tutorials, worth the effort ?

scrummonkey

Been talking to fellow students about this and decided to do a simple vox pop.
It seems that there is circa 40 % rate of non attendence, across a range of modules. I was rather surprised at this and i wonder why is there such a high rate of indifference to the tutorial system ? Some explainations offered were, not worth it for the % on offer for exams, time is better spent in library,
can pass exams without it, learn nothing new, marks for attendence rarely affects final grade results, just a rehash of lectures. If this (unscientific) survey of attendence is near the factual mark,I wonder why UCD persists with it, as I presume it has cost implications. Should they not introduce changes to the system to enhance its effectiveness rather than simply persevere.

What do you folks think ? fit for purpose or a relic from the past that should be discarded ?

donvito99

TBH I don't find tutorials all that helpful.

It is nice though to be heard and corrected at least.

AdamD

I think its madness to not show up to tutorials if you're getting % just for being there. You definitely have time to go to your tutorials and the library, it doesn't need to be one or the other.

Maldesu

Easiest thing in the world to show up for a tutorial and gain handy %. Only an hour in the week and they can't force you to talk! Plenty of people can go down in the final exam and find that the easy 10% for tutorials is the thing that saves them.
Some people will spend the time from the tutorial but I'd say most of them are in their beds, esp with the 9am tutorials. It's not always a rehash of lectures, but that would prob depend on your tutor and the topic. Did Critical Theory last sem. Horrible, but I'd a good tutor who really worked on explaining what was going on. You get odd things cropping up in English that you just don't follow, but you know you'll never put your hand up in a room with 400 odd people in it. Tutorials make this a little easier.

Last sem, had a tutorial that used Excel, taught by the lecturer and a post grad. Found out 3 of the 15 could use it. The rest of the room barely even heard of it. Later saw people on FB complaining that they couldn't do the assignment because the didn't show up. Have a tutorial this semester and the deal is if you don't show, you don't get your assignments graded. No late submissions allowed unless in Extenuating Circs. Skip a mandatory and you get capped at a D. Lots of people unhappy because the 'internet wasn't working' excuse wasn't panning out.

So, why tutorials?
They allow for discussion and debate on a topic so that you can hash out anything you don't understand (iambic pentameter anyone?), look at something from various angles and POV's (capitalism, Marxism etc.), to things as basic as 'What's a Screen Shot and how do I take one?.
Allow for the basic information to be passed on to the student, such as school policies, layouts etc and give you a contact to speak to on small things.
Good way for students to integrate and make friends.

seantorious

It really depends on the subject, the title is often quite reveling. Once I had a tutorial on what we think should be done to combat poverty in the third world. It consisted of the tutor having a conversation outside for half the class. However most are actually useful.

Sam the Sham

This thread just shows why none of you belong in a university. You haven't the foggiest notion of what is involved in becoming educated and are, apparently, content to attempt (feebly) to get the most you can for the absolute least amount of effort.

Any lecturer worth his or her salt will tell you this: tutorials are where the learning happens. But of course this is only on condition that the students have done the work in advance and are ready to participate. Which, of course, none of you are because you're a bunch of dossers.

And you wonder why the big bad government wants to bring back fees... Look in the mirror. And then reflect on this: you're not only doing yourselves a disservice, you're also doing one to any actually motivated future students who will have to pay the fees that will be brought in because of the current crop of wasters.

AdamD

Sam the Sham wrote: »

This thread just shows why none of you belong in a university. You haven't the foggiest notion of what is involved in becoming educated and are, apparently, content to attempt (feebly) to get the most you can for the absolute least amount of effort.

Any lecturer worth his or her salt will tell you this: tutorials are where the learning happens. But of course this is only on condition that the students have done the work in advance and are ready to participate. Which, of course, none of you are because you're a bunch of dossers.

And you wonder why the big bad government wants to bring back fees... Look in the mirror. And then reflect on this: you're not only doing yourselves a disservice, you're also doing one to any actually motivated future students who will have to pay the fees that will be brought in because of the current crop of wasters.

You should work on your reading comprehension.

Liam O

I say every semester that I'll start going to tutorials but after a couple of weeks I stop going, they are ultimately useless. Just people sitting around awkwardly. I know it's stupid giving up the free percent but I just don't get enough out of them to bother with the long journey in.