tutorial system v. lecture

College Life
1

<p>Would a tutorial system at US schools -- assuming for example, the funding existed --
really enhance your learning significantly? Sometimes I really feel there's no point to attending lecture -- most of my knowledge absorption comes after class and I rarely read my own lecture notes before an exam. </p>

<p>Or are they essentially just the Oxbridge version of office hours?</p>

2

<p>We sort of have a mixed system:
For every class there’s

  • a lecture (>300ppl), typically 3 hrs a week, depending on the number of credits
  • a kind of tutorial where an assistant professor works through some problem sets on the blackboard (>300 ppl), typically 1.5 hrs a week,
    *and real tutorials with about 20 people, where some kind of assistant works through a problem set - with you, and you can ask any questions you want. Typically 1.5 hrs a week
    *homework (1 problem set a week)
    All of these things are optional, you just have to go to the finals.</p>

<p>I study maths and engineering, so my info does not apply to liberal arts subjects.</p>

<p>I regularly attend the lectures, because it in maths it’s incredibly time-consuming to work through books on your own.
I sometimes attend the big tutorials, especially if the problem sets are hard (They are hard all the time, but some are extra hard…) When somebody knowledgeable does a few problems, it gets easier
I sometimes attend tutorials if I have questions, if I can’t be bothered to do the homework and still don’t want to fall behind,… They are also cool if I just don’t get a topic.
I mostly do homework (though I seldom turn it in), because if I don’t, finals kill me.</p>

<p>Tutorials are grand for subjects where you have to solve problem sets and usually teach you how to applicate the theory from the lectures.
Several students say that you can skip lectures and pass the classes with just the tutorials - I’m too much in love with my subjects for that :-)</p>

3

<p>The only reason I attend lectures is so I have a general basis of what to study for the test. I have a hard time comprehending through auditory learning so I get all my knowledge and information from books and written material. Since seeing the material is often more beneficial to me, I simply write down the general idea of the lecture and research it in my free time.</p>

<p>I guess it depends on your learning style. Some people are auditory learners so lectures help them understand the material more so then reading it out of the text book.</p>

4

<p>I completely agree with Vehicle. Since I’m not a big auditory learner big lectures don’t usually do anything for me. Tutorial type review sessions help because the problems are usually written down as well as talked about. However I really see no significant difference between being in a lecture of 20 people vs. 200 people. For me if it’s said out loud, it will most likely go in one ear and go out the other instantly.</p>

5

<p>But I don’t believe in learning styles! [YouTube</a> - Learning Styles Don’t Exist](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIv9rz2NTUk)</p>

<p>I think it’s really just the type of lecturer … I mean, whether the lecturer is engaging or not makes a great difference to me (and I’m the self-studying type).</p>

6

<p>Guys, we are talking about Oxbridge tutorials/supervisions, not TA or review sessions.</p>

<p>galoisien, I think office hours come close to the spirit of tutorials, but calling them office hours makes them sound like remedial support for struggling students. They are actually quite the opposite, and maybe closer to an independent study. Students do reading for tutorials, they write papers, and they meet to discuss their thoughts and work with a professor or graduate student on a regular basis. In many disciplines tutorials actually replace formal classes.</p>