Tutoring in SPS

1. Tutoring in SPS Semester 1, Tutor Induction, 2019-20 Lawrence Dritsas, Marie Craft and Claire Moggie

2. Today’s Outline • Introductions • Context and key messages • Dr LawrenceDritsas, Director of QAE and Course Delivery, SSPS • Practicalities; e.g., getting paid  • Marie Craft, Head of Teaching and Student Services • Claire Moggie, Undergraduate Policy and Procedures Secretary

3. Tutoring in SPSsome key messages Dr Lawrence Dritsas, Director of QAE and Course Delivery School of Social & Political Science sps.qaec@ed.ac.uk

4. Tutoring in SPS • Tutors hold a crucial position in teaching within SPS • What do tutors do? • Lead tutorials • Mark assessments and provide feedback • Collect feedback from students (mid-course feedback) • Support Students • Supporting yourself • Course Administration • Keeping a register and managing your time

5. Leading Tutorials • Tutorials are the place where students  • Discuss and question with peers and their tutor • Clarifying points from lecture and reading • Test their understanding • Have feedback on their work clarified • Tutors facilitate and guide these discussions • Your course organiser will talk to you about how tutorials will be planned • Be prepared – but don’t feel you have to slavishly follow a plan • Don’t lecture • Control student expectations from the first meeting • Encourage debate and make it a safe space for exchanging views • Remember, we are helping them learn to express their ideas verbally, an important skill for any graduate

6. Marking Assessment and Providing Feedback • Assessment will typically take two forms – written work and, sometimes, class participation and presentations • Receiving constructive and specific feedback is one of the learning experiences most valued by students • Subject and Course-specific guidance on how to be an effective marker will be provided – and you will learn 'on the job' • If you need to mark tutorial participation • Make sure you know what is expected of the students and yourself, request specific marking criteria from your course organiser • Keep your records up-to-date • Identify students who need extra help • Offer early feedback to students on their participation • Be aware of any relevant learning adjustments (more on this later)

7. Collect Feedback from Students • In week 5 you will be asked to collect feedback from your students as part of the process of ‘mid-course feedback’ • This may involve the use of ‘feedback postcards’ or other techniques • You will then need to discuss these with the course team, your course organiser will coordinate a response to this feedback in the following week or so • Your course organiser will advise you on how this process will work on the course  • We do this process because the student have asked us to. • You are welcome to seek more informal feedback on the tutorial space from your students

8. Supporting Students • Students may come to you with personal or academic problems which are not directly related to your course • You are not expected to be an “expert” in such matters. Rather, you should know who to refer students to • You course organiser is probably the best first contact, most of the time. • All students have a Personal Tutors and a Student Support Officer • Disability Service • Student Counselling • Advice Place • Institute for Academic Development (IAD) • Peer-Assisted Learning Scheme (PALS) • Careers service • http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service/staff/supporting-students

9. Wellbeing Services Video (direct link: https://youtu.be/lCD2e2_LJqI )

10. Supporting Students: Learning Adjustments • Many of your students will have a profile of adjustments to allow them to fully participate. Most of these will not apply to you. Those that may apply will include helping them with speaking in public, physical access, anxiety, etc. • A very small number of students may warrant an alternative assessment to tutorial participation (if this is assessed) • Your course organiser will identify for you any students with such adjustments relevant to your role as tutor/marker. Ask them if they do not. • Seek advice if you need it! • NB: All students are permitted to audio record tutorial sessions for personal use, but teaching staff have the right to insist that recording stops if sensitive or confidential information is discussed.  • http://www.ed.ac.uk/student-disability-service/staff/supporting-students/guidance-supporting-students-specific-conditions

11. Learning Adjustments: some facts • Adjustments for the marking of exams and other forms of essays are distinct and it is important to know this difference.  • Adjustments concering how we mark deficiencies in spelling, marking and grammar only apply to exams, not essays. • Members of the course team may contact students privately about their schdule of adjustments to ensure we are supporting them properly. • For tutors this applies to students who have adjustments concerning speaking in groups or absences

12. Supporting Students: Meeting Students outwith tutorials • Students may request to meet you separately to talk about the course or assessments or email you with questions. You can accept these requests but be aware that you are not expected to offer 'office hours'. Also, we do not supply locations for these meetings. • Do not feel pressured to respond to student emails during evenings and weekends – manage their expectations. • You need to manage student demands on your time, remember that you are paid 0.5 hours per tutorial groups for post-tutorial admin/support.  • If the demand placed on you by students looks like it will exceed this allocation, refer them to the course organiser directly. • We are also reminding course organisers about this.

13. FYI: Media Hopper Replay • The lecture recording facility at the UoE • http://www.ed.ac.uk/information-services/learning-technology/media-hopper-replay • You should not be using this in tutorials, if there is a light in your room check that it is green. If it is red, push the light to pause the recording

14. Support for Tutors • It’s OK not to know everything – don’t struggle – and don’t be afraid to ask. • Talk to each other • Communicate with your Senior Tutor/Course Organiser • Take advantage of training opportunities • The Tutoring and Demonstrating handbook • IAD course for tutors and demonstrators • Learn (EASE log-in required) and in the 'Self Enrol (Staff)' box click the button 'IAD Resources for Tutors and Demonstrators'. • All IAD resources available at: • https://edin.ac/2Egtxxt

15. The Edinburgh Teaching Award (EdTA): • The Edinburgh Teaching Award (EdTA) is a recognised route you can follow to work toward the different categories of Fellowship awarded by the Higher Education Academy. • https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/fellowship • Becoming a Fellow of the HEA provides national recognition of your commitment to professionalism in teaching and learning in higher education.  Further information available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development/learning-teaching/cpd/teaching-award

16. Pay and meetigns. • For each tutorial group you meet in a week you are paid one hour for preparation and a half-hour extra for admin and communication with students • You are paid for marking • You can be paid for three hours per semester for course meetings, typically • At/before start of course • mid-course (often when marking is discussed) • Debriefing at end of teaching weeks • Your other annual paid training events are • this induction (1) • school-level training (1 hour) • subject-specific training (up to 3 hours per academic year per subject)

17. Course administration