Contextual Background (c.50 words):
In this case study, I will focus on my role as the Digital Skills tutor for year three, Illustration and Visual Media Students. The sessions are designed as one-to-one tutorials/meetings aimed at addressing technical challenges and guiding students in creating visual assts using a variety of creative software tools.
Evaluation (c.100 words):
In planning these tutorial sessions, I adopt a student-centred approach (Jones & Smith, 2011), meeting individually with students to discuss their projects and identify the support needed to effectively utilise creative software. For instance, a session might involve helping a student navigate Adobe Premiere Pro to optimise its features for their project. Unlike the first-year digital skills workshops, these tutorials are brief (20 minutes), not recorded, and do not include presentation slides. Recognising that some students may require supplementary resources or references to better understand the software and creative process, my goal is to adapt my teaching strategies to their needs, ensuring clear communication and effective learning outcomes.
Moving forwards (c.350 words)
Building on tutor-student relationship – I actively try to build a good professional relationship with as many students I can, using this concept I can approach these tutorials similarly. It is apparent that Teacher-student relationship (TSR) ‘increases student motivation, effort, engagement, satisfaction, learning, and achievement (Hagenauer & Volet’s, 2014, cited in Kahu & Picton, 2019). According to a study done by Kahu and Picton (2019, p. 25), there are four sub-themed qualities associated with good tutors: helpful, caring, approachable, and hands-on.
Helpful – The most commonly mentioned characteristic of a good tutor is being helpful, with one student saying that tutors who clearly explain content, provide support when needed, and respond to emails promptly fit within this category (Kahu & Picton, 2019).
Caring – This involved being compassionate and supportive when students’ personal circumstances affected their studies, encouraging student input during classroom discussions, and genuinely wanting to see students succeed (Kahu & Picton, 2019).
Approachable – While certain traits, like enthusiasm and approachability, are generally appreciated, different students prioritise different qualities. For example, a student highlighted that having a sense of humour was important to him (Kahu & Picton, 2019).
Hands-On – Many students compared the interactive nature of tutorials with the more passive experience of large lectures, noting that the scale of lectures made it unlikely for individual connections to form. As one student mentions, “I don’t expect the lecturers to know me because I’m just one face in a crowd of a thousand. But with tutors, it’s different because it’s a smaller learning environment, and I do expect them to know me.”(Kahu & Picton, 2019).
Embracing, understanding and expanding these qualities can foster a more holistic and creative environment for students who engage with me one-to-one.
References (additional to word count)
Kahu, E.R., & Picton, C. (2019). The benefits of good tutor-student relationships in the first year. Student Success, 10(2). 23-33. doi: 10.5204/ssj.v10i2.1293.
Jones, A. & Smith, B. (2011) ‘The impact of student engagement on academic success’, Journal of Educational Research, 34(2), pp. 45-57. Available at: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ938583.pdf