What Skills and Knowledge do Tutors Need?

I was asked to help with training of university tutors for computer science and engineering. So I looked at some of the training materials used around the world. But what do tutors need to know and be able to do? The term "tutor" is used by Australian universities for casual contract staff, usually later year undergraduates, and graduate students, who teach small groups (tutorials, or workshops), or supervise in a laboratory. In the USA these are referred to as Graduate Teaching Assistants, or just Teaching Assistants, and are usually PhD students.For simplicity, I will use the term tutors.

Tutors may take on many roles, apart from teaching small groups, including giving lectures and in some cases running whole courses (under the supervision of a Professor). However, my interest here is in what a beginning tutor, who has been asked to supervise a small class needs to know and be able to do.

UK Professional Standards Framework 

The UK Professional Standards Framework (UKPSF) breaks what a university teacher needs to be able to do into three categories: Areas of Activity (A), Core Knowledge Professional Values (K), and Professional Values(V):

"A The Areas of Activity

1. Design and plan learning activities and/or programmes of study
2. Teach and/or support learning
3. Assess and give feedback to learners 
4. Develop effective learning environments and approaches to student support and guidance
5. Engage in continuing professional development in subjects/disciplines and their pedagogy, incorporating research, scholarship and the evaluation of professional practices 

K. Core Knowledge

1. The subject material
2. Appropriate methods for teaching, learning and assessing in the subject area and at the level of the academic programme
3. How students learn, both generally and within their subject/ disciplinary area(s)
4. The use and value of appropriate learning technologies
5. Methods for evaluating the effectiveness of teaching
6. The implications of quality assurance and quality enhancement for academic and professional practice with a particular focus on teaching

V. Professional Values

1. Respect individual learners and diverse learning communities
2. Promote participation in higher education and equality of opportunity for learners
3. Use evidence-informed approaches and the outcomes from research,
   scholarship and continuing professional development
4. Acknowledge the wider context in which higher education operates recognising the implications for professional practice"

From:  UK Professional Standards Framework, HEA, 2011

Under the UK PSF Graduate Teaching Assistants (ie: tutors) are expected to have covered at least two of the five Areas of Activity (A1 to A5), core knowledge of the subject matter and how to teach it (K1 & K2), a "commitment" to appropriate Professional Values (V1 to V4), professional practices, subject and pedagogic research and/or scholarship of these, professional development activity (A5).

Areas of Activity

 The Areas of Activity seem a good place to start. It may seem curious that the first item on the list is not teaching (it is second). This may be because tutors, and university teachers generally, do not simply teach pre-prepared materials, they design activities for their students, and in many cases, carry out some of the assessment. So A1, A2 and A3 would appear essential for a tutor.

It is less clear that tutors can, and should, develop learning environments and approaches (A4). Beginning tutors will not have the experience, or training to do this. More clearly, tutors should be undertaking continuing professional development (K5).

Core Knowledge

Obviously, the tutor will need knowledge of the subject their student are to learn (K1) and how to teach it (K2). Undergraduate students who are tutoring will generally be at a later stage in their studies at the same institution, in the same field as the students they are tutoring. Thus these tutors will be familiar with the subject matter. However, PhD students may have finished their studies years ago, in another country and in another part of the discipline, as so will need to study up on what they are teaching.

Practitioners from industry may also be less current with the subject matter, however they will have a depth of practical experience, which students value. Subject matter knowledge is something I don't think needs to be covered in tutor training, except to say the tutor needs to review the teaching materials.

More problematic are methods for teaching and assessment (K2). Practitioners, and PhD students may not be familiar, or comfortable, with modern teaching and assessment methods. These tutors may assume students attend lectures, and assessed via examinations and individual assignments assessed by staff. However, a constructionist approach is increasingly used, particularly in fields such as computing and engineering.

With a constructionist approach the focus is on students undertaking projects, working in teams. There may be videos and computer based instructional materials, in place of lectures, and peer assessment of project work. This can be very confronting for tutors who have not learned in this way, especially when challenged by students who are not familiar with it either. There is a temptation for the tutor to fall back on what they know, giving lectures, and marking student work, instead carrying out their expected role.

Those teaching tutors, I suggest, should lead by example. Giving lectures to tutors telling them they should not give lectures will not send the intended message. Instead the same approach with videos and online materials should be used for teaching the tutors. The tutors should be given group activities to undertake, with most of the learning time spent on this. Even if their training is not to be formally assessed, they should be set the task of assessing each other, so they have experience of this.

How students learn (K3) need not be covered in detail. Some tutor training courses make the mistake of assuming they are training education academics, rather than practitioners. I suggest it is better to briefly mention learning theory, and then apply it, via the tutor training materials and activities. Similarly, learning technologies can be introduced by using them as part of the tutor training. Ideally the same tools should be used for tutor instruction, as they will use for teaching students.

Methods for evaluating teaching (k5) and quality assurance (K6), should be confined to peer review, which can be practiced during the training, and whatever standard evaluation surveys the institution uses. Those training teachers should resist the temptation to turn them into apprentice education researchers, or assistants for the trainer's research projects, as few of the tutors will go on to a career in academia.

Reference

Higher Education Academy. (2011). The UK professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. URL https://documents.advance-he.ac.uk/download/file/7013

Role of the Tutor Collaborating on University Educaiton

A tutor’s guide to teaching
and learning at UQ,
Bath, Smith & Steel, 2019

In looking for materials to teach university tutors, I came across "A tutor’s guide to teaching and learning at UQ" (Bath, Smith & Steel, 2019). This is a detailed 68 page document from the University of Queensland's Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation, intended to be read alongside the training offered to UQ tutors. It starts with responsibilities of a tutor, then addresses fears and concerns, preparation and planning. Then there is a chapter on how students learn, emphasizing that just telling students is not very effect, you have to get them to do something. The next chapter is "Effective small group teaching and learning". This is then followed by assessment, evaluation, and resources.

The emphasis in this guide is on small small group teaching (with mention made of classes of 16 students). The assumption is that the tutor works alone with a class, making up their own lessons. However, students are increasingly instructed in large groups, with a team of instructors, following a pre-designed lesson plan. Even where the tutor is on their own, they need to follow what the student is being asked to learn and do, in the course notes, lectures, videos and other instruction.

As a student myself, and as a tutor, a major frustration, and source of confusion has been when the tutor doesn't know what is going on in the rest of the course, so doesn't know how to support the students. As a tutor, on occasion, I have asked the students what was said in lectures. This can be a useful way to see what students have retained, and what misunderstanding there have been, but often it is because I really don't know what they were told.

I suggest tutors need to be trained to work collaboratively, with fellow tutors and the course supervisor. It is not be enough for the tutor to sit back and wait for this collaboration to happen, as many supervisors are too busy to organize it, don't understand the importance of this, or how to do it.

Standards for Australian University Teaching

In looking for material to help teach university tutors, I stumbled across the curious "Australian University Teaching & Criteria & Standards". The first odd thing about this is the title, which uses "and" twice. This Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching funded project set out criteria for those at each university teaching level. The project report proposes seven teaching criteria (Chalmers, Cummings, Elliott, Stoney, Tucker, Wicking, & Jorre de St Jorre, p. 43, 2014). Five of these criteria (1,to 4 and 6) are the same as the five "Areas of Activity" in the UK professional standards framework (HEA, p. 3, 2011). One of the added criteria appears to be from the HEA's Professional Values (V3 "scholarship"). The other, "Professional and personal effectiveness", appears to be an attempt to summarize several of the HEA criteria, but is too general to be useful. It would have been better for the project to simply endorse the HEA's criteria:

"1. Design and planning of learning activities
2. Teaching and supporting student learning
3. Assessment and giving feedback to students on their learning
4. Developing effective learning environments, student support and guidance
5. Integration of scholarship, research and professional activities with teaching and in support of student learning
6. Evaluation of practice and continuing professional development
7. Professional and personal effectiveness"

 Proposed Australian teaching criteria (Chalmers, et. al., p. 43, 2014), with those from HEA (2011) highlighted.

References

Chalmers, D., Cummings, R., Elliott, S., Stoney, S., Tucker, B., Wicking, R., & Jorre de St Jorre, T. (2014). Australian university teaching criteria and standards project. URL http://uniteachingcriteria.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Draft-SP12-2335-Project-Final-Report-21-July-2014.pdf

Higher Education Academy. (2011). The UK professional standards framework for teaching and supporting learning in higher education. URL https://documents.advance-he.ac.uk/download/file/7013

Improving Tutor Training

How much teacher training do those teaching at university need and how should this be provided? This is a question I have been looking at since first becoming involved in teaching at a university twenty years ago. I have been subjected to poorly designed online introductory tutoring course, a better four day face to face course, as well as longer programs. I decided to look at some of my frustrations, and recommendations, so I do not repeat the mistakes of the past.

Online course exemplar: In reflecting on being an online student of teaching, one frustration was in difficulty using the Learning Management System (LMS). In that case I was using one unfamiliar to me (Blackboard). In teaching tutors, who are mostly students, it would therefore help to use the LMS they have been using as students. It would also help to lay out the tutor course using a familiar standard template of courses at the university. The online materials should be an example of good design. One of my frustrations as an online student of education, was where the content of the course said to do something, but that was not followed in the way the course was implemented (a case of "Do as I say, not as I do"). It is especially important that the materials are provided online for a tutor training course, as you only have the students for a short time.

Provide Assessment: As a form of staff training, short tutor training courses are often not assessed, although the student may get a certificate of attendance. There may be some optional assessment offered, if they intend to apply for credit to program, or apply for an external certificate (such as fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, Association for Learning Technology, or the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia). However, I found it difficult to take some teacher training seriously as there was no assessment, and I just needed to turn up. Even if only for the purposes of formative feedback, some type of assessment should be provided. This will also provide the participant with some idea of what it is like for their own students.

Peer Support: As a student I disliked any form of group work. My attitude was that I just wanted to be told what to do, I would do it on my own, and then get out of there. However, this does not make for a satisfying learning experience. New tutors, like new students, need help and support, which they can't just get from supervisors. So forms of group work, peer feedback and assessment, should be built into the tutor training. This may be difficult to arrange, and unpopular, but is useful.

Practical Exercises: Much of the teacher training I have been a student of has been very "academic", with theory expounded by an expert talking to a passive class of students. There is plenty of research to show this is not an effective way to learn. Ironically, some of that evidence was cited by people standing up presenting slide after slide, just as that research said not to do. What I found most useful as a student was to be told a little theory, and then have to prepare a practical lesson, with my peers as students.

Not Intensive Mode: Being crammed into a room for a few hours, or days is not a useful way to learn. There needs to be time to reflect, and ideally try out, what is being learned.

Tutor Training

Principles of Tutoring & Demonstrating" (ANU, 2014):

"Principles of Tutoring and Demonstrating is a decamod in the Academic Professional Development (APD) program. It is a program specifically designed for research students to give a broad introduction to university teaching in the context of tutoring and demonstrating. It runs weekly during semester to provide ongoing support just when tutors and demonstrators may need it. "

This was made up of ten modules:

1. Setting the Scene - Reflective Practice

• Preparing for the first class
• Overview of rights and responsibilities
• Reflective practice
• The Professional Standards Framework and the EFS

2. Setting the Scene: Student Learning

• Student learning styles and how this affects the way we teach
• The role of the teacher - Theories of teaching

3.  Planning a Tutorial

• Theories of student learning and lesson planning
• Structuring a teaching session

4.  Teaching Groups & individuals

• Small group and cooperative learning strategies
• Strategies for engaging with student one-on-one

 5. Dynamics & Diversity

• Dealing with diverse groups of students.
• Responding to challenging situations and "difficult" students
• Notions of group life cycle
• Student needs and support services

 6. Introduction to Wattle* for Tutors

• Tricks and tips for using Wattle to enhance your teaching

 7.  Peer Observation

• Observation of another tutor with reflection online 

 8. Assessment & Marking

 9. Evaluation & Reflective Practice

• Evaluation practices
• Creating a teaching portfolio
• Action learning - evaluation to inform practice
• Personal reflection

10.  Troubleshooting (The Tutoring Toolkit)

• Discussion of teaching scenarios from past semester
• Key skills in a tutor's teaching toolkit

ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS ) offered a Teaching and quality Program (TQP), based on the above.


 * Wattle is ANU's Learning Management System, made up of Moodle and other tools.

Reimagining engineering and computer science tutor training for the 21st Century

I have been asked to help teach engineering and computer science tutors how to tutor. But first, what is the role of the graduates of these disciplines in the 21st century? The College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS) at the Australian National University (ANU) has set out to reimagine engineering and computing for the mid 21st century.

The re-thinking of ANU engine ring and computing includes how to teach them, with Reimagine Co Design Culture Lab this week in Canberra. This includes consecrations of "Transformational education experiences that give a distinctive edge in technological problem formulation, with experience curated from the breadth of engineering, computing, science, social science and humanities". Some of the key aspects of this are creativity, collaboration, and human needs.

For STEM students trained and selected for their skills in narrow technician specializations,  creativity, collaboration and meeting human needs, are a challenge. For teachers who have also been trained in a narrow technical area, how to teach these broader skills, and assess them is also challenge.

The answer I suggest is authentic education and assessment. That is the teaching should be as much like the real workplace as possible. Students are then given a real task and assessed on how well they do it. Hardly anyone spends their days working by sitting silently in a big hall listing to some giving a presentation, so that should not be how they learn. Hardly anyone works by answering written questions on paper, alone, with no reference materials, so that is not how they should be assessed.

University teachers can be trapped in a vicious circle, where they teach using the same poor techniques used to teach them. The problem is that university academics receive little teacher training, and then pass or poor practices to their students. Even when offered more extensive teacher education, academics are busy teaching, or researching. Tutor training, provides an opportunity to break this cycle, by showing the pre-career academic, alternative ways to teach, before they become too busy to lean.