1. Jenni Bettman jenni.bettman@anu.edu.au
The First Tutorial
Jenni Bettman

2. Before the First Tutorial…
Read the Course Outline
Be prepared to answer questions about the course, especially assessment that may occur within the tutorial.
Plan and organise the tutorial, but allow for some flexibility.
Prepare notes regarding the important information you need to get across (i.e. about the course and about yourself).
It is important to plan all tutorials.
Visit room – often tutorials can be in locations you have never been to.
Check the classroom facilities.
Does it have an overhead projector?
Make sure you have whiteboard markers and a whiteboard eraser! Not all rooms will have these and you do not want to be without them.

3. Commencement of Tutorial…
Arrive early. The first tutorial sets the scene for the semester.
Introduce yourself and provide your contact details ( , consultation times/location, etc).
Make sure you write your contact details on the board clearly – leave them on the board for the duration of the tutorial for any students who arrive late!
Really important that you speak loud enough for everyone to hear.

4. Commencement of Tutorial…
Try and be relaxed and friendly. Making eye contact also indicates that you would like students to interact with you.
Let students know that you would like involvement, but stress that you will not pick on students – this makes students feel more comfortable in the classroom.
Useful to discuss how you will run a tutorial and where (if applicable) any assessment will fit in.
State the objectives of the tutorial.
Always introduce the tutorial topic, and often useful to set the scene or provide a summary before commencing the tutorial questions.

5. During the Tutorial…
Try and identify the pace of the class. Some questions will undoubtedly be too easy and can be discussed quickly.
At other times, you will be able to detect that students are confused or struggling with the concept, so it is often useful to slow down or provide an additional example of the harder concepts. Often repeating or re-doing parts of the exercise can be helpful to students as well.
Try and manage the time so that you cover the material given in the tutorial. There will be times that it may not be possible to finish all the questions, so you should be flexible and identify the important and difficult concepts that definitely need to be covered.

6. During the Tutorial…
Tutorials should have a beginning, a middle and an end.
For example, when I tute, I start with a summary of the lecture that we are covering in the tutorial. The middle is answering the questions set out for the tutorial. The end is either the assessment (i.e. a tutorial quiz) or perhaps an additional important example that I have come up with to discuss – a possible exam question (i.e. from a past paper).
Finish positively and try and finish on time, rather than late!!

7. Helpful Tips!
Students will appreciate a tutor who is approachable and accessible, and be more likely to get involved in the tutorial.
Communicating this to students often (i.e. telling them to come to your consultation, answering questions after class), will help.
Try and keep the tutorial interesting – provide real life applications (if possible).
This always makes students engaged and enthusiastic as they see where the theory fits into practice.
Watch the expressions on the students faces – you will know when they are confused!
Try not go too fast (or too slow!!). No tutorial should be finished in 20 minutes!

8. Tips to be an Effective Tutor…
Try and foresee any possible questions or queries students may have.
Most lecturers give you solutions to the tutorial questions, but it often helps to redo the solutions yourself, so you feel comfortable delivering the material.
Often when you redo the solutions, you will make notes on specific details that you may want to stress to your students during the tutorial.
Provide (where applicable) additional examples which may show alternative concepts or differences to those in the tutorial questions.
Be enthusiastic! You are obviously good in the subject you are tutoring, so share the passion!

9. Tips to be an Effective Tutor…
Be respectful of all students and cater to each student’s ability!
Feedback on quizzes or other tutorial assessment is really important and appreciated by students.
Sometimes there is more than one way to get to a solution.
Students like to be assured that they are approaching questions in the right way. Encourage student independence.
Keep in touch with the lecturer or head tutor of the course so they also get feedback.