the student.

10. DO NOT BE RUDE – BE SENSITIVE TO CULTURAL AND LEARNING DIVERSITY

Treat all students as individuals regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, learning disability, or any other identifying characteristic. Despite positive intentions motivated by an awareness of diversity, making assumptions or generalisations about an individual’s experience or perspective can create problems and should be avoided. One student shared an experience in which the tutor assigned groups, organising all of the Chinese students into one group. The tutor may have had sincere intentions to create a more comfortable group environment for Chinese students who were English language learners, but the observed effect was that the tutor was marginalising the group and making the students, both within the group and outside the group, feel uncomfortable. The resulting situation was very awkward, especially because one of the ‘Chinese’ students in the group had been born in the United States, and was therefore culturally American.

TUTORING TIP

Make efforts to be aware of your treatment of students in and out of class (including body language and interactions, e.g. micro-inequities). Vary the identities you use in examples, whether anecdotal or visual, and avoid stereotypes. Do not spotlight a particular student to represent the “minority perspective.”

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Promoting Student Participation and MotivationOne of the more frequent and

commonly experienced difficulties that tutors have is encouraging student participation in tutorial discussions. When confronted with seemingly apathetic behaviour, it can be difficult to keep your own energy levels up. However, there are ways you can nudge your students and draw them out to make sure they are making the most out of the tutorial session.

The following are Nickerson’s (2005) recommendations for class participation (p. 1):

1. Poll the class periodically. This keeps your audience in dialogue with you, even if they don’t respond.

2. Ask for new hands or for some new people to ask.

3. Do periodic paired work and cold call a pair to respond to a question.

4. Say, “I’d like to hear three (or some set number) people’s thoughts on this issue.”

5. Talk to students outside of class (individually). Request that they speak in class.

6. Wait longer after you ask a question. (Many teachers don’t wait longer than two seconds. Try to count slowly up to 10 or 15 before speaking after you have asked a question.)

7. Tell students not to respond to a question you ask for 60 seconds. (This takes the pressure off the more reflective students and reduces the likelihood of the very quick responders taking all the air time.)

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Controlling the over-participators

Sometimes, students learn that particular students will do all the participation work if the tutor lets them. The majority of students may become passive and complacent, allowing a small group of students to dominate. Nickerson (2005) recommended this strategy to handle such a situation:

Take the over-participators aside individually and thank them for their enthusiasm and willingness to participate; however, you would like them to do less so other students can be encouraged to work harder in class. Some instructors ask the over-participators for ideas about how they can help others participate more (p. 2).

Asking QuestionsAs the tutor, you are able to use questions to guide the class discussion. However, asking the right questions is an important skill of which you might not have been aware. Our purpose for this section is to provide you with questioning techniques to effectively enhance student thinking and encourage student participation.

When we learn, our aim is to achieve learning using the “deep approach” rather than the “surface approach” (Biggs & Tang, 2007). The same approach should apply to your tutoring. Tutor to help your students achieve higher level thinking, rather than passing through the subject by meeting requirements. A surface approach of teaching usually involves “rote learning of selected content instead of understanding it” or “listing points instead of addressing an argument” (Biggs & Tang, 2007, p. 22). However, at times it is entirely appropriate to run through factual information for recall and memorisation. Unfortunately, many classroom questions are recall or recitation questions, and both teachers and students rely on these surface signs of learning, having received the impression that understanding has occurred.

Susskind’s (1979) research showed that on average, teachers asked 50.6 questions, while their students asked only 1.8 questions in thirty minutes of classroom interaction (Henning, 2008). It is therefore important to ask questions that benefit student understanding and elicit higher level processing. To that end, questions are classified according to the learning objectives they are intended to serve.

We propose using Bloom’s taxonomy on the next page to guide your questioning techniques and to identify whether your questions are likely to elicit higher-level thinking from your students (Henning, 2008, pp. 18 - 23).

For a guide to asking effective questions, see page 60.

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Level Overview Examples

Knowledge

Students are asked to recall factual information from memory. These questions may require students to recite terminology, specific facts, methods and procedures, or general theories and principles.

1. How many states and territories are there in Australia?

2. What is the name of the main character in the Scarlet Letter?

3. What is the product of 8x7?

4. What are the six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy?

Comprehension

Students are asked to interpret material, either by explaining or summarising, translating information from one form to another, or by predicting future trends. These tasks require the student to use previously learned knowledge in new situations, and therefore demonstrate a higher level of thinking.

1. Who can summarise the events leading up to World War I?

2. What is another way to express 4X/2?

3. Can anyone explain photosynthesis in your own words?

4. What is the purpose of Bloom’s taxonomy?

Application

Students are asked to apply their previous learning in new situations. This may require students to apply concepts and principles to a new situation, apply laws and theories to practical situations, solve mathematical problems, or construct graphs and charts. This level requires both understanding and application.

1. Is the decision to enter a treaty with Japan an example of executive power?

2. How can Boyle’s Law help predict the movement of electrons?

3. How can your knowledge of subordinate clauses help you punctuate the topic sentence in the sample essay correctly?

4. Why is Bloom’s taxonomy helpful in analysing the effectiveness of teacher questions?

How Effective Are Your Questions?

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Analysis

Students are asked to divide and organise concepts, ideas, theories or other information into their component parts to better understand its organisational structure. This may be demonstrated by recognising unstated assumptions, recognising logical fallacies in reasoning, or evaluating the relevance of data.

1. What are the steps of your revision process when writing an essay paper?

2. What were Scarlett’s motives when she married Frank Kennedy in Gone with the Wind?

3. What features distinguish a bird from a mammal? What is the ecological relevance of these features?

4. What is the difference between the knowledge and analysis levels of Bloom’s taxonomy?

Synthesis

Students are asked to originate, integrate and combine ideas into a product, plan or proposal that is new to him or her. It requires formulation of new patterns or structures. Questions may prompt students to adapt, construct, design, formulate, hypothesise or write.

1. How would Australia be different if it had a constitutional Bill of Rights?

2. What kind of life forms could exist on Mars?

3. How could the two methods for solving the problem be combined?

4. Which levels of Bloom’s taxonomy could be combined in order to make a simpler classification system for both educational objectives and asking questions?

Evaluation

Students are asked to make value decisions about issues, resolve controversies or differences of opinion, or develop opinions or judgments. Questions may prompt students to compare and discriminate between ideas, assess the value of theories or presentations, or make choices based on reasoned argument and the value of the evidence.

1. Which of the following four paragraphs uses transition words most effectively?

2. What is our most important national problem?

3. What is the best measure of success: personal happiness, recognition from peers, or monetary rewards?

4. How useful is Bloom’s taxonomy for classifying questions?

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We hope that you have taken from Tutoring at Bond, some new strategies and concrete ideas to try with your students. Utlising the wisdom of others, we hope you walk into your first classes with greater confidence in yourself and your abilities as a tutor. Above all, it is our hope that reading this booklet has allowed you to see that you are not alone on your teaching and learning journey. You are now a member of the Bond community, with colleagues, mentors and friends who share your commitment to teaching and your students. And of course, QTL continually offers ongoing support and encouragement for your development as an academic and your contributions to education throughout your career.

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NOTES