- Tutors are trained over a period of 2 days in generic tutoring skills using the experiential model. The outcomes of the training are that at the end of the training the students are able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of peer facilitated learning
- Display an awareness of self- reflective process in learning
- Develop interpersonal skills, having been equipped with basic communication tools
- Undertake basic tutorial administration
- The lecturers in departments further develop tutors in subject specific training. At the end of the training the students start tutoring in their departments under the supervision of the lecturer. Tutorials may be one to one; small group, and the tutor assisting the lecturer during the lecture.
The benefits for students:
- Offer an opportunity for students to teach and learn from each other, an experience that is different from the usual lecturer-student interactionI
- Involve allowing a learner to seek academic support from a similar age peer, which is often less threatening to the learners’ esteem than seeking help from an authority figure
- They help students with difficult or problem areas that were not understood in the formal teaching environment
- They engage students actively in the process of learning
- They help in the development of independent learning strategies and behaviour