Getting the most out of tutorials

Oxford's tutorial system of undergraduate education is one of the internationally renowned selling points at the university. Other than Cambridge, few other universities in the world give undergraduate students access to world-leading academics for one-on-one teaching on a regular basis. Although the tutorial system can be an immensely rewarding form of teaching, it can also be intimidating. The following points (developed in conjunction with the Oxford Learning Institute) outline how students can get the most from their tutorials.

Unlike at school, you shouldn't see your tutor as a 'teacher' who is conveying information for you to learn. Instead a tutor should be seen more as a mentor who assists you in your development as a student. The Oxford system is designed to promote autonomous learning by undergraduates, meaning that while your tutor will support you, you should be prepared to do a great deal of work in your own time.

The opportunities given by tutorials include the ability to critically engage with your subject in a manner which may not be provided via other forms of learning. The best tutors will clarify for you what their expectations of your performance are but will also be flexible in their teaching styles to enable students to learn most effectively. They will encourage creativity and originality of thought within tutorials - the best papers in finals typically feature this originality which goes alongside the individual development of students as learners.

Tutors will have a very broad range of knowledge about their subject meaning that tutorials can initially be daunting. The combination of this and the intense learning environment in Oxford may mean that you are uncertain about your academic progress and in these instances you should be prepared to discuss any problems you may be having with your subject tutor, personal tutor or (in more serious cases) your Senior Tutor. JCR representatives and the OUSU Student Advice Service will also be available for you to discuss any such problems with.

Above all, remember that the style of teaching at Oxford is very different to that found at school. In order to get the most out of tutorials you'll need to proactively seek out information and be unafraid to actively engage in discussion with your tutor. Importantly, the style of feedback which you typically get will also change dramatically. Rather than having every piece of worked marked with a percentage score, you should expect many of your tutors to provide general comments. A lot of feedback on tutorials is done orally in the tutorial itself and you should use these opportunities to ask questions of your tutor. Collections should be marked within four weeks but other than that you may not get work marked outside of university exams - if, however, you feel that you are not getting effective feedback you should raise this issue with your tutor. While there may be differences between how you both imagine feedback should operate, it's also possible that by talking about the issue that you can lead to improvements in your work.