Staff experience of lectures and tutorials

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Abstract
What happens in lectures and tutorials and how does this vary depending upon lecturer and discipline? This empirical study is an examination of what staff are doing in their classes, the difficulties they encounter and the way in which they judge their effectiveness. There are various kinds of lecture and tutorial. Some lecturers are givers of expositions, while others are teachers (or instructors). It is the members of the latter category who are most keen to receive feedback and promote informality. Despite the interest in feedback, there seem to be certain identifiable weaknesses in connection with the evaluation of lecturing performance. In relation to tutorial teaching there is a widespread expectation that group interaction will take place but this is generally easier to achieve in critical disciplines than in scientific ones. There is felt to be a general problem of student passivity, but this can partly be understood through an analysis of elements in the tutor role. It seems that staff may need to work out alternative ways of acting in tutorials.

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