Structuring a tutorial

As Director of Teaching at Melbourne Law School, I have the privilege of running inductions for new teachers at the School. It is great to meet new people, and to have an intensive discussion of how we teach. Something that was asked this term related to how to structure a tutorial. After an intensive semester of teaching, I thought it was worth noting what I do in my tutorials (as opposed to seminars or lectures, which have different aims and content).

A typical tutorial structure, for me, might include:

• Welcome, introduction and overview, including:
  • An Acknowledgement of Country
  • Introductions / an icebreaker if the first tutorial
  • An overview of the class, its structure, and what it will cover, and how it relates to previous topics
• ‘In the news’
  • Discussion of news items relating to the subject from the previous week, and what it shows about our class/course materials (some subjects have more here than others!)
  • I also ask students to bring and share relevant news items they have identified
• A recap of the lecture or readings for the week
  • I like to use flowcharts or diagrams to summarise the content and emphasise key points
  • An opportunity for students to ask questions about the lecture or readings – often after the recap, so students have a chance to recall what they learnt!
• I then move into an activity or small group discussion, often structured around discussion questions and/or hypotheticals (provided in advance)
  • I ask students to discuss the questions or hypotheticals in small groups or tables, then to feed their key points back to the class as a whole
  • I encourage students to ask questions of me if needed during the discussion, but otherwise just keep a watchful eye from a distance – other teachers move around the tables to check on progress, but I feel this can sometimes disrupt or derail the discussion. If I see students not discussing the material, or looking frazzled, I will check in on them and see if they need guidance.
  • When students are feeding back to the whole class, I practice “active listening” techniques – so summarise or paraphrase what a student is saying, emphasise key points, and probe or clarify any area that might need further development.
• Conclusion:
  • Summarise the key points from the class.
  • Flag the topic/what will be discussed in the next class, and how that relates to the course so far.

Some other great advice is available from the Oxford Centre for Teaching and Learning. My key points would be:

• Plan your class in advance, including what resources or visual aids you might use or need
• If you, as a new teacher, have difficulties with some materials, the students will too – so prepare for questions on those areas in advance
• Tutorials work best as communities of learning, so try to cultivate relationships between students, and to develop a supportive environment in class. We want students to feel comfortable to make mistakes and to take risks – that is key to learning!