Tutorial Sessions Research Articles

Development and assessment of an academic performance enrichment program for low-performing, first-year pharmacy students.

Pharmacy school applications have steadily declined over the past several years. Thus pharmacy schools are not only searching for effective means to increase enrollment of qualified candidates, but are also focusing on the development of programs to improve academic performance and retention of enrolled students. To address the needs of struggling first-year pharmacy students enrolled in an Integrated Biological Sciences (BSI) course, an academic performance enrichment program (APEP) was developed. The program was designed to improve academic success by engaging low-performing students with the aims of improving their time management skills, study skills, metacognition, and understanding of BSI course material. The APEP consisted of structured tutoring sessions twice per week, which were required for all students with a course grade ≤73.5% at any point during the semester. To assess program effectiveness, performance improvement on BSI exams by the APEP students were compared with that of non-APEP students in the same class and to those in the previous 3 yr. Student perceptions of the program were also evaluated via an online survey. The APEP was deemed effective in that a greater percentage of students were able to improve their exam scores and to a greater extent by attending the APEP sessions compared with non-APEP students in the same class and with low-performing students in previous years when the APEP did not exist. Furthermore, APEP students believed the program was effective in meeting its aims. In conclusion, the APEP was effective in improving academic performance of low-performing students in BSI.

Principles of Self-Regulation in EFL mediated by Dialogic Tutoring Sessions

Students’ engagement and determination require the use of self-regulated learning strategies to facilitate adequate preparation. This article reports a research study that looks into how eight instructors, who were trained to promote self-regulation, interact with 18 students of a Bachelor of Arts program in English language teaching in Bogotá. The problem was the prevalence of an instructional model of reproduction of knowledge in the English language classes taken by the 18 students. The pedagogical intervention introduces dialogic tutoring. The instructors’ voices, in the role of tutors, and the students’ voices, as tutees, were collected in 40 videos, a questionnaire, and a focus group. Grounded theory allowed transposing the identification of patterns, code tagging, and code grouping into concepts. This process generated four principles that worked positively in the promotion of self-regulation in this socially and culturally diverse sample of instructors and students, namely: (1) addressing needs, interests and beliefs; (2) setting goals; (3) scaffolding learning; (4) providing quality feedback.

Metacognitive Training in Chemistry Tutor Sessions Increases First Year Students’ Self-Efficacy

Recent educational research emphasizes the importance of personal social cognitive beliefs and metacognitive knowledge and skills for achievement in science as well as retention in the field. In this project, a mandatory evening tutorial program was developed to provide direct instruction in metacognitive skills for first year students enrolled in an introductory chemistry course. As measured by student surveys and grade outcomes, this approach directly increased students’ self-efficacy in STEM and increased students’ achievement. In addition, these effects were more pronounced for women in the course. These results suggest that teaching metacognition to students in introductory chemistry courses could improve achievement and potentially improve retention in the field, particularly for women in physical sciences.

Discourse strategies that co-construct relational identities in STEM peer tutoring

ABSTRACTThis study is a discourse analysis of the transcribed talk recorded between tutors and students in a university peer tutoring program. We focus on STEM tutoring sessions, showing how tutors and students co-construct relational identities in and among the technical, highly task-oriented work of solving math and science problems. Using Grounded Practical Theory as a theoretical framework, we propose that understanding the co-creation of relational identities provides insight into an important component of STEM tutoring sessions. Through the process of Action Implicative Discourse Analysis, we describe three conversational practices with which tutors and students negotiate their relational identity—encouragement talk, sensemaking checks, and metadisciplinary talk. We discuss implications in terms of tutoring sessions’ situated ideals and participants engaging in a community of practice.

Impact and Outcomes of a Pediatric Robotic Urology Mini-Fellowship.

Introduction: In order to support practicing pediatric surgeons and urologists to safely and effectively incorporate robotic surgery into their practice, we established a 5-day mini-fellowship program with a mentor, preceptor and proctor at our institution. This study was designed to report our experience with the pediatric robotic mini-fellowship (PRM) and to evaluate the impact this course had on the participants' practice.Methods: The mini-fellowship training at our institution is provided in two modules, including upper and lower urinary tract surgery, over a 5-day period. The one to one teacher-to-attendee experience included tutorial sessions, hands-on inanimate, and animate skills training, clinical case observations and video discussions. Participants were asked to complete a detailed questionnaire on their practice patterns before and after the PRM.Results: Between 2012 and 2018, a total of 29 national and international pediatric surgeons and urologists underwent robotic renal and bladder surgery training. Twenty-six fellows (90%) completed the surveys, all of which were included for analysis. The median age at the time of fellowship was 43 years (32–63), and participants had practiced urology for a median of 76 months (3–372). All of them had a laparoscopic background, with a median experience of 120 months (12–372), and an average of 454 (± 703) laparoscopic procedures performed, including the years of training. The most common primary goals of participants were to understand the concept of robotic surgery and its applications (38.5%), and to practice in the wet lab to shorten their learning curve (38.5%). After PRM completion, 24 graduates (92%) felt likely to incorporate robotic surgery into their practice, of which 15 (58%) actually started a robotic program at their home institution. At 24 months after PRM completion, the overall number of surgeries performed with a robotic approach (RA) by these 15 participants was 478 with an average of 32 (± 44) procedures per fellow, of which 109 (23%) were extirpative (nephrectomy, partial nephrectomy, etc.), and 369 (77%) reconstructive procedures (pyeloplasty, ureteral reimplantation, etc.). Before PRM, the same 15 participants performed 844 procedures with a laparoscopic approach (LA), of which 527 (62.4%) were extirpative, and 317 (37.6%) were reconstructive surgeries. These data mark a significant switch in indications for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in pediatric urology. The rise in the number of reconstructive procedures (37.6% LA vs. 77% RA) has shown that robotic surgery has undoubtedly facilitated the performance of more challenging procedures in a minimally invasive fashion.Conclusion: The success of a mini-fellowship program relies on the commitment of expert faculty to serve as tutorial instructors and proctors. In addition, a completely outfitted robotic laboratory with access to dry and wet lab is indispensable. A 5-day intensive PRM appears to enable postgraduate surgeons to successfully incorporate the robotic platform into their practice and to advance the complexity of minimally invasive procedures, allowing for more challenging surgeries, such as reconstructive urology.

How Much Practice Is Required to Reduce Performance Variability in a Virtual Reality Mining Simulator?

Virtual reality allows researchers to explore training scenarios that are not feasible or are potentially risky to recreate in the real world. The aim of this research was to examine whether using a tutorial session prior to using the mining simulator could adequately reduce the performance variability and increase the consistency of participant performance metrics. Eighteen participants were randomly assigned to a tutorial or a non-tutorial group. The tutorial group completed a five-minute tutorial that introduced them to the basics of the machine and virtual reality environment. All participants then completed five sessions in the simulator lasting five minutes each. Personality scores were recorded and participants answered questions to test their situational awareness after each session. Performance metrics such as number of collisions and perception response time were recorded by the simulator. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to determine at what point a significant difference in performance metrics was apparent across the five sessions. A mixed effects multilevel regression was done to evaluate the change in variability across time. There were no significant correlations between the personality questionnaire scores and the number of collisions or the perception response time. Both groups demonstrated high standard deviation scores for collisions and perception response time, but the tutorial group had decreasing variability across time. Both groups began to exhibit more consistent scores in the simulator after 10 min of use. Situational awareness questions require some refinement prior to further testing.

Development and Evaluation of a Hybrid Course in Clinical Virology at a Faculty of Pharmacy in Lille, France.

BackgroundDuring their studies, pharmacy students must acquire the specific skills in clinical virology required for their subsequent professional practice. Recent experiments on teaching and learning in higher education have shown that hybrid courses strengthen the students’ commitment to learning and enable high-quality knowledge acquisition.ObjectiveThis study concerned the design and deployment of a hybrid course that combines face-to-face and Web-based instruction in clinical virology for fourth-year pharmacy students. The study’s objectives were to (1) measure the students’ level of involvement in the course, (2) gauge their interest in this type of learning, and (3) highlight any associated difficulties.MethodsThe study included 194 fourth-year pharmacy students from the Lille Faculty of Pharmacy (University of Lille, Lille, France) between January and June 2017. The students followed a hybrid course comprising an online learning module and 5 tutorial sessions in which professional situations were simulated. The learning module and 3 online evaluation sessions were delivered via the Moodle learning management system. Each tutorial session ended with an evaluation. The number of Moodle log-ins, the number of views of learning resources, and the evaluation marks were recorded. The coefficient for the correlation between the marks in the online evaluation and those in the tutorials was calculated. The students’ opinions and level of satisfaction were evaluated via a course questionnaire.ResultsThe course’s learning resources and Web pages were viewed 21,446 and 3413 times, respectively. Of the 194 students, 188 (96.9%) passed the course (ie, marks of at least 10 out of 20). There was a satisfactory correlation between the marks obtained in the online evaluations and those obtained after the tutorials. The course met the students’ expectations in 53.2% of cases, and 57.4% of the students stated that they were able to work at their own pace. Finally, 26.6% of the students stated that they had difficulty organizing their work around this hybrid course.ConclusionsOur results showed that pharmacy students were strongly in favor of a hybrid course. The levels of attendance and participation were high. However, teachers must be aware that some students will encounter organizational difficulties.

Understanding the 'Electronic' Student: Analysis of Functional Requirements for Distributed Education

This paper describes how the Open University, as a large distance education institution, has used the Internet to transform the learning environment for distance students. We review the process involved in understanding the requirements of distance education students and how they can be supported via the Internet. We describe the tools developed in our Internet-based implementation and how they address the needs of geographically remote learners: electronic student registration, electronic assignment handling, electronic tutorial sessions, and electronic examinations. The paper reflects on the impact of this implementation and the gains in using the Internet for global distance learners, realised in flexible study practices and efficient communiqués.

More Effective Assessment

Assessment effectiveness is an important topic for all educators. This study considers how assessment can be made more effective by addressing plagiarism by students in international undergraduate programs in Vietnam. The study included a change in assessment away from written reports and towards student presentations. 107 Vietnamese students, across two semesters, studying a BTEC HND business management subject in an international program at a large government-run university were assigned to give weekly group presentations rather than write 3,000 word reports. The first semester results indicate that this change practically eliminated plagiarism and improved student learning (measured by grades) by 33%. The second semester added local language tutorial sessions and improved student learning by 70% from the pre-study levels. Additionally, students reported greater satisfaction with the new assessment design.

Toward Effective Robot--Child Tutoring

Personalized learning environments have the potential to improve learning outcomes for children in a variety of educational domains, as they can tailor instruction based on the unique learning needs of individuals. Robot tutoring systems can further engage users by leveraging their potential for embodied social interaction and take into account crucial aspects of a learner, such as a student’s motivation in learning. In this article, we demonstrate that motivation in young learners corresponds to observable behaviors when interacting with a robot tutoring system, which, in turn, impact learning outcomes. We first detail a user study involving children interacting one on one with a robot tutoring system over multiple sessions. Based on empirical data, we show that academic motivation stemming from one’s own values or goals as assessed by the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A) correlates to observed suboptimal help-seeking behavior during the initial tutoring session. We then show how an interactive robot that responds intelligently to these observed behaviors in subsequent tutoring sessions can positively impact both student behavior and learning outcomes over time. These results provide empirical evidence for the link between internal motivation, observable behavior, and learning outcomes in the context of robot--child tutoring. We also identified an additional suboptimal behavioral feature within our tutoring environment and demonstrated its relationship to internal factors of motivation, suggesting further opportunities to design robot intervention to enhance learning. We provide insights on the design of robot tutoring systems aimed to deliver effective behavioral intervention during learning interactions for children and present a discussion on the broader challenges currently faced by robot--child tutoring systems.

Evaluation of the role of near-peer teaching in critical appraisal skills learning: a randomized crossover trial.

ObjectivesThe study sought to evaluate near-peer tutors’ teaching of critical appraisal skills to medical students as an aspect of Evidence-based Medicine. MethodsIn a randomized crossover trial, 241 students completing a Clinical Epidemiology and Evidence-based Medicine (CE-EBM) module in the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Indonesia (FMUI) were randomly assigned to intervention or control groups. During tutorial sessions, intervention group participants were assigned to near-peer tutors, who were newly graduated doctors, and those in the control groups were assigned to staff tutors. After two tutorial sessions, intervention and control groups exchanged tutors for the next two sessions. Outcomes were measured using written knowledge and skills multiple choice questions (MCQ) test, the Evidence-based Practice Confidence Scale (EPIC) and a student attitude questionnaire, along with student evaluation of tutors to evaluate the process. ResultsOn completion of the module, the written test scores of intervention group students were similar to those of the control group (t(239) = 1.553, p=0.122), as well as overall Evidence-based Practice Confidence Scale scores (F(2/170) = 0.179, p = 0.673) and attitude scores (t(219) =-0.676, p = 0.085). In the tutor evaluations, the students rated their near-peer tutored sessions as better than those tutored by staff in most respects. ConclusionsNear-peer tutors were as effective as and more readily accepted than staff tutors in teaching critical appraisal skills. These findings support the broader implementation of peer-teaching in other areas of medical education.

Formative assessment scores in tutorial sessions correlates with OSCE and progress testing scores in a PBL medical curriculum

ABSTRACTBackground: Effective assessments programs are a challenge in problem-based learning (PBL). One of the main principles of this educational setting is the Formative Assessment (FA). We hypothesized that students’ performance assessed by FA in tutorial sessions in a PBL curriculum is related to other summative assessments.Objective: To investigate the correlation among FA in tutorial sessions with grades obtained in Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE) and Progress Testing (PT) to better understand the assessment process in PBL medical teaching approach and to predict student’s future performance.Design: An observational cross-sectional study was conducted comparing FA, OSCE and PT scores from 4th to 8th semester medical students. Correlation analyses were performed using pooled and separate data from the 4th and 8th semesters.Results: From the 5th to 8th semester, OSCE scores were smaller compared to the FA, while PT scores were lower in all stages. In the pooled data, the correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship between grades on FA and OSCE, FA and PT and OSCE and PT. A significant correlation among the three assessments strategies was also detected in the 8th semester, but not in the 4th semester.Conclusions: Assessment strategies in PBL approach, including FA, OSCE and PT, have positive correlations, which increases as the medical course becomes more complex.

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Improving exam performance in an undergraduate statistics course for at-risk students through peer tutoring

Peer tutoring is an effective method of improving undergraduate students’ academic performance, especially for those at-risk for poor grades. Peer tutoring has seldom been explored in undergraduate statistics, a difficult but required course for many college majors. The current study investigated the benefits of peer tutoring for 180 demographically-diverse undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology statistics course at an urban public university. We investigated the predictive value of attendance at peer tutoring sessions for in-class examination performance. We also studied the role of help-seeking and self-efficacy. Results indicated that peer tutoring attendance was associated with higher grades for in-class examination among at-risk students. Help-seeking and self-efficacy were not associated with in-class examination scores. Peer tutors can help at-risk students increase scores in statistics courses. Departments offering undergraduate introductory statistics courses should allocate resources to allow for funding of peer tutoring programs.

Analysis of the experience of private tutoring activities with children with limited health opportunities

The article analyses and summarises the experience of private tutoring with a child with autism spectrum disorder. The experience of group tutoring sessions with schoolchildren with impaired mental function is analysed. The purpose of the article is to highlight the main features of tutoring with children with limited health opportunities. The article analyses the main problems arising in the education of children with limited health opportunities. The difficulties of inclusive education of children with limited health opportunities in general education class are described. On the basis of the described positive experience of individual and group tutoring sessions with children with limited health opportunities, we highlighted the main features of such classes. The conclusion is made about the need for constant self-development of a private pedagogue and improvement of their professional level. Keywords: private tutoring, tutoring classes, children with disabilities, children with limited health opportunities, children with autism spectrum disorder, children with impaired mental function, tutor, private pedagogue.

Discovering Lecturers’ Perspectives of the Use of ‘English for Academic Survival Mobile Learning Module’ (Tutor Me) Among Tertiary Students

Due to the advancement of mobile technologies, over the past few years, the perceptions relating to mobile learning (mLearning) have been evolving. The purpose of this study was to examine the lecturers’ perspectives on the use of ‘Tutor Me’ by the lecturers of English for Academic Survival (UHB 10302) course during tutorial sessions and independent study hours among tertiary students of Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM). Two lecturers who had used the platform were interviewed by the developer of ‘Tutor Me’. The results indicated that the lecturers were positive on the use of ‘Tutor Me’ as one of the mLearning platform to be used to the students of UHB 10302 course.

Engaging Creative Media Students’ Motivation: The Influence of Autonomy, Peer Relationships, and Opportunities in the Industry

Motivating students in creative media courses can be a challenge due to the demand for creativity which is hard to betaught. Hence, motivation needs to be re-identified and re-addressed for the creative disciplines. Conventionally,creative media courses adopt the studio-based learning, and with this unique dynamic teaching approach, students arerequired to have face-to-face tutorial sessions with their tutors on a regular basis, as well as participate in groupprojects and produce creative artefacts of industry standard quality. In this paper, we investigate the criticalmotivators for creative media students and identify those factors throughout the study. The study aims to examinehow crucial and influential the autonomy, peer relationship and the future career opportunities for students’motivation. Research includes a survey with questions based on a conceptual framework adopted fromself-determination theory. The results suggest that autonomy, peer relationships and the opportunity for future careersare the primary motivators for students in the programme. The implications of the findings are discussed, andrecommendations are provided to faculty members in the creative programmes.

Are Professors Worth It?

A substantial share of university instruction happens in tutorial sessions—small group instruction given parallel to lectures. We study whether instructors with a higher academic rank teach tutorials more effectively in a setting where students are randomly assigned to tutorial groups. We find this to be largely not the case. Academic rank is unrelated to students' current and future performance and only weakly positively related to students' course evaluations. Building on these results, we discuss different staffing scenarios that show that universities can substantially reduce costs by increasingly relying on lower-ranked instructors for tutorial teaching.

Societal Factors of Private Tutoring in English: Evidence from Bangladeshi Higher Secondary Students

This study used the phenomenological qualitative research design to provide insights into the lived experiences of nine Bangladeshi higher secondary students in mainstream schools to determine the current practices of PT-E phenomenon, that had been motivated them to be enrolled in private tutoring sessions besides their formal schoolings. Each participant participated in one-to-one in-depth semi-structured interview. From nine verbatim transcripts 237 significant statements and four themes were emerged. The data represented that academic credentials, peer pressure, role of English in Bangladesh and parental involvement seem to be highly influential factors that influence school students to participate in PT-E.

Tutors and self-assessment of medical students' performance in pre-clinical problem-based learning tutorial sessions.

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Background: It is currently acknowledged that developing the skills in self-assessment is imperative for the continuing learning of every physician. Objective : This study aimed to assess students' performance in tutorial sessions in a hybrid problem-based learning (PBL) curriculum conducted during the pre-clinical years through self-and tutors assessment. Methods : Sixty nine first year and eighty second year students of the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) Program at the Princess NourahBint Abdulrahman University participated in the study. Both self-and tutors assessment of students performance within the PBL tutorial setting was conducted using a validated questionnaire developed by Valle et al., (1999). Mean ratings between self-and tutors assessments were compared using paired t-test. Association between self and tutors assessments and PBL written exam scores was analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients. Results: Results revealed a significant difference between self and tutors assessment for first year medical students under scoring their own performance than the tutors' with a total mean score of 79.99 (± 25.87) and 98.02 (± 8.71) respectively ( P=0.001).Tutors assessment correlated poorly with self-assessment (r=0.344). No correlation between self-assessment and exam scores was observed but a strong correlation (r=0.726 & P=0.045) was shown for tutor assessment and exam scores. In contrast to the first year group, the total score showed no significant difference between self- and tutors assessment in second year students. There was strong correlation between tutor and self-assessment (r=0.722& P=0.041) as well as between tutor assessment and exam scores (r=0.806 & P=0.030 ) but not with self-assessment and exam scores. Conclusion: This study has presented reservations with regards to the use of self-assessment scores as part of the overall student grade in PBL.