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To help you plan your tutorial you need to be aware that students learn in different ways and their retention rate varies depending on how you teach.
Learning preferences
Some students are auditory learners and:
- Learn by listening, understand by listening
- Prefer verbal instructions
- Work out solutions by talking aloud so they can hear the solution
- Like discussions, special speakers, and lectures really appeal
- Interpret speaker’s meaning by focusing on tone of voice, speed, and other speech nuances
Other are visual learners and :
- Learn through descriptions and demonstrations
- Use lists to organize thoughts
- Need to see the teacher’s body language as he or she teaches
- Are greatly assisted by the use of diagrams and videos, handouts and illustrations
- Like to take detailed notes
Others are tactile learners and:
- Like hands on
- Like to ‘do’
Learning retention
Research (e.g., Arnold et al, 1991; Laird, 1985) suggests that students retain:
- 20% of what they hear
- 30% of what they see
- 50% of what they see and hear
- 70% of what they see, hear and say
- 90% of what they see, hear, say and do
As a tutor, you will probably be teaching small groups of ten – thirty students in either tutorials, seminars, practical classes, demonstrations or clinical settings. In these settings effective learning occurs when students have the opportunity to hear a lecture or discussion, see a demonstration or visual display, discuss the material, and have an opportunity to engage with the material.
Effective small group learning
As a tutor you need to be aware of how groups form and evolve, how active participation, face-to-face interactions, purposeful activity and intellectual engagement can assist the process of learning in small groups, and how to manage group work effectively.
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