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There are eight tutorials per year and these provide an opportunity for students to meet each other and to meet the tutor.  Tutorials are two hours long and I strongly urge all students to attend them.

Why you should attend tutorials

Tutorials are an important part of the course and provide a forum for discussion and an opportunity for students to ask questions, seek clarification or explanation, discuss particular problems, and meet their fellow students.  They are a very valuable and important part of your overall studies and I believe that students who attend tutorials have greater success than those who don't.

Normally a tutor will discuss a portion of the course material, usually from four to six units of the course text and some chapters from the recommended textbooks.  As the tutorial is only two hours long, there is limited opportunity to go into great detail on any topic, but the tutor will usually address the most difficult and important issues.  Many tutors prepare material in advance and distribute it or discuss it in a structured manner at the tutorial.  Now that I have this web site established, I expect that most of my material will be made available on the Internet, giving students an opportunity to review the material prior to attending the tutorial.

When I was doing the course, I always encountered periods - especially after the summer break - when I wanted to give up doing the course.  This is natural when you consider that the student may well be married and a parent, be in a relationship, have a job and suffer from all the stresses and strains of modern life.  So it is understandable that some students will drop out and a significant number do so every year.  I found when I was going through these periods of difficulty that attending the tutorial and discussing problems with the tutor or fellow students usually gave me the resolve to go on.  In most cases, my fellow students would also be going through their own difficulties and pulled me through.  This is a big benefit of attending the tutorials and meeting your fellow students.

Studying alone can be difficult, so students should avail of every opportunity to meet others.  If you get in with a good bunch, there can be quite a social element to attending the college and I spent many happy afternoons in the college bar!  I'm also glad to say that I formed some good friendships as well that last to this day.

The tutorials are also a good way of getting to know your tutor, and this can be useful because if you know your tutor you will get to know his or her style and therefore stand a better chance of doing well in assignments.  Tutors work to a marking scheme and there is very little deviation from it.  However, getting guidance on content, use of diagrams, recommended length of assignments, etc. can go a long way to improving your assignments and save you time.

Some suggested do's and dont's

Students are mature and normally know how to behave!  However, there are a few small things that I urge you to bear in mind:

1. Attend all tutorials.  You do not know what you will miss if you don't.  I know it can be difficult to get time to attend them, but I really believe it is worth it.  Tutors do their best to provide important information to students, so go get it!    I try to make my tutorials interesting for students and so I urge you to come along.
2. Contribute to discussion.  Since you took the time to come, get involved in the discussions that are taking place.  Have a plan or personal agenda before you come to a tutorial and make sure that you achieve all your objectives before you leave.
3. Ask questions and don't be shy.  I know it can be embarrassing when you ask a question and you probably feel a bit stupid asking it.  Everyone else is much more clever that you, or so you think.  Well, take it from me, both as a former student and now as a tutor, there are no stupid questions - what is stupid is not to ask questions.  So go on - put your hand up or just shout your question.  You will be surprised how many people had the same question in their minds!  As a tutor, I always try to answer questions fully and really try to be sure that the student understands the topic concerned. So test me out - ask a hard question!
4. Don't dominate tutorials.  It is important to ask questions and to contribute to discussions, but please remember there the other students that are present.  While you may be assertive, others may be shy, so give them space to get their issues dealt with.  Two hours go very quickly at tutorials, so when you raise a question or a topic - or make a valuable contribution - keep it short and to the point so we can cover the intended agenda.
5. Don't be pedantic or argumentative.  If you've got a point to make, make it.  If you have a difference of opinion with a student or tutor, state it clearly and discuss it.  Then shut up!
6. If you can't attend tutorials, I would appreciate it if you would let me know.

You can also contact me by telephone in work or at home.  I provide telephone numbers at the tutorials and my students will be given further contact information by the college.

Do you have any questions or suggestions on the subject of tutorials?  Use the feedback form to tell me about it.