Chapter 4

Tutoring in Mathematics
4.1 The Purpose of Tutoring in Mathematics
Besides the lecture, the other main type of contact teaching in mathematics is the tutorial or exercise class.
In this we include all such interactive teaching which is distinguished fromthe traditional lecture (Always
remembering that the lecture should be more interactive than just a monologue) covered in Chapter 3 by
some signicant degree of interaction with the students. This may be through working with a number
of teaching assistants in a large exercise class, a small group tutorial or discussion class, demonstration
classes, or individual one-to one tutoring.
In general the purpose of tutoring is to:
provide supported practice in problem solving
stimulate an environment for learning by doing
provide training in communication/team skills
facilitate learning by discussion.
In mathematics the major uses of tutoring are in problem solving or exercise classes, where the tutor
does not usually coordinate and manage the discussion process. Rather, students simply work through
problems, and discussion amongst subgroups is generated spontaneously. Many mathematicians actu-
ally prefer to work on their own, but there may be activities in which a coordinated team approach is
useful, say in modelling problems. The main point in such group teaching is that the focus is as much
on individual support for the student, to help them over the difcult parts of the course. The primary
features of tutoring in mathematics are therefore:
active participation
face-to-face contact
purposeful activity.
As Mason ([53], p.71) notes, the main advantage of tutoring in mathematics is that we can enter students
world, and can interrogate them, rather than trying to bring them into the lecturers world, which is
what usually happens in the lecture. It is an opportunity to help the students through the most difcult
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conceptual reconstructions (Principle 7), such as abstraction. Also, small group teaching allows students
to teach each other and this takes advantage of the old adage that you only really begin to understand
something when you come to teach it. Morss and Murray ([56], p. 50) give a useful list of the aims of
groups and associated activities. They emphasise that we should explicitly share these with the students,
so they know the purpose of the group activities. The tutoring environment is also a good place to help
students to learn how to learn (Principle 8). For example, when a student is stuck on a differentiation
get them to write out everything they know about differentiation. Eventually they will nd this is a
useful ploy whenever they hit a sticking point. Eventually, they will get fed up of writing stuff out and
will start running through it in their mind - that is, thinking deeper. The tutorial also gives students the
opportunity to watch experts in action, warts and all.
Example
When extending the concept of a distance to any number of dimensions, we can get away
with this in a lecture by generalising the sum of squares in a very natural way. The result
can be expressed by a simple formula that is an obvious adaption of the two dimensional
case. However, the axiomatic denition of a norm, extended to any vector space is much
more of an abstraction, which most students nd very difcult. Also they inherit a number of
misconceptions in the abstraction. For example they may believe that the norm is linear in its
arguments. In a tutorial we can explore this much more interactively. We can help them think
through the connections between the sum of squares and the axioms for the norm. We can
present them with particular cases that show why the axioms are useful. We can show them
contradictions arising from the assumption of linearity of the norm, and the origin of the
triangle inequality. All these things require their active and prolonged engagement, which
cannot be achieved so easily in a lecture.
Much of what we need to say about tutoring has already been covered in Chapters 2 and 3 - so there will
be inevitable repetition, although here we go into more depth on engaging, enthusing and explaining,
which are the key activities of the tutorial. There is also a great deal of generic literature on tutoring and
group work, and you may meet this in your institutional staff development courses. While we do not
want to replicate this here, it is worth summarising the main points and give a few references for further
reading if you feel the need. This is the subject of the next section. Then in the rest of the chapter we focus
specically on tutoring in mathematics.
4.2 Summary of Generic Material on Tutoring
Most institutional staff development induction courses will contain something on what they might call
small group teaching or tutoring. However, since this is the main mode of teaching in some subjects
such as the arts and social sciences the slant of these generic courses is often towards small discussion
groups or seminars. While these have a role in mathematics, they are not the usual form of tutoring in
our subject. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of tutoring that is generic (subject independent) and we
can learn from this. So we will briey summarise this here. Most of it is common sense and self evident,
but if further expansion is necessary there are ample references. The standard generic reference on small
group teaching is Jacques ([46]) You will see that although this contains a lot of good advice, it does not
really get to the core of the typical mathematics tutorial. Other useful generic references are [2], [10], [14],
[36], [38], [52], [54], [57], [61], [70].
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Types of small group teaching methods
The following is a list of the different types of small group teaching that might be discussed in a generic
context. Not all of them are common approaches in mathematics, but it gives an idea of the sorts of
possibilities for group work with students.
Controlled discussion: strict control by tutor
Step-by step discussion: planned sequence of issues/questions
Seminar: group discussion of a paper, a mathematical model or problem solution, presented by a student
Problem class: individuals working on problems and/or presenting solutions
Tutorial: meeting with very small group, often based on an essay
Group tutorial: topic and direction from tutor, rest from group
Free discussion: topic and direction from tutor, tutor observes
Tutorless group: some direction from tutor, group may report back
Self-help group: run by and for students, tutor may be a resource
Cross-over groups: brief discussions then transfers between groups
Buzz groups: very brief discussions generating ideas for follow-up
Snowballing: pairs becoming small groups becoming larger groups
Syndicate: mini-project work reported to the full class
Brain-storming: generation of ideas from group. No criticism until all the ideas are logged
Simulation/game: structured experience in real/imaginary role
Role-play: less structured activity in allocated or self-created roles
Fishbowl: small groups within large, them discussion and reversal
Workshop: mixture of methods, usually directed at attitudes and skills development
Demonstrations: illustrations of theoretical principles, solutions to problems, etc
Exercises: tightly structured experiments to provide data
Structured enquiries: lightly structured experiments, more student input
Open-ended enquiries: students determine structure and report back
Projects: student research - tutor provides supervision
Personalized system of instruction (PSI): self-paced, tests on progress
Computer assisted learning: often to simulate experiments, etc
Lecturing: a lecture to a small group - best done towards the end of the session, if at all
Virtual learning environments: various electronic engagements such as discussion groups
The main types of small group teaching in mathematics are usually more limited, comprising essentially:
exercise/problem classes
board demonstrations
discussions
individual consultations.
However some mathematics lecturers use such things as project groups, role play, etc.
Aims of small group teaching
Morss and Murray [56] list the typical aims of group learning as:
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understanding
critical thinking
personal growth
communication skills
group and team skills
self-direction in learning.
They give examples of specic activities that can be used to achieve these aims. In the normal math-
ematics tutorial we would be aiming for the rst two and the last of these, although nowadays, with
the emphasis on transferable skills some people use small group discussions in mathematics to meet the
other aims.
Group task and maintenance functions
The argument behind the range of group activities noted above relies on the wider learning opportunities
and skills development that it stimulates. For example Jacques [46] summarises the sorts of tasks that
effective groups are intended to do as:
Initiating - suggesting newideas or a changed way of looking at the group problemor goal, propos-
ing new activities
Information seeking - asking for relevant facts or authoritative information
Information giving - providing relevant facts or authoritative information or relating personal ex-
perience pertinently to the group task
Opinion giving - stating a pertinent belief or opinion about something the group is considering
Clarifying - probing for meaning and understanding, restating something the group is considering
Elaborating - building on a previous comment, enlarging on it, giving examples
Co-ordinating - showing or clarifying the relationships among various ideas, trying to pull sugges-
tions together
Orienting - dening the progress of the discussion in terms of the groups goals, raising questions
about the direction the discussion is taking
Testing - checking with the group to see if it is ready to make a decision or to take some action
Summarizing - reviewing the content of the past discussion.
In fact opportunities for most of these will occur in a lively, well run mathematics exercise class or problem
session. Some are naturally less prominent because of the nature of mathematics - for example differences
of opinion can usually be resolved quite quickly! To keep the group on task and maintain an effective
working environment Jacques suggests that groups are supposed to be:
Encouraging - being friendly, warm, responsive to others, praising others and their ideas, agreeing
with and accepting the contributions of others
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Mediating - harmonizing, conciliating differences in points of view, making compromises
Gate-keeping - trying to make it possible for everyone to make a contribution by, for example,
suggesting limited talking time for all
Standard-setting - expressing standards for the group to use in choosing its subject matter or pro-
cedures, rules of conduct, ethical values
Following - going along with the group, somewhat passively accepting the ideas of others, serving
as an audience during group discussion, being a good listener
Relieving tension - draining off negative feeling by humour or conciliation, diverting attention
from unpleasant to pleasant matters.
Main factors that may affect the dynamics operating within a tutorial group
Morss and Murray [56] list factors that may affect the dynamics of a tutorial group. Most of these apply
to any sort of mathematics tutorial:
commonality of purpose
the interest and commitment of each participant to the aims of the group
the relationship of members within the context of the group
interaction of individual personalities
personal agendas
level of participation
shared knowledge
degree of cooperation
group size
setting and physical environment.
Morss and Murray also give a long list of activities one can use in groups, such as guided discussion, etc,
along with a detailed sample plan for your rst tutorial.
Facilitation skills required by tutors
Following Jacques, Morss and Murray [56] list the skills required by the effective tutorial supervisor:
listening
questioning
explaining and clarifying
encouraging participation
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responding to students as individuals
closing
monitoring and evaluating
provide grounding
time management
monitoring attendance.
We will treat most of these in the context of mathematics in this chapter.
Students also need to develop the skills above and effective tutors support such development in their
students. The success of small group teaching depends as much upon students - their knowledge and
skills - as it does upon the tutor.
Managing and mismanaging the group
It is of course difcult to manage group work because we have to juggle the different abilities, attitudes
and aptitudes of the individual students in a way that they all benet, and that there is good progress
towards meeting the objectives of the session. This is not quite so bad in mathematics because one can
keep close tabs on any individuals understanding by careful questioning (see below). In general, the
criteria for the successfully managed group include [42]:
prevalence of a warm, accepting, non-threatening group climate
learning approached as a co-operative rather than a competitive enterprise
learning accepted as the major reason for the existence of the group
active participation by all
equal distribution of leadership functions
group sessions and learning tasks are enjoyable
content adequately and efciently covered
evaluation accepted as an integral part of their groups activities
students attend regularly
students come prepared.
On the other hand it is easy to mismanage a group. Some common weaknesses that occur in small group
teaching are (HEFCE Specialist Assessor Training, UCoSDA):
the goals of the session are unclear
the structure of the class is unclear
lack of preparation - by tutor and /or students
tutor talks too much
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lack of student participation
low cognitive level of discussion
questions rarely go beyond eliciting recall
students are not involved in the topic
discussion is unfocused for much of the time
one or two students are allowed to dominate the discussion.
Skills for participating
The rst thing most teachers notice when running a small group is the difculty of getting full engage-
ment and participation. This is particularly difcult in mathematics because of the high premium at-
tached to precision. There is rarely room for opinion or wafe and most students are reluctant to say
anything unless they are sure it is right, in which case it is often not worth saying! One of the key skills
in running a small group, particularly in mathematics, is therefore to pose questions that are sufciently
open to encourage debate, yet lead to deep understanding and useful conclusions in the time available.
In general terms Forster, et al, [33] list the sorts of participation skills the tutor needs to develop in the
students as:
listening attentively to others
giving information to others
asking others for information
giving examples
checking out what others have said
giving reactions to the contributions of others
asking for reactions to ones own contributions
initiating discussion by asking questions, giving ideas, making suggestions
bringing together and summarising
encouraging others to take part.
Forster, et al, also note that students are encouraged to contribute in tutorials when:
they feel comfortable with each other and the tutor
trust and respect are displayed and support is given
learning is seen as a co-operative exercise
there is a clear understanding of what they have to learn
they are aware of the importance of participation
they are aware of the skills which they are expected to practices
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students are set realistic and achievable tasks
methods are used in early tutorials which foster students contributions
ground rules have been agreed, for example:
everyone prepares and attends
everyone tries to contribute and helps others to do so.
So the tutor needs to provide the sort of group atmosphere that promotes such an environment.
Questioning strategies
While it is important to pose the right questions, it is equally important to pose them in the right way, the
skill of questioning itself. This is clearly related to the cognitive skills we wish to encourage. In Section 2.6
we looked at the classication of cognitive skills, noting that most taxonomies are too unwieldy for the
average lecturer, and suggesting the MATHKIT for the practitioner. Either way, some such classication
can be used to suggest different questioning strategies. For example, in generic terms, Forster, et al, [33],
using Blooms taxonomy, classify the different sorts of questions students can be encouraged to ask:
Testing questions - used to elicit information and concerned with:
checking knowledge: which limit test is most appropriate here?
comprehension: what do you think is meant by...?
application: what relevance would that have in ...?
analysis: what qualities do they have in common?
synthesis: could you summarise what you have said so far?
evaluation: what do you feel is best?
Clarifying questions - used to ensure a shared understanding (often by elaborating a point previously
made):
what did you mean by...?
can you give an example ...?
Elaborating questions - often provide a gentle way of encouraging students to say something more
fully:
can you tell me more about that?
what does that make you feel?
It is clear how to interpret such questioning strategies in mathematics. There are also some common
errors in questioning (HEFCE Specialist Assessor Training, UCoSDA):
asking ambiguous/confused questions
asking too many questions at once
asking a question and answering it oneself
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asking irrelevant questions
asking a difcult question too early, so a student is deterred from answering
asking questions in a threatening way
asking confusing questions
ignoring answers
failing to see the implications of answers
failing to build on answers obtained.
From this section on generic material on small group teaching we can see that much of it applies equally
to a mathematics tutorial. However it is perhaps a little arid and detached and somehow it lacks the feel
of a buzzing mathematics exercise class, so we now turn to the specic issues of tutoring in mathematics.
Exercise
Examine the typical mathematics tutorial in the light of the generic material of this section.
4.3 Tutoring in Mathematics
The main difference between tutorials and lectures is the closer relation one has with the students - we
can can now interrogate them, engage in discussion with them, we can start persuading and inuencing
them and encouraging them to critically examine their own ideas. Hence, we dene the mathematics
tutorial by size - a mathematics tutorial can take place with a group of a hundred students, with a few
demonstrators helping out. The distinguishing feature of a mathematics tutorial will be taken as any
environment where the object is to interact one to one with students, to be able to interrogate them,
discuss issues with them, help them through their individual difculties, and to encourage students to
work together. This can of course be a large group or simply talking to a student in the corridor. So:
a mathematics tutorial is any interaction between the tutor and the student(s) in which there is the
opportunity for in depth discussion of a particular mathematical problem or topic.
The way we do this also sets an example to them of how mathematicians work, how they think through
things. You are not telling them something, you are now trying to get them to think about something so
that they can reconstruct their own ideas (Principle 7).
In many topics this might simply be an exercise class in which students work through problems together
with help on call from an expert such as yourself. Or it might be a one-to-one individual consultation
- it might even be a telephone discussion, or video conference. It would also include discussion groups
with or without tutors (In the latter case the inuence of the tutor would be felt through how they set up
the group and its tasks). It might be a demonstration class where students are given the opportunity to
present material to their fellow students -You really learn something when you are put in the position of
having to teach it. So in a tutorial it is the interplay between students or tutors that provides a greater
range of learning activity.
Tutoring can enhance the motivation of students, because they have more control over the proceedings
and more personal input and direct feedback. Tutoring has a wider range of learning activities including
learning by doing and learning by trial and error in a safe environment, general transferable skills such as
communication and teamwork. Also tutoring encourages learning through interaction and this is perhaps
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its prime strength. It involves all of the key gambits in a learning activity: initiating ideas and lines of
thought; explaining them; listening to new ideas; questioning with a genuine desire to know; responding
in a disciplined and organized way; discussing and playing with ideas. Each of these is a skill we should
aim to develop to high levels at university.
There is one kind of interaction that is often forgotten in discussions of teaching, and which is possibly
the most important of all in mathematics - the interaction of the person with themselves. The working,
thinking, mathematician is often like a self contained tutorial group, arguing with themselves, setting up
conjectures to knock them down, critically examining ones own ideas. One can probably recognise those
students who are the real mathematicians as those that automatically adopt such ways of working. In
truth most people think and work like this, but not to the extent required in mathematics, and the tutorial
is where we have to help them develop these skills (Principle 8).
Tutoring in mathematics is usually best restricted to particular areas of mathematics. For example, one
would not use it for routine topics such as matrix algebra calculations, where the intellectual skills em-
ployed are limited. One would use it for topics that would benet from discussion and debate. For
example, a particularly long and involved proof; a tough mathematical modelling exercise; a sizeable
practical statistics exercise; harvesting a wide range of applications of a simple topic such as quadratic
equations. All of these require a broad range of ideas and skills that an individual student might lack,
but the group as a whole possesses. And members of the group will have to use their interaction skills to
produce the nal product.
The particular objectives of a tutoring session will depend on the stage reached in the module, and we
choose the group activities to suit these. It might be small groups of four/ve collaborating as a team
working on a mini-project or a substantial modelling exercise, or it might simply be students working in-
dividually through problems. But there are all sorts of imaginative activities one can try. For example one
could have pairs of students working through a complicated proof, one playing the role of the prover
and the other the sceptic, criticizing the provers arguments.
Exercise
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of tutorials in mathematics. Which tutorials did you learn
most/least from as a student, and why? What do you think your students get from your tutorials?
4.4 MATHEMATICS for the Tutorial
In Section 2.2 we introduced the MATHEMATICS mnenomic to remind us of the sorts of things we need
to consider when undertaking any teaching and learning activity. This comprises:
Mathematical content
Aims and objectives of the curriculum
Teaching and learning activities to meet the aims and objectives
Help to be provided to the students - support and guidance
Evaluation, management and administration of the curriculum and its delivery
Materials to support the curriculum
Assessment of the students
Time considerations and scheduling
Initial position of the students - where we are starting from
Coherence of the curriculum - how the different topics t together
Students.
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We might apply this to the typical tutorial as follows. Obviously the mathematical content needs thought.
In a tutorial you are not going to labour through routine or peripheral material. Rather, you are going to
focus on the key ideas and also any issues that students nd difculty with. So your aims and objectives
are going to be higher level - I and T in the MATHKIT scheme. Put crudely your teaching and learning
strategy for the tutorial is going to be a mixture of students independent work, with you (or your as-
sistants) intervening personally to help and support the students in developing their own solutions and
their own approaches. The evaluation of the exercise can be by the usual student feedback mechanisms,
with questions about how useful they found the tutorials. But also since you will be interacting directly
with the students almost on an individual basis, evaluation can take the form of minute by minute feed-
back from the students. For learning materials you might simply issue problem sheets, or you might
have a more interactive exercises, like a mini-project or role-play for which you will have to prepare more
suitable materials. So far as assessment is concerned, it may be that the tutorial is devoted to assessed
coursework, or you might decide a quick quiz at the end is useful to see what the students have absorbed.
Time and scheduling issues are actually much more important than you may think at rst sight. To get
the best out of the activity you have to keep the students to some sort of schedule - if there are three top-
ics to consider then you cannot spend the whole session on just one of them. The initial position of the
students nowneeds to be assessed on an individual basis in the tutorial - i.e. for each student you interact
with you always need to nd out what their background knowledge is before you can move on and help
them. The tutorial is one of the prime occasions for helping students with higher order ideas such as
links between topics, the way they t together, getting an overview, etc. In this way the coherence of the
curriculum can become clearer than is perhaps apparent from disjointed self contained lectures. Finally,
one important role of the tutorial is for you and the students to get to know each other to produce a good
environment for learning. It is one of the few occasions on which you get the opportunity to meet the
students as individuals and give them your undivided attention.
While MATHEMATICS provides a ready checklist for the things we have to think about in planning a
tutorial, the basic principles of Section 2.4 underpin everything that we do, as in all aspects of teaching.
And just as we discussed suitable teaching and learning strategies for lectures (Section 3.3) this is easily
adapted for tutorials. However, in tutorials, because of the close interaction with individual students it
seems appropriate to particularly emphasize three major features of group activities that are fundamental
to helping students learn mathematics, embodied in Principles 9-11:
ENGAGE the students in productive mathematical work (Section 4.5)
ENTHUSE the students about mathematics (Section 4.6)
EXPLAIN mathematics to students with varied backgrounds (Section 4.7).
These skills are central to teaching mathematics by any means and they are difcult to master especially
for those new to teaching. They are particularly relevant in the tutorial situation, so we devote the next
three sections to looking at these aspects of the mathematics tutorial. Following this we will look at the
specic practicalities of working with students and the different types of small group activity common in
mathematics.
Exercise
Work through the MATHEMATICS checklist for your next tutorial. Did it cover most
eventualities? If not make a note for next time.
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4.5 Engaging Students
In Section 2.9 we looked briey at the issues around engaging students during the typical mathematics
lecture. In that situation the opportunities are admittedly limited, but still allow some useful interaction
through questions or short periods of activity such as problem solving. In the tutorial there are far more
opportunities for engaging the students, it is after all what the tutorial is all about. That doesnt mean it
is easy. In a tutorial of any kind it is easy to be lulled into thinking that the students are beavering away
productively and can be left to get on with it. In fact, the likelihood is, particularly in the rst year, that
they will have difculty nding the best way to work or take advantage of the tutorial. Often they are
unable to plan their work, they will be unsure where to focus their efforts, they may not know the sorts
of questions to ask, or even how to ask a good question at all. Students may not be aware of the need to
follow up their tutorial work with independent work, consolidating the skills they have learnt, and they
may not know the best way to do this. Each student will have a different approach to learning, and may
not know how to adapt this to the tutorial situation. The tutor needs to consider all these aspects so that
each student gets the most out of the tutorials.
However, we should perhaps get one issue out of the way at this point. Tutorials are not always popular,
particularly with mathematics students. Some students, for example, prefer to work on their own at
home. So we have to accept that not all students will be interested in taking advantage of what we offer
in tutorials. That is their choice, they are adults, and the teacher should not feel obliged to press hard to
engage students who really prefer to fend for themselves. As long as we are always open to students
requests for help, so long as we offer them our support, then we have done our job and we can focus our
attention on those students who do wish to take advantage of it. So do not be afraid to let go of students
and leave those who wish it to their own devices. In this chapter we are looking at how to help those
students who want our help.
To engage students in a tutorial it is particularly important to be everywhere. This means moving
quickly and efciently from student to student, addressing each of their problems concisely and effec-
tively. And if the issue seem to be of common interest, or it is raised a couple of times, open it up to the
whole group, maybe discussing it at the board. Give all students equal opportunity to use you, and if
there are some who havent asked for your help, have a quick look at how they are getting on. There
should literally never be a dull moment. If it goes quiet and you are getting no questions, nd out why. If
they have done everything give them something else. If they are all stuck and have given up address the
blockage. Show by your attitude and demeanour that you expect everyone to be working and getting the
most out of the session. Make it clear you want to help them, and that you welcome questions - and that
there is no such thing as a silly question. Remind them that this is prime learning time. These days you
can remind them how much they are paying you to help them! You can soon sense in the rst tutorials
whether or not they nd it difcult to ask you questions. Find out why and make it as easy as possible.
Examples
1. Legrands method of scientic debate In general students will be more inclined to par-
ticipate in a tutorial situation if there is a conjecturing atmosphere ([53], p.72). That is, we
have to make the whole atmosphere of the tutorial clearly aimed at discussion, interac-
tion, exchange, and so on. Mason describes the method of scientic debate used by Marc
Legrand. This is designed specically to generate the sort of environment we need. In
this approach some sort of contradictory example or episode might be used to convince
students that there is a need to adapt their ideas to meet new situations. This is usually
necessary in the development of difcult concepts because students wont switch on and
exert mental energy unless they are convinced of the need to do so (Of course, students
are not alone in this). For example when introducing the differentiability of functions the
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most stimulating examples are initially those of non-differentiable functions. Another
feature of Legrands debating approach is the inclusiveness designed to ensure that ev-
eryone has the opportunity to contribute and think deeply about the topic. Also, the
approach aims to ensure that issues are resolved collectively in a spirit of respect for the
views of others. As mentioned above, another difculty with engaging students is that
many dont like asking questions in class, and in fact dont know how to ask non-trivial
questions. Mason has a number of ploys for encouraging this ([53], p.76). They need to
move from accepting that something works or is true because an expert says so to ask-
ing why it works, and feeling the need to be convinced themselves when the occasion
demands it.
2. Krantz ([49], p. 119) considers the question of getting students participating so important
that he devotes an appendix to encouraging class participation, advocating:
get students to the blackboard, but only if they volunteer
have students prepare oral reports or min-lectures
have students take turns in writing and grading quizzes
if a student cant do a problem, and openly admits this, invite him/her to come to
the board and explain where they are stuck
get students to regularly jot down things that are bothering them and then discuss
them in class
give regular reading assignments
have guest lecturers
mathematical POST-IT notes
make deliberate mistakes and ask the students to pick them up.
3. Sometimes, when working though a solution on the board or opening up a question to
the class generally you may get a long pause and silence. Persist! If necessary keep
sharpening the question or giving clues. Mason ([53]) refers to this as funnelling and
urges caution in this because it can trivialize the question until it becomes effectively
rhetorical. Of course we do not want this, and once you have actually got students an-
swering and participating, start to work back and broadening the question. Think about
the sorts of questions you ask. Vague, open, questions are not necessarily the best means
of opening a debate - it might work better to go from specic to more general. Try to
make your questions stimulating, possibly provocative or intriguing. Only ask ques-
tions worth waiting for. If students are inhibited about responding to questions, then get
them to write out their answer instead and hand it in.
Remember that in a tutorial environment you are actually doing more than just teaching mathematics.
Part of the purpose of such classes is to teach the students to be able to interact fruitfully with others in
solving problems and to learn how to learn. So they have to learn how to contribute positively, to be able
to take risks with ideas, to criticize others views, to ask penetrating and incisive questions. So you are
entitled to press themto engage. Certainly, when they get jobs after graduation their boss will soon notice
if they sit there and dont contribute.
You will get some silly questions, and answers. But never ridicule an answer. Neither should you be be
patronising. Think about your general demeanor with students - be relaxed, welcoming, open, helpful.
You may only be a few years older than the students - toss in the odd anecdote from your own student
days - I remember I found this very difcult myself, until ....
When a student asks you a question, seize upon that as an opening to get them engaged. So dont give
away the store as Krantz puts it, but just give them a leg up to get started on nding their own answer.
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And often the question reveals a deeper problem that is the real issue to be addressed. Manoeuvre the
student into considering this and check whether other students have a similar problem.
Example
A rst year student working on calculus problems asks What is the derivative of 1/

x ?. We
dont give the derivative or simply say Look it up. The real problem here is probably that
this student is weak on indices. This is a very common problem, almost certainly shared by
other students in the class. So you might ask the class generally What is the closest standard
derivative to this?, or What is another way of writing 1/

x ?. Either way, you are trying to

get them to see that they can rewrite it as x
1/2
and this is a standard derivative. To you such
steps will seem trivial, but to the novice who is insecure with their indices they are difcult
to work through and they need practice. And when you answer their question in this way
the derivative they are after is not the issue, rather it is the thinking required to convert the
function to a better form, the idea that you sometimes have to do this to make progress. They
will of course meet such ploys time and again in integration, so you are preparing them for
that. And of course, once they have done this particular problem, get them to extend it and
hence differentiate similar functions.
We also need to remember that working in a tutorial can be quite tiring and even stressful and frustrating
for students and tutors. You often nd that students lose concentration halfway through an hours class,
and are not really engaged with the material. Just remember that most people lose concentration after
half an hour! This is why it is often useful to have more than one topic or type of activity during the
session. You might have say two or three major points that you want to get across in the session, say
three big ideas. Then you can spend fteen minutes on each, summarising and collecting ideas after each
one. In any case you can keep them on task by continually going back to each of them to see how they
are getting on. You might provide a quick relaxing break by a short story, joke, or anecdote, relevant to
the topic - or nothing at all to do with it! Just something to lighten things up. One lecturer slips in a bit
of history - a famous mathematician. One invites all the students to get up and wave their arms about (!).
Something topical - the cot death court asco for statisticians, what happened to Mars Beagle probe for
dynamics, etc, etc. The key thing to remember is that not only might some students lose concentration
after a while, but it is inevitable that all students will lose concentration eventually, and part of the job
of teaching is to anticipate and address this. And of course there is nothing wrong with controlled loss of
momentum at strategic points - a fell runner does not maintain constant momentum over a range of hills.
Exercise
For your next tutorial think about how you can engage students most effectively. How does this
inuence the materials you prepare and how you structure the tutorial?
4.6 Enthusing Students
We touched on this in Section 3.9 and perhaps the issue of maintaining enthusiasm is more pressing
in lectures, where students spend a signicant proportion of the time fairly passive. In that case the
problem is more one of keeping the students interested and motivated to keep their interest up to follow
the lecture. In the tutorial we can do more to inspire them about maths. We can spend the whole session
mainly on using inspiring and motivational examples as a media for developing the mathematical skills
required. When covering a particular topic we are not conned to the strait-jacket of the objectives of
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the lecture. In a tutorial we can develop the beauty of a particular topic, we can get them to uncover for
themselves the fascination of some application.
It is however still worth thinking about motivation a little more deeply because in a tutorial we can make
a big difference to students views of mathematics. To some people mathematics is a real demotivator,
almost to the extent that they become anxious about mathematics (this is of course more prevalent in
service teaching). Skemp ([66], p.125) goes into detail on this. He describes the Yerkes-Dodson law
which essentially states that for simple tasks the stronger the motivation, the better the performance,
whilst for complex tasks this is only true up to a point after which increasing motivation leads to poorer
performance. The consequences of this for the learning of mathematics are quite clear. While students
are developing the basic skills through fairly routine tasks they will perform better, the more we can
motivate them. As they progress to higher order skills and more involved problems they need support
and a more relaxed pace to maintain their motivation, and this is precisely the environment we need to
provide in the tutorial. As mentioned in an example in Subsection 3.9.3, Skemp also suggests that as an
intellectual activity mathematics satises an intrinsic need for mental growth. He argues that teachers
should proactively use this need for mental growth as an intrinsic motivation for learning mathematics.
And for this one needs to provide lots of opportunities for success. This is the mastery as motivation
argument, and the reason for providing lots of easy examples in the initial stages of any topic.
We have already mentioned the need for the teacher to be enthusiastic in the lecture (see Section 3.7). This
is even more important in the tutorial. A well run tutorial can be exhausting because of the need to think
on your feet and to keep everyone working hard. And you need to look as if you are enjoying it - even if
you are not. Actually, if you really care for your students you will enjoy it, because you get a thrill each
time a student overcomes a hurdle - particularly if you have been instrumental in the process.
So far as getting the students interested and motivated, we have already looked at this in Section 3.9.
The suggestions there apply equally to tutorials. Make sure the basic teaching technicalities are satisfac-
tory, and allow time for developing interest. As mentioned earlier, the tutorial should be addressing a
small, number of crucial points, so we need to ensure that the students appreciate what these are, and
understand their importance.
Example
In the case of solving rst order differential equations we might emphasize that there are es-
sentially three types: Variables separable, linear and homogeneous. We can demystify the
rather strange form of these by telling them that these forms are chosen for no other reason
than that they allow simple transformations or operations that lead easily to the methods of
solution. Furthermore the classication of the types immediately suggests the means of solu-
tion. Emphasize that this sort of tactic pervades mathematics - we are often classifying types
of mathematical objects precisely in forms in which they can be most easily dealt with and
that indeed suggest how to deal with them. This is one of the key secrets of mathematics and
appreciating it is just as useful as grappling with the details of solutions of a few differential
equations.
The importance and nature of examples was mentioned in Section 3.9, and as noted previously you can
take full advantage of this is in a tutorial. So make an effort to nd inspiring, exciting examples, rather
than only mundane applications from other subjects that they study. Nowadays there are plenty of popu-
lar science and mathematics books which you can scour for such examples. Some useful names to look for
are Devlin, Gribbin, Penrose, Singh, Stewart, Wells, as well as the mighty mathematical compendiums of
the latest developments such as Engquist and Schmids Mathematics Unlimited - 2001 and Beyond [32].
And of course there are almost unlimited resources on the web, with Wikipedia and open material and
courses produced by universities around the world we are spoilt for choice. For any undergraduate topic,
at whatever level, it should be possible to dig out some stimulating motivational material that you can
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feed into a tutorial situation. And we need to nd a range of such examples because different students are
motivated by different things - some prefer really practical commercial or industrial applications, some
prefer more basic science, some are fascinated by the inherent beauty of the mathematics, some by its
power. See Section 3.9 for examples. And remember that beneath the most mundane topics can often be
found fascinating depths.
Example
A lump of coal is a rather dull and uninteresting object, but it is very useful for keeping us
warm. And it is dirty and something we only really want anything to do with at a distance
and when essential. But, if we study it carefully and delve down into its atomic structure we
see that the underlying element is Carbon. The atoms are Carbon atoms. So in principle, we
can rearrange these atoms to give us diamond, and in the formation of the universe Carbon
was the key element responsible for life. Diamond is clean, precious, sparkling and very
interesting! And as a fossil, coal is evidence of changing climates in the past. So we see that
viewed in one supercial way coal is dull and boring, but looked at in other ways it is very
interesting. So it is with most of mathematics.
The analogy in this example is useful in other ways. In general in explaining/ justifying/ motivating
mathematics we go from mental atoms such as (a + b)
2
, A A = 0 in completing the square to mental
universes such as maxima and minima of functions of many variables, where completing the square
becomes the diagonalization of a quadratic form. This happens everywhere in mathematics. As another
example, quadratics and linear expressions are the atoms of polynomials by the fundamental theorem
of algebra. In a tutorial we can give the student the opportunity to search for such atomic structures
themselves. What are the key atoms underlying a particular topic - when all the irrelevant detail has
been stripped away, what is the real underlying structure?
In a tutorial we can also encourage students to look behind the supercial nature of a question or problem.
In fact, even the most mundane question contains the seeds of more interesting things. What could be
more mundane than: Differentiate e
x
? But you can point to the strange fact that the derivative is itself,
and in fact this denes e. And it is the whole basis of the theory of linear differential equations - and it is
why the exponential function is so important. And why is the derivative itself - how does this relate to
the limit denition? These are the sorts of things the students should be looking at in a tutorial, not just
the actual techniques of differentiation.
Perhaps we should also think of the things that actually damage student motivation and that we should
avoid (Most of this applies to lectures as well as tutorials of course). Being unapproachable or unavailable
certainly deters students. A tip might be useful here. There is actually not much danger in being as
approachable and available as possible - it is a fact of life that students will rarely come to see you anyway.
That is, you can appear to be effusively available and helpful to students, but you wont be ooded by
visits. Perhaps this aspect of human nature is a cynical application of Principle 2! Another turn off is
lack of clarity (Principle 3) for tutorial activities. Unclear instructions really frustrate students, who will
simply come back to you for clarication, which will just waste time.
As mentioned elsewhere, students like the freedom to pursue their own particular style of learning, and
will become demotivated if they are railroaded into one particular approach. So it will encourage student
interest if we can offer choices in study methods, and this is possible in a tutorial situation in which the
tasks are carefully designed. We have to recognise that we all learn in different ways. We dont have to
buy into the learning styles industry, but we do need to be tolerant about how students approach some
things, even if it wouldnt suit us. For example, as mentioned earlier, some students dont actually like to
work in tutorials, but prefer to work on their own, back at home. This probably accounts for occasionally
poor attendance at tutorials, which should not be taken too seriously so long as students are progressing
satisfactorily.
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Example
The following problemvividly shows up the different ways people might tackle mathematical
problems. l is a large number and s a small number such that l +s = 1. Which is larger, l
2
+s
or l + s
2
? Some people will try suitable values for l and s, soon discovering the result is
always the same, guess this is true generally and proceed to prove it, now they know where
they are headed. Some on the other hand will simply jump straight in and substitute l = 1 s
in both expressions to see what happens. Now it is tempting to regard the latter approach as
the best elegant method, and the former as a bit pedantic and routine. But in fact the former
approach is very common - many good mathematicians like to play with things numerically,
getting a feel for what is going on before committing themselves to symbolic approaches. It
is no good trying to discourage people from working this way if that is best for them, and if
their approach is viewed as wrong then that will only demoralise them.
Repetitive and dull material with no signicant highlights or interesting features is of course demotivat-
ing. The same goes for irrelevant material, or material whose signicance is not made clear, or is unrelated
to experience or to rest of the course. Overload in the form of too much information or too much detailed
content should be avoided. Arid conceptual terms and ideas, that are complex or abstract are of course
off-putting, but they are unavoidable in mathematics so we have to make an effort to make them more
interesting and palatable. Again, it will demotivate students if we fail to take sufcient account of their
background in mathematics - not only will the students not understand what we are saying, but it will
be clear to them that we are not even bothered to nd out what they already know. Other off-putting
characteristics include verbosity, too much text to read, rambling explanations, lack of conciseness, etc.
Students need to get to the key ideas quickly. No road maps, overall viewpoints and navigational aids
that give students an overall appreciation of the topic will mean that they have no idea of the magnitude
of the topic, and little motivation to take it seriously.
Boring theory lacking application and examples (like some lecturers experiences of generic teacher
training), particularly the classic denition, theorem, proof of polished, nished pure mathematics,
deters many people. While it may be eventually necessary, to tidy up ideas before moving on, it should
not be a rst mode of presentation particularly at early undergraduate level. Unexplained jargon and
technical terms are also off-putting (NB - students are not lazy or unusual in this respect, some academics
have been known to balk at a few simple terms such as learning objectives).
Students are put off by material that is too tutor specic, following the teachers interests for its own sake.
Hobby horses of this kind are always risky, since one is requiring the students to share your interests and
this often alienates intelligent people because they have plenty of interests of their own. However, there
are positive benets in giving examples of applications of the material in your area, as a way of illustrating
its importance and usefulness. These days we are encouraged to bring our research into our teaching, but
overdoing this can seem like self-indulgence.
We of course face a particular problemwith mathematics for non-specialists, service courses, as discussed
frequently elsewhere. Here you are already starting from a disadvantage, some of the students may
positively dislike mathematics. Service teaching of mathematics is some of the most difcult teaching
there is. Indeed one might say that the major problemin service teaching is getting the students interested
in the subject. Unfortunately, service classes are often given to novice teachers such as postgraduates
because it is regarded as elementary material. The topics might be elementary, the teaching is certainly
not. Apart from the many motivational ploys and suggestions for relevant examples given elsewhere
there is also a very important question of attitude of the tutor in service teaching. We need to make it
clear that we know they are, as engineers, not as committed to mathematics, and tend to view the subject
as a tool. We need to make it clear that we respect this and we are adapting our teaching style and content
to suit this. We are going into their world to see what they need and not just presenting our mathematical
view of the world, expecting them to lter out what they need. We replace rigorous proof by sensible
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argument (but without abandoning rigorous logic). The tutorial is of course the ideal place for all this.
(For ideas see http://mathstore.ac.uk).
Most people need time to get excited about things. So if we keep rushing through the material without
allowing time for reection and personal interests of the students then that wont enthuse them. Similarly,
if the material is at the wrong level, too hard, or indeed too easy. And of course obsolete or out of date
material is very demotivating, and it is part of good teaching to keep material up to date.
Students also tend to lose motivation when we have to repeat material they have seen before (Or think
they have seen before). This is a particular problem in rst year courses where, because of the wide range
of student background, it may be necessary to go over basic pre-university material, which can really
demotivate the well prepared students who want to get on with new stuff. In such cases we can perhaps
present the material in a way that few of the students will have seen before. This works well when we
show them short cuts, such as the cover-up rule in partial fractions. Or we might dig deeper than they
have been used to. For example in integration by parts many might not have appreciated that it is simply
the reverse of the product rule - and then we can ask them to think about which integration technique is
the reverse of the chain rule. Here we have to nd a delicate balance between losing the less prepared
students while still challenging the well-prepared students.
In reading this section you will see that some of the demotivating effects are in fact unavoidable, with the
best will in the world. This just means that you have to work harder at minimizing the effects of such
things. This can often be done by getting the students on-side. Warn them if something a bit uninspiring
is coming up, but emphasize that it is essential for later work. Do your best to soften the blow- you might
tell them you also found it a pain as a student, but later came to realise how important it was (hopefully!).
Exercise Making mathematics and statistics interesting (If possible do this with a
group of colleagues)
The object of this exercise is to look at ways of making the most uninspiring material more
interesting.
Choose a mathematical or statistical topic that you nd particularly boring, or that you think
students nd boring.
Prepare a short presentation (less than ve minutes) that makes the topic sound interesting.
You are not presenting the topic, but the motivation for the topic.
List the methods you used to make the topic interesting
4.7 Explaining to Students
Already discussed in Section 3.9, explaining is one of the key arts of teaching [12]. In any walk of life,
being able to explain things clearly and efciently is a great gift - and particularly so for the teacher. It
has intellectual components (for example, knowing the topic well enough to adapt it to your listener),
and emotional components (such as not becoming impatient). All of these must be marshalled when a
student asks you for help. When a student asks for help they are ideally primed to learn, so you can
capitalise on this. Explaining in the lecture is usually more difcult than in the tutorial, because one
cannot easily interrogate the students to involve them in the dialogue so essential in the explaining of
difcult ideas. In the tutorial we can of course discuss things in more detail and with better exchange of
ideas and views, so explaining is easier. All the skills discussed in Section 3.9 can be brought to bear with
greater effectiveness.
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It is useful to bear in mind that all explanation is relative to the students capabilities and background
knowledge. So explanation is less a matter of the topic under discussion than of the present knowledge
of the student. We can keep questioning the student to check that they are getting the right idea or discern
whether they have any misconceptions. It also means that, depending on the listener, there are different
levels of explanation. In mathematics we are often so concerned about rigour and precision that we jump
in too quickly and try to offer a deeper level of explanation than the listener can cope with. In general it is
probably better to start at a fairly crude level, and gradually dig deeper. And we shouldnt be arrogant or
dismissive about levels of explanation. There will always be someone who wants a more rigorous level
than you can provide. For example the demands of Bourbaki, not to mention Russell and Whitehead,
would embarrass most university lecturers!
So, in a tutorial we explain by directly interacting with students. We need to treat the student sympa-
thetically and be tolerant of their difculties. We must never use any sort of negative, derogatory or
demeaning response to a students question. At that particular instant your response to a students query
is very important to them. If you get it wrong you can spoil the relationship with the students for the
duration of the course (and other students you havent met yet, because your reputation will get round).
Be polite and helpful, but you dont necessarily have to give the student what they may be asking for - a
quick answer.
Note that there is a distinction between explaining how to tackle a particular problem, which is what we
are often doing in exercise classes for example, and explaining a particularly difcult idea, concept or
technique. In the problem we are focusing down, trying to nd a pathway to a solution. In explaining a
difcult concept or method we have to take a wider view, looking at the idea from a number of different
perspectives, justifying things not just because they work, but in a natural way that is as sensible as
logical.
Examples
1. As an example of explaining how to tackle a particular problem, we might look back at
an example in Section 4.5, where a rst year student working through calculus problems
asks What is the derivative of 1/

x ?. We described how to use this to engage the

students. In explaining the solution to the student it is quite clear where we need to
go, but the important thing is where we need to take the student. As noted previously,
their real problem may lie with indices. There is not much point us telling them that
1/

x can be written as x
1/2
. They will probably readily agree to this and continue, and
just as readily forget the lesson again, so that if they come across 1/

x 1 later on they
are in no better position to proceed. So your explanation of how to tackle this problem
might focus on the laws of indices, encouraging the student to revise these before they
proceed. By interrogating the student you lead them to realize that they have to rewrite
the function in indices form, x

, and then it is of course a standard derivative. And when

they have done it, get them to do similar problems to consolidate the idea - and get them
to integrate 1/

x and such functions. Dont be over concerned that this takes up some
time, the skills you are promoting are powerful and of more value to the student than
just being told the derivative of 1/

x.
2. As an example of explaining a difcult technique consider completing the square, which
we have looked at before. This is actually quite mystifying at the elementary level, par-
ticularly as it is sometimes presented in a quick logical algebraic sequence with little
explanation as to why we are doing it. Sometimes it is justied by using it to solve a
quadratic equation. This sows the seeds of future misconceptions because students often
then associate completing the square with a quadratic equation, rather than a quadratic
function.
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So, in an explanation of completing the square the rst thing to make clear is that it is
applied to a quadratic function, and has nothing to do with a quadratic equation. At the
elementary level students often confuse functions and equations, so a bit of preliminary
work might be needed here. The difference can be vividly illustrated for example by
dening a function or expression that describes ones current bank balance as a function
of time, lets say B(t). Obviously this will be a useful function allowing us to calculate
our bank balance at any time. However, the equation B(t) = 0 is a very different piece
of information! So this can be used to impress on the students the difference between a
function and an equation. Then we are applying completing the square to a quadratic
function.
As a preliminary to the explanation, it is also as well to explain why we would want to
complete the square for a quadratic such as f(x) = ax
2
+ bx + c. What does it do for us?
The point is that the form given here for the quadratic tells us little about its properties.
Because there is both an x and an x
2
it is not clear how the function varies as x varies. If
we did have the quadratic equation ax
2
+bx+c = 0 to solve, it is not directly obvious how
to do this because again we have the x and x
2
mixed up. The problemis thus the ax
2
+bx
part. Now provided the students have (x +y)
2
= x
2
+2xy +y
2
at their ngertips (and if
they dont then it has to be explained to them, carefully) then they can quickly appreciate
that we can replace the ax
2
+ bx by something like a(x + b/2a)
2
a(b/2a)
2
. For the
beginner in algebra this is actually quite a difcult step and the details may need to be
explained at length. In particular the inclusion of a(b/2a)
2
a(b/2a)
2
= 0 needs to be
highlighted and explained. We can tell them that this is a classic ploy in mathematics,
where we introduce something and take it out again just to simplify an expression. We
can tell them of other examples of this, as in nding a common denominator when we
might replace 1 by say (x a)/(x a), and ask them when this is valid. When we nally
display the completed square form we can then explicitly demonstrate how it is now
clear where the max/min occurs and what it is. And we could explicitly solve for x to
get the usual quadratic solution formula. Finally we can emphasize the key points of this
method the atoms, namely the (x + a)
2
= x
2
+ 2ax + a
2
result and the common ploy
AA = 0.
The point of the second example is to illustrate the difference between explaining completing the square
by working through the required sequence of algebraic steps, justifying each one logically to produce
the desired result, and really explaining what is actually going on in a way that conveys all the lessons
to be learned, and spells out why we are taking each step. Of course, the latter takes much longer, but
the likelihood is that the students will learn more from it and stand a better chance of understanding and
retaining the ideas involved.
In mathematics we are often explaining a long proof or solution, the very length of which can be intimi-
dating. Dealing with such things is a key aspect of explanation. Break it down into bite-sized chunks, but
be sure you also give the road map/overviewenabling themto put it all together. Identify and emphasise
the key points - for example (a + b)
2
and A A in completing the square. Be economical with the truth
- sometimes we have to gloss over details or tricky bits in a rst treatment, or at a certain level - but be
sure the students understand that this is what we are doing. Use memorable phrases that encapsulate
the topic. For example Rings and sings in contour integration, referred to in Section 2.9, reminds the
students that they are always having to think about the contour (ring) and the singularities. So, when
they meet a contour integral Rings and sings (hopefully) springs to mind!
In pure mathematics there are such things as theorems, lemmas, propositions, etc which are really ways of
breaking up long pieces of work. But in fact this is not always helpful, and can impede uidity. Sometime
we need to balance sensible with logical explanation, and keep switching between the two. Keep asking
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the class what they think would be the next sensible step. Imagine how the person who rst tackled
this topic might have approached it. Ask why each step is taken. Particularly in mathematics there is a
tendency to pull rabbits out of a hat. We say things like Consider the function ..., without saying why
and then proceed through extensive logical steps until the result we want suddenly pops out. This may
be elegant in the nal polished presentation of the topic, but it is not the way most people think, and it
is an unfair way to introduce difcult ideas to novices. Admit the ansatz for what it is - a device to give
us the result we want - the proof wont work unless we take that particular type of function, or make
a particular assumption. The person who rst did it may well have started from what they wanted to
prove and worked backwards to get the function they then start with, or they might have used trial and
error to get a suitable function.
Sometimes students will ask how to do something that is on assessed coursework. It is easy, but short
sighted, to simply respond with I cant do that, it is coursework. One of the purposes of coursework is
to help students to learn, and if a student asks a question about it then they are in a good position to learn.
You cannot of course show them how to do that particular question, because that is simply giving them
marks for nothing. But by interrogating them on the topic of the question you can narrow the problem
down to precisely what is getting in their way, their real lack of understanding, and this you can address.
Get them to show you what they have done so far, work through all the parts they have done. Then,
when you have identied the stumbling block (which you can normally predict in advance anyway, but
insist they nd their own way to it), you have a number of options. Do a similar but different question,
do it for everyone in the next class, re-teach that bit of material and send them off for another attempt,
or simply tell them that you cant answer that part - it would be unfair to the rest of the students. Of
course, sometimes you cant really do anything at all because the the stumbling block is a clever trick
that the slightest hint will give away, so you have to use your common sense and judgement in such
circumstances.
Exercise
The object of this exercise is to look at how difcult mathematical or statistical ideas can be explained
in simple terms.
Choose a particularly difcult piece of mathematics or statistics, at any level
Prepare a short presentation (5-10 minutes) explaining this topic to a typical rst year student
so that they would develop a reasonable interpretation of it in their own terms.
List the methods you used to construct your presentation
4.8 General Points in Working with Students - Maintaining a Produc-
tive Working Environment
As Principle 2 reminds us, teaching is an intensely human activity. Above all it is one human being
helping another - having to help a lot of people all at the same time, as we do as lecturers, sometimes
masks this fact. If you have 100 students in your class and only interact by walking, talking and chalking
in the lecture room and marking their work, then it is difcult to view students as individuals, but that is
what we must try to do.
In a lecture one is grateful if the students are quiet, well behaved, attentive, receptive, relaxed and sensible
enough to ask questions when they need to and engage with the limited activity that is on offer. In a
tutorial they have to be working, proactively producing, engaging enthusiastically with the activities,
124
and we have to provide an atmosphere in which they can not only take part, but enjoy doing so. This
is one of the occasions when interpersonal and emotional factors come into play in the teaching and
learning of mathematics.
4.8.1 Interpersonal and Emotional Factors in the Tutorial
Skemp [66] has a useful Chapter 7 on interpersonal and emotional factors in the learning of mathematics,
which are important for the teacher to keep in mind in their interactions with students. One of the rst
problems that a tutor has is that some students may not actually like the topic you are teaching and
indeed may have negative feelings towards it because of indifferent teaching in the past. Mathematics is
particularly dependent on good teaching, especially in the early stages at school, but also in the transition
fromschool to university where the change in learning is not just a matter of content, but also style, speed
and levels of abstraction and rigour. This is not necessarily the students fault. You yourself will almost
certainly have some subject or topic that you dont like simply because you had a poor teacher in the past.
You cannot of course do anything about the students past teaching, but by being alert to such problems
you can perhaps change or accommodate their attitudes to more positive ones towards mathematics.
Skemp notes that the teacher has two tasks before even meeting the students - a conceptual analysis
of the material followed by planning of the way in which the necessary concepts and schemas can be
developed, with particular attention to the stages at which accommodation of the learners schemas will
be necessary. Then when in contact with the students, the teacher has to set the general direction and
guidance of the work, for explanation and correction of errors. Also, the teacher needs to create and
maintain interest and motivation.
So let us consider the face-to-face relation of the lecturer with the students and the effect that has on
learning based on the understanding of mathematics. While mathematics has a lot in common with
other subjects, it is different in one crucial aspect. In the arts, for example, the authority in the subject
comes from that of the teacher - it is largely a matter of their opinion. The only appeal in the event of
disagreement is to a second opinion. In the natural sciences the authority is based on experiment and in
that case the students do not have to accept because I say so. But in mathematics it is even stronger - the
authority is based on internal consistency, and there is a great deal of agreement between mathematicians
and between teacher and learner on whether this internal consistency is present or not. If a teacher makes
a mistake on the board and the student points it out, the teacher has to accept and correct it with good
grace. So in teaching and learning mathematics the interaction is between intelligences, with mutual
respect for each others. Skemp argues that this breaks down if the student is simply presented with
meaningless rules to accept uncritically - he calls this an insult to intelligence and compares it to actual
physical injury.
Example
Skemp [66] gives the example of shifting things from one side to the other in solving equa-
tions. He compares this with teaching someone how to use the brakes in a car - telling them
to depress the clutch at the same time as the brake, but with no reason. Most people will want
to know why they have to do this, rather than follow blindly the instructions. This sounds
very sensible, and normally one does provide a plausible reason for most things one does in
class. There is a caveat to this however. Returning to Skemps braking analogy, there are in
fact plenty of people who are quite happy to accept the instruction to depress the clutch at
face value (me included) and can still make competent drivers. I know and accept that there
is some good reason, related to the engine, but I have more important things to worry about
than that, so will just get on with it - I just want to learn as quickly as possible to drive. Any-
time I need to know more, I will consult an expert. This is exactly the same as, for example,
teaching mathematics to engineers. In Skemps example of solving equations he admits that it
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takes a great deal of development to provide the basis of the change in sign when one moves a
term from one side to the other. The engineer does not have time for that. The real skill of the
teacher comes in providing sufciently plausible reasons to put the learner at relative ease.
Thus in this case one might say Adding two apples to this side of the balance is the same
as taking off two apples from the other. Of course, this is not the whole story, but it makes
it easier for the busy learner to accept the method into a useful and largely correct schema.
What Skemp does in his justication is go through the study of algebra as a eld, in which
one can talk about inverse operations such as subtraction being the inverse of addition. But
this is only his level of explanation - Russell and Whitehead would regard it as rather super-
cial. However, Skemp is right in that totally unjustied rules are bad for the learner and make
learning for understanding more difcult. The skill is to balance the level of plausibility with
the learners needs and background.
Another way in which interpersonal issues come into teaching is in the means by which the teacher
commands authority. In general a teachers authority can be based on status and function, or on superior
knowledge. But there is confusion and indeed tension between these two forms of authority:
exerting discipline and maintaining order
attracting disciples because of superior knowledge.
In other circumstances these two roles are separated, as in the chairman and the members of a committee.
Members cannot question the authority of the chair, but may argue amongst themselves. In the same
way, students should accept the controlling and discipline based role of the teacher, but should feel free
to question their intellectual and subject role if necessary. Some students and lecturers confuse the two
aspects. This is a particular problem in teaching mathematics, for which the intellectual demands are so
great, and the need to maintain disciplined intellectual activity correspondingly so. And it is even more
so in service teaching where the students may not be there out of choice, but simply because they have to
do the course to pass their examinations.
As Baumslag ([7], p.161) points out students are sometimes frightened of talking to the lecturer, or afraid
of making fools of themselves, so we need to reassure them. We need to treat what they say with respect.
We need personal qualities of respect, patience, ability to listen, ability to pitch conversation right for
students, to encourage, be generous, admit our mistakes, and be in good spirits. It also helps to have a
reasonable personal interest in the students - ask how they getting on, etc. On the other hand some rude,
challenging, and aggressive lecturers can still get the best out of students. If you do nd yourself losing
patience with a student then politely draw the meeting to a close and rearrange it for a time when you
can compose yourself.
Exercise
Think about your own personality and any effect this may have on the tutorial environment - are
you impatient, prone to ramble, etc?
4.8.2 Knowing how the Students Know the Subject
Just as in giving a lecture, not only must you know the material inside out yourself, but you must know
how the students know it, or will come to know it. Also, you need to know as much about their back-
ground interests and motivation as possible, so you can anticipate their difculties, and quickly get onto
their wavelength, to help you get your message across. This is particularly important in the case of service
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classes. Consult with colleagues about the students to nd out what have they done in relevant classes.
Read widely about the topic to get a range of perspectives - some students like a strictly logical account
of things while others like visual approaches. Rewrite notes on the topic in your own words - reassemble
and restructure the ideas and content, make sure you can prove things ab initio yourself.
Design tutorial activity to meet the objectives including such things as organising the groups, assigning
tasks and roles. For example, for a complicated modelling exercise you may split them into say groups of
4-5. Dont forget that all such tactics have implications for accommodation and possibly equipment. And
of course you will have to give them precise instructions. See Mason ([53], Page 105) for a wide range of
tasks aimed at various types of mathematical objective.
Sometimes in a tutorial a student may ask a question that stumps you. You feel you ought to be able to
answer - in a lecture you can play for time and ask them to see you after class, but in a tutorial there is no
hiding place! So, what do we do? Dont blag it! Be openly yourself. If it is a question your are supposed
to be able to answer - for example one of the tutorial problems - them apologize for falling down on the
job and sort it out as speedily as possible. If it is an ad hoc question that is peripheral to the main topic
of the class, or not related to your course, then you might try it for a while. If you cant do it relatively
quickly (you shouldnt allow it to distract you from the main purpose of the class) admit it. If you think
it appropriate say you will try it and get back later. Doing things you dont really have to do is of course
good PR.
There is no great shame in occasionally not being able to answer a question, especially if caught cold. The
students will benet greatly from watching you struggle with it, even if you dont succeed. They will see
how a mathematician works - see that it is OK to cross out, make mistakes and guesses. They will feel
better about themselves and realise that it isnt just me. It might even spur them on to try harder. If you
think the question is interesting and that it is appropriate, open it up to others in the class, ask if they can
do it. Be careful you are not doing another lecturers coursework! The key point is not to be embarrassed
if you cant do a problem. We all have off days. It is the way you handle them that is important.
Exercise
Choose a topic you expect the students to know and that you will be relying on in future work. How
do the students know it? Do they see it in the same way as you, do they have the same facility, are
they used to your terminology and notation, do they have the necessary overview? Talk to colleagues
about this.
4.8.3 Classroom Management in the Tutorial
We discussed classroom management in the lecture in Section 3.9. Most of what we said there applies
equally to tutorials so we will just summarize the main points and add anything that is particular to
tutorials. In general running a tutorial class is not so problematical in this respect - for a start there are
usually fewer students to manage. However, it does have some special features that we will discuss
here. Largely these amount to keeping the whole class on task, and curbing any disrupting or distracting
behaviour.
Be clear about your duties, responsibilities and status and make sure that the students are too. You may
not be very much older than some of the students, but dont be afraid to exert authority if necessary.
Some people believe that a dress code is useful for establishing a distance between the students and
the lecturer. Certainly some young lecturers have reported that when they wore a suit the students paid
more attention to them! This may help to separate the two senses in which the lecturer needs authority
that we talked about in Subsection 4.8.1. But in truth this is a minor issue. If some students are messing
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about and not working on the problems, get in amongst them and get them down to work. That helps
them, whether they appreciate it or not, and the rest of the class. Set ground rules early on and stick to
them. It is much better to be tough to begin with and ease up if necessary as the module progresses. It is
much more difcult to tighten up after a lax start. You might negotiate some of the ground rules with the
students. Maybe the start time is not convenient for all of them and a change is helpful to everyone. But
then stick to the new start time agreed.
Keep order in the proceedings - when students (or anyone) are allowed the freedom to talk amongst
themselves they can easily stray off task and things can become unruly unless some order is imposed.
Usually humour and an appeal to the students good sense and courtesy will settle things down. But if
it doesnt, remain in control and politely but rmly insist that they do as they are told. Keep them on
task - that is, solving problems, or talking about solving problems. Dont be too much of a slave driver,
of course, a few minutes light banter can refresh everyone, but in the end, you and the students do have
a job to do.
Learn as many names as possible, and try to build up knowledge of their personalities. Use any characters
in the class (politely and in a friendly way of course) to help develop rapport with students. Try to bring in
their interests - for example some might complain if working through a long list of tedious drill exercises
- ask if there are any guitarists/pianists, etc in the group and ask them how they learn their chords -
mathematics drill is the same thing. Be relaxed and friendly with them, while maintaining a respectable
and professional stance.
Never be rude, sarcastic or derogatory, no matter what the provocation. Because if you are this will
alienate most of the class, and in any case it is bad manners. It is not setting a good professional example.
As a young lecturer, in a moment of frustration, I sarcastically announced You lot are supposed to be the
brightest 10% of the population - I dread to think what becomes of the bottom 10%!. Quick as a ash,
from the back of the class, in a beautiful Irish lilt came the retort They become university lecturers, sure
they do!. Fortunately that lightened things up considerably. I was never sarcastic with students again.
Examples
1. Wankat and Oreovicz ([72], p. 120) have some good advice on working with groups of
students, particularly on disagreement and conict between students in a tutorial situ-
ation. They advise that we set the climate from the start that conict is to be resolved
together in the group. Argument should not be personalised. In conict ensure that
everyone has the same accurate information and then help students to recognise simi-
larities and differences. Use principles of debate and get them to switch sides and argue
the opposite case, to be Devils advocate. If conict becomes heated, defer untill outside
class. Nurture non-participants and arrange for better conditions under which they can
contribute - privacy, longer time, written submission, etc. It is found that women speak
less in bigger groups, especially if their ideas are attacked. Over-participants or monop-
olizers must be controlled. If bringing in other contributions doesnt work, have a word
with them. In time, other members of the group will tell them to shut up. Ask that each
student speak at least twice in the session.
2. Krantz ([49], p. 78) gives some useful advice on the nuts and bolts of running problem
classes, which are worth summarising. He points out that it is easy to fall into the trap
of not taking such classes too seriously, but as we have repeatedly emphasised, they are
in fact very important. But always remember to strike a balance between being well
prepared by doing all the problems beforehand, and spending too much time on prepa-
ration. Use devices to liven things up. Think quickly, on your feet. Think how best to
present something or handle confusing points. Stick to problems of that week, i.e. limit
your responsibilities. Ensure that you do the solutions the way the students need to do
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them. Dont give away the store. Find ways to generate repartee. Set an example of
sharing, giving, caring so students are willing to muck in. Part of your job is to show the
students how to do the problems, but also to show them that the problems are doable.
Try to be aware of any diversity issues that might affect the tutorial - disabilities, multicultural and lan-
guage issues. Actually, in mathematics we are relatively lucky since it is something of a universal lan-
guage. However, it is well known that word problems in mathematics can present special difculties for
foreign students for example, and this can be a problem in the more discursive environment of a tutorial
class. But be careful about stepping outside of your responsibilities and expertise on such issues, some
of which can be difcult even for the experienced lecturer. Consult an experienced member of academic
staff if in doubt.
On the rare occasion when we have a disruptive student, how do we deal with that? If someone is
disturbing the class it is not too hard to send them out of the class if they wont toe the line. But keep it
as a very last resort. Give a warning - Three strikes and you are out! Have a quiet word with them rst.
Remember that they are potentially disrupting the learning of other students, and these will invariably
be on your side in taking a strong line. If it gets that far, inform the appropriate authority. Dont express
anger, malice or any other strong emotion. Stay in control. As noted elsewhere if they refuse to leave, you
leave and report to the appropriate authority. You are not paid to handle personal confrontations!
Sometimes we do get students who simply will not participate. As noted in Section 4.5 there will be
students who simply dont want or need our help, but we are thinking here of behaviour that is not simply
independence on the part of the student. Then you might try to nd out why they wont participate
- it may be personal problems or illness. But dont try to be a counsellor, refer it to the appropriate
people. However, if a student does actually conde in you that shows a degree of trust on which you can
capitalize, so you might for example accompany them to the counsellor, if they want that.
Exercise
Think about how the issues of this section relate to your own tutorials and discuss with colleagues.
4.9 Problem/Exercise Classes
4.9.1 Learning Mathematics through Problem Solving
By problem or exercise classes we mean the fairly standard form of mathematics tutorial in which stu-
dents work through problems, seeking help when they need it. Problem solving is one of the main
activities by which we learn mathematics. Ensuring that students get the best out of their problem classes
is therefore important. It is also difcult, because we have the job of actually encouraging the students to
engage fruitfully with the activity, and of assisting them in the most effective way when they get stuck
and need help.
Note that one can think of problem sessions from (at least) two extremes. The most common use of
problem sessions is that in which students work through problems whose main function is to support
the learning of particular topics, maybe in some depth. In this case, while there may be some quite tough
problems, the bulk will be relatively routine and accessible to the average student in the class, more in
the nature of practice. Such sessions might be more commonly called Exercise classes. At the other
extreme there are problem sessions devoted to developing the skills of problem solving itself, sometimes
to a very high level, almost involving mini-research projects. In this case of course the problems will
be far more difcult, some may not even have solutions. And the problems will take much longer, be
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more stressful for the students, require more sophisticated support from the tutor, and more attention to
personality and emotional issues. In fact this type of session is more technical and the new lecturer is
less likely to be involved in a leading capacity. So in this book we tend to focus more on the rst type
of problem session, which is more usual, although the skills developed will be also useful in the second
problem solving methodology sessions.
On the face of it the sorts of activities involved in problem classes would seem to be pretty obvious - the
students work though problems with your help. However, the tutor can be more proactive than this and
there are many things you can do to support and enhance the students learning during such tutorials.
After all the student can plod though problems at home, making a note of any questions to raise with
you in the lecture or tutorial. In a tutorial they should be doing more fruitful things and working more
intensively.
Mason ([53], p.87, etc) gives a number of what he calls tactics that will help students in solving problems.
You might show students how to approach a problem by simplifying the context to one that can be
tackled more easily, but still has the essential features. Thus, you might look at a special case, insert
numbers to replace symbols, choose more manageable functions, lower the dimension, etc. And of course
we can reverse this and make an example more complex, so that it might lead to the solution of related
problems. In such tactics we might encourage the students to go from the particular to the general by
extending results, or looking for examples with peculiar features. We have already mentioned the doing
and undoing aspect of mathematics - factorising is the undoing of multiplying factors, partial fractions,
integration, etc. Set problems and activities for students that look at this doing and undoing aspect of
mathematics. Mason gives some examples ([53], p. 89). The main objective is to emphasize to students
the principle that in order to undo a process you must be highly skilled at doing it. Another suggestion
of Masons is to move from asking direct questions of the students, like Give me an example of ... to
prompting the students to ask the question themselves, as for example in asking What question am
I going to ask now?, or What question do I usually ask when you are stuck?. Hopefully this will
eventually lead them to ask such questions themselves, spontaneously.
Mason ([53], p. 90) also points out that when introducing new symbols or terms we load the student
with a great deal of information to absorb. Not only do they have to understand for example what the
symbol stands for, but all the baggage that comes with that, all the properties and qualities of the thing
represented. In fact, the mere act of assigning such a representative symbol can inhibit access to the real
thing, and perpetuate any misconceptions or errors in a students concept image of the real thing. Mason
suggests that when the symbol, for example, is rst introduced you should, for a while repeat the full
denition each time you use it, gradually withdrawing and paraphrasing the denition until eventually
it can be abandoned altogether and the symbol alone can be used. This may be a little unwieldy in a
lecture situation, but can certainly be used in a tutorial situation. When you introduce new notation you
can also get students used to it by asking what they see, and then getting them to assemble the complete
denition or notation from the individual details. This capitalises on the fact that most people like rst to
break new things down into components, understand those and then reassemble the complete structure
when the components are fully understood.
Mason has a great deal to say about the sort of examples one might use with students, asking what makes
an example exemplary ([53], pp. 29, 80). Particularly powerful examples are those that reect the way
mathematics is actually done (Principle 6), that is those that require the student to look beyond the super-
cial details and irrelevancies of the situation, and simplify the problem until it is manageable. Mason
calls such examples generic ([53], p. 81). They provide practice in important skills such as specialising,
generalising and nding counter-examples. Mason also emphasises the importance of getting students to
construct worked examples for themselves. For example, impress upon them that it is better to be able to
reconstruct a technique rather than relying on memorising meaningless steps in applying the technique
to pre-set examples ([53], p. 79) (Principle 7). Related to this, Mason warns us to beware of students as-
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senting to a denition (or other result) that we give them, rather than having the condence to assent for
real understanding. It is a familiar occurrence for students to parrot a denition remembered verbatim
from the notes or book without really internalising what it means, or being able to use it in a new context.
Of course, this is to be expected, and the remedy is to devote more time and practice to the denition and
its use, if it is sufciently important.
Another activity is to involve students in the drawing of diagrams. Describe mentally what you have
in mind and get them to try and picture it without drawing the diagram. This increases their ability to
generate and handle mental imagery. A similar type of activity is the scrambled proof, where students
have to sort out the correct order of a number of steps in a particular proof. Or, they have to assemble
a list of logical steps into an order that makes sense, makes a valid argument. Sometimes students (and
you) use it in a mathematical sense, or some other pronoun. Often they do it without really knowing
what it is. Get them to explain what the it is, get them to replace the pronoun by what it actually is.
When students work through a method or technique they have to think about each step, whereas the
lecturer does not and so can attend to other things in parallel, such as checking answers. So we need to
develop students skills of diverting attention from a calculation. For this they have to internalise it ([53],
p. 79), and when they have done this properly they will naturally think of other things simultaneously -
just like we can solve mathematical problems as we drive along quiet roads, because the latter requires
such little thinking. The learner keeps repeating a process until they have mastered it ([53], p. 99).
Sometimes a student will tackle a problem in a way we think correct but inefcient or inelegant. What
do we do? For example in evaluating the probability of an event it is in fact sometimes much easier
to calculate the probability of the complement of the event and subtract from one. But what if one of
the students uses the longer direct method, calculating more probabilities than they have to? This is
actually an interesting situation, typical of the sorts of sensitivities one has to balance in teaching. What
we do depends on the time available and cost/benets analysis of the situation. It may be worth giving
the student their head if what they say/do will illustrate some point from which they and others might
learn. But then the more elegant approach should be pointed out gently and without embarrassing them.
Preferably the quicker method should emerge by discussion amongst the group, and not foisted on them
by the teacher.
We hear many complaints about the way students write and present mathematics, and when you watch
them working through problems in the tutorial you will see lots of rough work that you wouldnt ever
want to read, much less mark yourself. But of course, we know this is how most of us work (See [39]) in
practice. But you also know that if you need to write a paper or book then you have to be much more
careful, and the written presentation of the mathematics is more comprehensive, tidier and readable. The
students are not so experienced however, and they write their mathematics the way the lecturer does on
the board. In a tutorial we have the opportunity to showthe students howto write mathematics properly,
so occasionally tell them that you want certain solutions written out carefully - give them guidelines if
necessary at rst. Also, sometimes go through problems on the board in full, setting it out in the way you
expect a nal presentation to appear. Another reason students present mathematical work poorly is that
they think they are writing either for themselves, so it doesnt need to be thorough, or they are writing
for the teacher, who will know what they mean. Particularly for coursework, emphasize to them that
they are actually writing for, say, someone who will be taking the module next year, who may not be able
to ll in the gaps, or easily deduce what they are doing. A further reason why students sometimes write
mathematics badly is because they dont really understand what they are trying to say. Explain to them
that the actual process of writing out the mathematics clearly, precisely and correctly actually helps them
to learn.
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Exercise
There is a vast literature on problem solving and problem solving methodology, in addition to that
cited here. In preparing for your own problem classes you might survey this more widely to gather
ideas that can feed into your classes.
4.9.2 Writing Problem Sheets and other Tutorial Materials
The preparation of materials for teaching situations in general was discussed in Sections 2.8,2.9. Ideas
and suggestions there can be applied just as well to preparing such things as problem or exercise sheets,
so here we will simply summarise any additional points that might arise. Problem sheets are just as
important as the actual lecture material. If written and constructed properly they are at the front line of
helping students to learn. Having decided on the key objectives of the session, then the material must
be designed to achieve those either during the tutorial or in subsequent independent work. We have
already said that the tutorial objectives will be high level, and so you will be trying to help your students
to overcome some difcult coneptual hurdles, or possibly apply some ideas in new and subtle contexts.
For this they are going to need high facility with the necessary elementary skills and ideas. If you have not
already ensured this previously then the materials must provide quick consolidation problems, rming
up the essential pre-requisites. This might take the form of lots of very simple problems that the students
are expected to ash through in the rst quarter of the session say. Then you need to build up slowly
to the higher order ideas, with problems and exercises steadily increasing in difculty. This is the step-
laddering process (Section 3.10) where you are providing the individual rungs needed and helping the
students up these.
Gradually you can progress to harder problems that miss out some of the steps, or switch them around.
Only after this sort of easing in material can you start to set tougher questions that require high facility.
These might include not only problems that are difcult to solve, but questions that encourage students to
think about how they learn (Principle 8) - for example you might ask for them to write brief descriptions
of how all the steps t together. You might ask them to generalise the results they have obtained, to
analyse the conditions under which the methods break down, etc. All this requires some thought if you
want to do more than just give a few problems without structuring them in any way. Remember that
the object of the tutorial is not so much to have the students struggling with very difcult problems,
but to help them to learn the subject matter, and to develop their learning skills. Also of course, in the
tutorial you have to ensure that most of the students do actually get through all the steps and stages in
the problem sheet.
Problems set for the students need to be at just the right level - not too hard, not too easy. This is a
matter of judgement, and your knowledge of the class as a whole. And of course students will vary in
what they regard as the right level - a boring trivial problemfor one student can be a fascinating challenge
for another. So you have to have a range of problems to meet their needs([50], p. 330). But usually the
two extremes, lots of very straightforward problems, or one or two desperately hard problems, do not
work well. Also, try to make your problem and work sheets interesting. Explain the point of the different
questions. You can call attention to connections with the rest of the course or with other subjects. You can
ask students to generalise the routine questions to more interesting contexts.
Exercise
Survey as many examples of problem sheets as you can, particularly in topics related to yours and
for students at the same level. These can often be found on departmental websites. Harvest any good
ideas!
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4.9.3 Running a Problem Class
Much that we said in Section 3.9 can be applied in problem classes, and there is no harm in repeating
some of it here. Firstly, remember that you are the one in charge, and so it is you who have to run the
class. You have to make it clear that you expect them to work hard, that you are anxious that they learn
the material, and will go out of your way to help them in the process. Commence in a business-like way,
making sure that the students fully understand the purpose of the particular activity of the session. Make
sure they all fully understand what they have to do.
Ensure that all the students have the resources to do what is required. Many will not even have brought
their class notes - tell them to do so next time, and if possible tell them what to bring before the session.
Organise the students to suit the particular activity - possibly in groups, or in alternate rows in a tiered
lecture theatre, so that you can reach all the students. Indicate some sort of schedule - for example many
students start with the rst question and work progressively throughout the whole session, not getting
very far in terms of overview of the topic in the time available. So you may say something like Spend 15
minutes on the rst three questions, then half an hour of questions 6- 9, and nally make sure you spend
a quarter of an hour on the last three questions. This way, they are wrestling with a range of issues, can
get your help on each, and can consolidate the details in their own time. Emphasize that the idea is for
them to identify their sticking points quickly, while you are around to help them.
Set clear ground rules about orderly conduct of the class from the start (see below). Your priority is to
establish a conducive learning atmosphere, and most students will thank you for this, even if it means
you being a little authoritarian. Keep things moving once you have started them off. And you will nd
that you do have to maintain momentum and push them to work to best effect. That is just human nature
(Principle 2!). You can keep reminding them that right now is the best time to sort out their difculties,
while the topic is still fresh in their minds, and while you are around to help them. It is much harder
when they come to revise a few weeks before the examination - an hour spent now will save hours later.
Generate a sense of being everywhere in the classroom, move about from student to student, seeing how
they are doing. Be a pest, in the nicest way, continually asking how they are getting on, anyone stuck,
how far have you got - anyone had a look at Question 4 yet? If similar questions crop up repeatedly tell
students to help each other, go through with the whole class, or use something like Baumslags double
le with outline and full solutions ([7], p. 161). If a student makes a small slip, and you are short of time,
just check their overall solution and tell them to check for errors, come back to it later, etc. In problem
classes one way is to go through the solution on the board. Only issue model solutions when the students
have made good attempt at it. Get the whole class to discuss how to nd solutions.
Help the students with entry methods to problems, not specic hints. Starting a problem is very difcult
for some students, they sometimes have no idea how to start, and they just sit staring at blank paper -
dont show them how to start, because all that happens is the next step in the problem becomes a new
starting point where they get stuck again. In general the problem will contain a number of steps and to
tackle the problem one needs to understand each of the individual steps and also have an overview of
how they all t together. Ply the students with questions that tease out these different aspects, leading
them hopefully to ll in the gaps themselves. Get them to write out the question in their own words.
Or get them to write down everything they know about that topic - using their notes if necessary. Think
about yourself - how do you enter into a difcult problem, such as in your own research? Often the
reason they cant start is because they try to begin with steps that are too big - remember the proverb A
journey of a thousand .... Tell them to try examples, stick numbers in. Look for similar problems in their
notes or books. You have to show then how to enter a problem, any problem, and how to do this for
themselves. Get them to discuss it with fellow students. Get them guessing and assure them that this is
a perfectly respectable tactic in mathematics, so if they are unsure how to start just take a guess at it and
see where that leads.
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Make sure that everyone is engaged - dont concentrate on one particularly vocal group, gently bring
in any shy isolated people, encourage them to help each other. Perhaps you might go through the rst
question of a particular type at one or two points in the session. If things go quiet, and you nd you are
not getting many questions, ask the class - Anyone stuck? Has anyone done Question 3 yet? Anyone
nished - do you want some more problems?.
Dont let students spend too long on a question in the tutorial. It is better to give them an idea how to
proceed and then move themonto other questions because they are then experiencing a range of problems
in the class, where they have the opportunity to get your help. Encourage students to use their notes or
any other materials they have. Some students, particularly rst years, nd this difcult because in school
the problems they do are usually very closely related to what they have just done in class. In more
advanced mathematics they may have to go back quite a long way, or interpret some of their material in
a different way to how it is presented in the notes.
In the hothouse of a busy tutorial you might want to test a particular students knowledge about some-
thing without making them feel uncomfortable in front of the group. Dont put them on the spot. Have a
quiet word without drawing attention to them. You could also give all students a short quiz and see what
the response of the particular student is. You may have noticed that we have mentioned this tactic of
getting the students to write something down a number of times. This is because people are more likely
to respond and contribute something if they can scribble it down rather than voice it in a crowd. Skemp
([66], p. 124) gives a nice example of a teacher who elicited input from a student critiqued it, exposed it
to examination from the class and yet did not in any way embarrass the student. Skemp makes the point
that: Those who really understand mathematics are not common; those who can communicate it, less so;
those who are also excellent group leaders, fewer still; while those who can also communicate this last
ability are rare indeed. In problem classes, some students spontaneously group together and ask ques-
tions amongst themselves and may not consult the tutor individually. They may even resent interference
from the tutor. If they learn better that way, encourage it! By talking to groups of people with similar
problems you at least save repeating yourself. Of course, if they still cant resolve their issues, or if it is
taking up too much time, then intervene. The question of who should initiate your involvement, you or
them, is a delicate balance. If they are arguing then at least one is probably wrong, and they may resent
the teacher being the one to point this out! But in arguing they are learning both the topic and debating
skills.
Exercise
Prepare your next problem class in the light of issues discussed above and with discussion with your
colleagues.
4.9.4 Dealing with Large Differences in Ability within a Small Group
It is often said that if you get any two mathematicians together, one will be extremely good and the
other rubbish! Certainly, in a tutorial you will get a wide range of abilities and understanding. In such
circumstances we must resist the temptation to focus on either the very weak or the very good student -
both pay the same, both are entitled to equal added value! We need a range of problems/activities/work
to challenge and to help at all levels. Because all students should have the course pre-requisites, there is a
limit to the variation one would expect. If all students will eventually have the opportunity to consolidate
the work in their own time (for example if full worked solutions will be issued), then one can perhaps
afford to let the better students sort their problems out themselves later. Or, we can set some very hard
problems to keep these students occupied.
When you are addressing the group as a whole, aim for a middling level, but emphasize any points that
134
are particularly important and the weaker students might miss. On the other hand, you can occasionally
present the most elementary material from an advanced standpoint that even the better students might
not have seen, and that will not leave the weaker ones too perplexed. Always be specic about what the
students will have to know when it comes to assessment (Principle 3). For example, they will be keen to
know whether the proof of a particular result is necessary. Here you can reassure the weaker students,
but you can also challenge the stronger students to fully understand the proof, regardless of whether it
will be examined or not.
Often, people are at different levels because they have different levels of motivation and interest, so try to
nd presentations and explanations that will interest or intrigue a wide range of students. For ideas see
Section 4.6. A point perhaps not sufciently emphasized there is that there is one very strong motivating
stimulus for many students in HE and that comes out strongly in tutorials - their self esteem, which
is generally high. If challenged with a problem such students often feel compelled to solve it for no
other reason than they should be able to - you can capitalize on this by demonstrating (reasonably) high
expectations of them and showing that you expect them to be able to make progress on even difcult
problems.
You may occasionally nd that one student in the class is much less or much more able than everyone else.
First nd out why they are so exceptional. Use this as an excuse to devote more time and effort to them,
so that this does not seem like favouritism. See them out of class if this is appropriate. More able is not so
much a problem because you can always give them some really challenging problems (maybe something
from your own research you have been struggling with!). Invite them to help less able students. Much
less able is more of a problem. Assuming that they are in the right class/group and therefore have the
appropriate pre-requisites, then the simple fact is they will have to work harder to catch up. Get them
to think about how they can do this - maybe they have other subjects that they are strong in, so they can
coast through those and borrow some of that time? How much work are they likely to need? Be very
efcient and targeted about how you assist such students - dont bother them with things you think they
are less likely to need and focus on those that are absolutely essential. Be strategic about advice, and
structure it so that the help it gives impinges on a number of areas.
Examples
1. If you are teaching rules of differentiation to rst year engineers, concentrate on just the
product rule and function of a function rule with the weaker students. They are (very)
less likely to need the quotient rule anyway, and if they have a thorough understanding
of the product rule and function of a function then they can muddle through a quotient.
2. When proving a theorem in, say, analysis encourage the weaker students to concentrate
more on the actual effect of the theorem rather than on the conditions under which the
theorem holds. For example, if proving Rolles theorem you might bother the weaker
students less with the conditions of continuity and differentiability imposed, and con-
centrate on convincing them that the derivative must vanish somewhere, whereas you
might expect the stronger students to examine carefully how these conditions t into
the proofs. This might sound like heresy to the pure mathematician, but teaching is a
continual balancing of such compromises.
Exercise
Think about what you know about the students in your class, their abilities and interests. Devise
ways of giving added value to the full range of ability.
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4.10 Demonstration Classes
In demonstration classes the teacher may be literally demonstrating how to tackle mathematical prob-
lems. This requires all the skills of lecturing, and so most of what was covered in Chapter 3 is relevant
here. But you are not really there to merely go through the problems for the students on the board, while
they imitate you. In fact, you are simply the scribe when going through problems on the board. Encour-
age the students themselves to develop the solution by asking pertinent leading questions and giving
careful hints that still require them to think. You simply write down what they come up with, see where
that leads and backtrack if necessary. You are demonstrating mathematical thinking, not mathematical
writing. And when you are writing out solutions, be mathematical in the sense that you display your
thinking as you work through. Think aloud, spell out options, maybe try a few dead ends, some guess-
work, etc. The idea is to develop the solution as we might do it in rough, in practice, ourselves and not
just presented in the nal polished form. When you have done it in this rough way, get them to write
up the nal solution tidily and carefully. When completed, leave the solution up on display and as they
work through a similar problem keep asking them to refer to the solution when they get stuck again.
If you want students to come up and work through problems on the board (Only if they are happy with
this and volunteer - remember that public speaking is one of peoples greatest fears, and they are there
to learn, not to be embarrassed), then the best situation to aim for is one where the environment is so
relaxed and the rapport so good that students will spontaneously go to the board to make a point. If the
group is small enough you may indeed hold the session in front of the board, so you are all chipping in -
more a remonstration class than demonstration class! But remember that there is value in just watching
an expert at work, and occasionally a demonstration class might be just that. It is basically a highly
interactive lecture, using all the skills mentioned in Chapter 3 for the lecture as well as the tutorial skills
of this chapter.
Example
In demonstrating how one might derive the series for the exponential function from its def-
inition as the function f(x) that is its own derivative and satises f(0) = 1 we might start
with an assumed series with unknown coefcients. We then insist that the students now tell
us how to nd these coefcients. If this is their rst sight of such a situation it is quite difcult
for them. Normally, when faced with nding coefcients in this way they will have had only
a nite number to nd, as in breaking into partial fractions for example, but now they have
an innite number of unknowns and so are not looking for a closed system of equations. The
class will have to be pressed quite hard to come up with suggestions, but we have to resist
the temptation to do it for them. If we keep harping back to the denition someone will even-
tually suggest substituting into the equation f

(x) = f(x), and so we dutifully do this on the

board, but go no further, just ask What now?. Thinking back to similar problems as in partial
fractions one student may suggest equating coefcients, in which case, go with that and de-
rive the sequence a
1
= a
0
, 2a
2
= a
1
, 3a
3
= a
2
, 4a
4
= a
3
and so on. Again, What now?. And
so we continue, only a few hints will be needed to entice a general recurrence relation out of
the class and hence determine all coefcients in terms of a
0
, which they know is one from the
initial condition.
On the other hand one of the students may have initially suggested repeated differentiation
of the series and the equation f

(x) = f(x) to determine the coefcients one at a time, as we

do when nding Taylor series. If so, no matter, we simply follow that line to its conclusion,
even if we wanted to go via the previous route to illustrate recurrence relations. At the end
we can lead them through that form of the solution as an alternative. The point is that we
are demonstrating the solution using prompts from the students, wherever they lead. The
skills they learn in doing this are far deeper and more useful than simply watching us work
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through the solution by a method of our choosing, and it is these skills that we should be
demonstrating.
4.11 Group Discussion/Project Classes
4.11.1 It Helps to Talk!
Group discussion is not so common in mathematics. Similarly project classes are more common in en-
gineering. But there is certainly room for such things in mathematics. Skemp ([66], p. 121) looks at the
benets of discussions in mathematics - mainly between students rather than with the teacher. The advan-
tages are based on the enlightenment that we all feel when we start to tell someone else about a problem -
sometimes, halfway through, we actually solve it. Discussion provides opportunities for thinking aloud.
There is also the opportunity of interrelating your ideas with those of others. Discussion also stimulates
new ideas, and reveals connections between ideas.
Below are some examples of the sorts of things that might lend themselves to discussion in mathematics.
Modelling a real-life situation in say engineering, biology, etc where there is are a number of pos-
sible methods and one has to achieve a compromise between practical solution and representing
reality. Here of course the students have rst to know the various methods one might use and the
necessary physics, biology, whatever, on which to base their discussion.
The examination of a relatively long and subtle argument, as in proving that every n-dimensional
vector space over a eld is isomorphic to the vector space of n-tuples of elements from the eld.
Here the objective would be for the discussion group to convince themselves that all of them really
do understand the concepts and logical steps involved and could present and exemplify it them-
selves in their own words. Of course, this is only worthwhile for results such as this, of major
importance.
Discussion of the best way to introduce a difcult concept (That of isomorphism arising in the
previous example would for example be ideal, or the notion of an equivalence relation), perhaps
devising guidelines for the lecturer on how to introduce the topic.
Wankat and Oreovicz ([72], p. 116) discuss the advantages of discussion groups in engineering subjects,
but they apply equally to mathematics. Basically they are:
promotes higher order thinking skills
retention of material usually improved
can change attitudes (affective objective)
greater intellectual development
students more actively involved
can improve students group interaction and communication skills
students can be leaders and teach other students
more likely to lead to commitment to the subject
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can be tted in anywhere, say to break up lectures.
However, as Wankat and Oreovicz warn, discussion also has disadvantages:
harder for tutor to conduct properly
time consuming and rate of transfer of information low
students dont show improved learning of knowledge, comprehension and application objectives
may be difcult to obtain student participation, especially in mathematics
students must know something before an intelligent discussion can take place
only practicable for small groups - but can always break larger groups up
may be less acceptable to students such as mathematics students who want to learn from an expert
meaningful discussion may be difcult with immature students
mathematics students sometimes think that the transferable skills such as communication and team
skills should be taught separately, not in mathematics classes.
Wankat and Oreovicz also advise that the tasks set for small group discussions should:
have several possible solutions
be intrinsically interesting
be challenging but doable
require a variety of skills
allow all group members to contribute.
4.11.2 Running Discussion Groups
Again, Section 3.9 covers most of what we will need for running discussion groups. We need to ensure
that the accommodation and resources are suitable for the session, and to decide how to use them. In
fact, this is quite a technical matter and may be out of your hands, but dont be afraid to raise the issue if
for example the room is not suitable for what you have in mind.
Skemp ([66]) talks about the advantages of discussion in mathematics. He believes the best number in
a discussion group is two or three, but this is somewhat unrealistic these days and things should work
ne with say half a dozen students. Skemp emphasizes the importance of allowing time for thinking in
a group, which doesnt necessarily have to be continuous discussion. And, particularly in mathematics,
members of the group may need to engage in some sort of activity like doing calculations in order to
investigate points made. So a discussion in mathematics may be somewhat more varied than in a subject
such as say history. In mathematics, time-out may be needed to raise questions, provide responses, etc.
Good personal relations are of course needed between members of the group, and good facilitation by
the tutor.
Even in small groups, participants contribute unevenly and the problem increases with the size of the
group. To increase participation, try breaking larger groups into smaller ones for some time, and perhaps
withdraw from the discussion for some of the time, leaving the students to themselves. As in any kind
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of teaching situation, give the objectives of the session and explain briey what you are going to do, and
why. Set rules/agenda from the beginning and make sure everyone understands the requirements for
the session to work well. This includes timekeeping, disciplined working, etc. Give some motivating in-
troduction - a bit of relevant history, an example, reference to the examination or coursework, something
relevant to them, etc. (Section 3.9). Give clear instructions on a handout or, better, displayed on the board
or OHP so they can easily refer to it.
Start with easier tasks to get the students used to working together. Give them entry methods to topics,
not hints. That is, general principles they can adopt to get started on any discussion or project. Have
they seen a similar thing before? How does it differ from other examples they have seen, and how can
they generalise what they already know to suit this new case? Can anyone suggest an approach that the
rest of the group can check out? If you nd it is essential to give a hint to actually get a discussion off the
ground, then perhaps that means the task is not expressed well in the rst place and next time you might
rewrite it. The point about discussion group work is that within a reasonable sized group there should
be someone who can make a start on a topic.
Make sure everyone is involved and engaged - for general ploys for encouraging participation see Section
4.6. In the case of group work the main point is that the group should regulate itself in maintaining a
disciplined, productive work ethos in which everyone contributes. However, in going round the groups
you should be alert to such things and bring in the bashful members and keep a lid on the vocal ones.
Try to be mainly a supportive, positive and inspirational presence and not to intimidate, intrude unnec-
essarily, embarrass or threaten anyone. Learn to stand back and let go when necessary. Really, groups
should only interact with you to tell you about progress, or to ask for general advice. Sometimes you
may be asked to adjudicate on a disagreement between group members. Then you have to ask whether
that is what you should be doing - isnt the point of the group to resolve such issues themselves?
Get students to help each other - that is the whole point of a discussion session of course, but in the early
stages they might be a little inhibited about this. Emphasise that that is what they are supposed to be
doing. One important role you can play in the groups is as an impartial channel, helping the members of
the group to talk to each other initially through you and then you can bow out and leave them to it.
Mason ([53], p. 86) gives examples of activities that might be useful for discussion. Exemplication - give
a student a technical term, theorem title, or technique and get them to present examples of it to the group.
They then have to guess what the student is exemplifying. This provides practice for the students in
devising their own examples, modifying familiar ones, etc.
We include in discussion groups the sorts of collaborative exercises that might involve students in tackling
projects, for example. This is of course highly valued by employers, and by mathematicians generally
when working on large projects, or checking big theorems. Note the ne line between collaboration and
cheating. The tutor has to incorporate mechanisms for ensuring that some students do not ride on the
backs of others and that true collaboration takes place.
Discussion classes might also be used to discuss the solutions to coursework problems recently submitted.
They might discuss the marking scheme and try to understand where they went wrong (They of course
do this already, informally!).
In running discussion classes the tutor needs to focus as much on the process of the discussion as on
the product of the discussion ([53], p. 74). To generate discussion you might get a number of students
to present their ideas and solutions on the board and then guide and chair a mathematical discussion
about these. If silence occurs, break with simple questions such as Can anyone provide an example?.
Ask one of the students to explain their view of the task to the others as the beginning of a debate among
the students about what the question really is. Stop every ve minutes or so during a session and pose a
question to students. If you get several different responses get them to discuss in pairs and decide which
is correct.
139
Finish the discussion session appropriately with a plenary session to allow groups to feed back on their
progress, which you may then pull together to summarise the lessons that have been learned. If the
exercise was structured properly then similar messages may emerge from the separate groups, and will
be all the more convincing for that. Give follow-up work, to consolidate and build on the outcomes, and
possibly to be handed in later. Describe briey what you will do next session, and ask them to bring
necessary materials and do any preliminary work required. Make notes for yourself on how it went, how
it could be done better, any promises to students (always do whatever you said you would do), etc?
Wankat and Oreovicz, ([72], p. 118) give a useful summary of the things to think about when running
discussion groups, some of which we have already touched on. They note for example that discussions
should be structured to occur spontaneously. Also, the tutor needs to have an overview of the topic
- a broad range of knowledge, not just be a little ahead of the students. The tutor needs a structured
agenda - dont just say lets discuss. Give the students a specic task. The purpose is not to nd the
solution but to introduce students to the process of looking for solutions. Break the problem down and
either allocate to different groups, or different times. Have a schedule covering different stages of the
discussion, but do not rush unduly. For example it may need two or three minutes silence before we
get the rst contribution, which is normally the hardest, after that others will chip in more freely. If
nothing emerges get a student to enlarge on something they said earlier, or make a provocative statement
yourself. Many students, particularly female, nd it easier to open up and talk in small groups (coffee
helps!) with the tutor not present. If we can get one or two groups started the noise level in the room will
increase and that will encourage the other groups to start. Once started the tutor can do the following to
keep things going:
post ideas on the board as they arise, verify, correct obvious errors
serve as gatekeeper, keeping students on track
when discussion falters, request examples or illustrations
encourage and recognise contributions, for example by writing down
test the consensus - is class ready to move on to next part?
summarise the discussion - for which you need to listen, another reason to talk less.
Example
Baumslag ([7], p. 163) gives an example of a lecturer who spent the whole of a class nding
a denition of the dual of a graph. One student thought this a waste of time, as a denition
could have been given in minutes. But as Baumslag notes, this is to misunderstand the pur-
pose of such a discussion. As given cold, the denition of the dual of a graph is uninspiring,
mundane and almost meaningless, belying the great importance of the concept. If it takes a
discussion to uncover the depth and breadth of the denition, then that is time well spent. But
of course, in doing so we should ensure that we also visit other useful ideas in the process,
so that the time is efciently used. This is where the tutor can contribute by structuring and
guiding the discussion to explore appropriate ideas.
Exercise
Running a discussion group is just one more type of teaching activity to which we can apply
MATHEMATICS (Section 1.7). Prepare for your next discussion class using this (or other)
checklist, surveying the generic and mathematical literature on running discussion groups, and
discussing with colleagues.
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4.12 Individual Tutoring and Consultation
By the time a student comes knocking on your door for your help they really do want to learn, and that
is the best time to teach them. So, when students come to see you it provides a golden opportunity. Not
only will you be able to help them, but by talking to them you will get an idea of possible problems that
other students might be having, and you can look at these in the next class. The same applies when a
student asks a question in class, or a group collar you at the end of a lecture - you can often do more good
at such times than at the scheduled meetings. All the previous points and ploys we have mentioned in
this chapter might be useful here of course, but usually with more focus as you may now be dealing with
a particular individual in some privacy. In particular, your listening skills become even more important
here as you can look for a greater range of clues in what the student says or does. You can be more alert to
subtleties in response, intonation, motivation, etc. By the tone of a students voice you may for example
detect that it is not actually that they want you to show them how to do something, but that they can do
something - that is he or she is looking for something to boost their condence. Then you might not so
much tell them how to do it, but a story on the side about how you found this difcult at rst and it is a
difcult topic, etc. Convince them that their struggles are not unexpected. That might just give them the
condence to give it another more determined try, and all they might then need is a small hint.
Wankat and Oreovicz ([72], p. 189) give good advice for eliciting contributions from students, and listen-
ing to them. We rst need to create a climate where students will talk freely. It helps if you are known
as someone who listens, and who is available and approachable. (An unavailable teacher might just be
busy, an unapproachable teacher is a bad teacher). Usually the easiest time to be available is just before
or after class. We can use all the techniques discussed elsewhere for developing rapport. Be sensitive to
the inequalities between power and status of tutor and students, which can inhibit the latter and so we
have to work to overcome this. Reduce barriers like podium, desks, etc. Be relaxed, emit nonverbal cues
of receptiveness. Make it clear that you really care for the students and you want to help them. You want
to get good examination results while maintaining high standards, so you therefore need to help them.
Think about the students feelings and be alert to their sensitivities. Have a thick skin yourself. Whether
or not you like the students is irrelevant - be objective, polite and considerate. Be non-judgemental (that
doesnt mean anything goes or there are no standards, it means that actions and behaviours are evaluated,
not the inherent worth of the student). As we have noted elsewhere, there are no silly questions, only
those that show lack of understanding or that you dont understand, both of which you can train yourself
to deal with. In any event, dont be dismissive, defensive or aggressive. Acknowledge a students feelings
if necessary, but dont let them inuence your actions. Humour often works well, but not to the extent of
making fun of the students difculties. Sometimes a student does need to be told bluntly that they need
to get their nger out and get down to some work, but as information about the possible results of their
actions or inactions, and not as a character analysis.
Your focus should be on the student. Use eye contact, move or lean forward (but not too much!!), offering
nonverbal encouragement. Listen to what the student is saying and let them nish before you formulate
your response. Use the brains free time to think about what the student is trying to say. What is the
real underlying message? Paraphrase the question and see if the student agrees with your interpretation.
This ensures you have understood the students question and that the whole class has heard it if it is in
a classroom situation. Focus entirely on helping the student to learn and make it clear this is a shared
objective, so use we and us instead of you and me. This is not being patronising, it is the real situation -
you dont know the best way to help the student anymore than they know how to resolve their question.
Both tasks may be equally challenging. Aim for a balance between how much you do to resolve the issue
for the student and how much they do themselves. Also, think ahead and provide them with the means
to tackle similar problems in future.
141
Example
If a student is having difculty with an integral because they cant remember, off the cuff, a
particular standard integral, dont tell them the standard integral. Instead show them that
this is the source of their difculty, get them to go off and learn all the standard integrals
thoroughly and then get back to you if they are still having problems. Emphasise that their
underlying problem here is not that they cant do this particularly tricky integral, but they
havent consolidated the basic material sufciently. In this way they will learn to re-examine
their basic knowledge when they come to have difculty with other problems. They will come
to ask themselves if their difculties arise simply from lack of background knowledge rather
than from lack of ingenuity (Principle 8).
Responses to students can be non-verbal or verbal - but they must be congruent and give the same mes-
sage. Non-verbal messages are in fact stronger and verbal messages will be ignored if incongruent with
non-verbal messages. Interpretations of non-verbal can be wrong and lead to wrong impressions. Also,
such things are culture dependent. Minimal verbal messages can be used to indicate attention, and en-
courage the student to keep talking. Probes can be used to get the student to enlarge on what (s)he has
said. It is best if these probes are open-ended, so that the student can have control over how they respond
and what to. Use silence to encourage not punish students. A period of silence gives the student time
to assemble thoughts after a question. It is best if we do something else like cleaning the board while
waiting for the response. Also, silence is useful when a student is trying to manipulate us into, say, an
extension on coursework.
4.13 Supervising Undergraduate Projects
The use of projects is now becoming commonplace at the undergraduate level [41]. The issue of super-
vising projects is quite sophisticated, but obviously it is analogous to a one-to-one tutoring situation, so
all the skills discussed in the previous section may be relevant to project supervision. The supervision of
projects is an area where you cannot talk to enough people. There will be departmental protocols, pro-
cedures and assessment criteria which you should of course familiarize yourself with. Talk to colleagues
in your own department and others, and if possible in other institutions. Maybe your staff development
department runs courses on project supervision. Have a look at some past projects and if possible talk
to people who supervised and marked them. Consult the literature (E.g. [56]). Here we will give some
general advice by running through MATHEMATICS for project supervision.
The Mathematical content of the project assignment will be less governed by a syllabus for a course or
module and more by what is needed to tackle the project, and this might not be clear from the outset,
part of the exercise being for the student to determine what is required and learn for themselves any new
material needed. But part of the supervision is to judge what is appropriate content for the student to
explore and advise them on how best to study and use it, depending on their prior knowledge. The Aims
and objectives of a project will in general be broader, less content-based, and more focused on transferable
skills such as communication, enquiry, presentation and so on. It is particularly important, because of the
open-ended nature of a project that the aims and objectives are clearly stated and that the student is
aware of how they will be assessed - there are no past exam papers, although if possible they may be
able to see previous projects in a similar area. Also, in most projects we have to allowfor the possibility of
modifying the objectives as we go along, maybe we were over ambitious, or something turned out easier
than we expected and we can push the work a bit further. The Teaching and learning strategy is of course
completely different to a conventional module, relying on the student to effectively teach themselves,
with your guidance. The problems they face will be more prolonged and require far more independent
study. This can lead to frustrations and fears for the student and so the supervisors strategy will involve
142
more emotional and moral support than is usual in teaching. There will need to be a balance between
giving the student their head and possibly suffering disappointment when things go wrong, and leading
them by the hand through difcult areas. This brings us to the Help and support for the student doing a
project. This is an issue where even experienced staff have difculties, and you should seek as much help
and guidance for yourself as possible. The problem is that by giving different degrees of help you can
produce a project mark of almost any value. Some supervisors do little more than point out references and
their students struggle and possibly underachieve. Others almost write the project for the student, who
then goes on to get more credit than they deserve. A large part of departmental guidelines on projects
is devoted to providing consistency in such things across the department and it is where new staff need
a lot of support. Key areas in which students are likely to need help are in the literature survey, setting
and modifying objectives, balancing the depth and breadth of the investigation, formulating specic
research questions, disengaging fromthe work when appropriate, expressing arguments and conclusions
concisely and convincingly, writing the report, presenting the viva.
Evaluation of project supervision tends to be very much outcomes-based, with such things as second
marking and external examiner oversight providing the main quality assurance mechanisms. However,
for new staff there should certainly be close mentoring and ongoing advice as the project develops, with
regular consultation and guidance from an experienced staff member. On the plus side, the issue of
preparing Materials for project supervision is less onerous, since basically the student has to produce
these themselves! Essentially, we just need the project specication, student and staff guidelines on
project work and a reading list. However, if for example the project involves computational work then
we need to ensure that the student has access to appropriate hardware and software. Other resources
may also be required, particularly in a modelling or statistical project.
The Assessment of projects could ll a chapter itself. This is where the new lecturer will need most
guidance. Fortunately there will almost certainly be some departmental pro-forma for recording the
assessment, and this will provide some idea as to what is expected. For example there may be marks
awarded for an interim project report designed to check that the student is progressing satisfactorily.
There will be marks for the nal report both in terms of scholarly presentation and work accomplished.
There may be a viva at which the student can be encouraged to bring out their achievements and explain
things from the report. The thing is not to be too hard on the student, or yourself, especially if this is a
new experience for both of you.
Time and scheduling considerations are crucial in a project, because for administrative reasons there will
be tight deadlines, while at the same time the student, and possibly yourself, are likely to underestimate
how long such things as writing up take. This is denitely a situation in which leaving it for last minute
revision is a big mistake. Writing up a project is nothing like last minute mugging up for an exam, and
you will need to keep well on top of the students progress. And of course it is likely that the submission
date for the project report will be in the same time frame as for the rest of the students exams and this
will be a period of great stress. Also, all sorts of unforeseen delays can get in the way - data may take
longer to collect than expected, university IT and administrative systems may get overloaded and cause
delays, the student may go up one blind alley too many. Make sure you are aware of the deadlines, know
the student sufciently well to be able to judge how they will cope with these, be able to judge when to
draw the work to a conclusion and start writing up. And of course you have to be clear about your own
time commitments to the project. Find out roughly how much time you should spend supporting the
student and manage this sensibly.
The issue of Initial position of the student now relates to the general background they have in the areas
relevant to the project, and your rst early meetings with the student should be devoted to discussing this
with them so that you can assess what reading they need to do. And bear in mind that they need to know
this background material well enough to use it in new contexts. For example if they need to use some
mathematical software such as MATLAB the facility they need with this may far exceed that developed
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in a module taken the previous year, so they will need time to develop this level of facility. Also of
course students (and particularly mathematics students) may be unused to writing reports, or presenting
mathematics in vivas, so they may really be starting from scratch in this respect. And indeed one of the
most difcult things for a student is presenting the outcomes in a Coherent and organised way. Often
they write the report almost in diary mode with objectives, methodology and conclusions jumbled up
with no overall structure. Your department will probably provide detailed guidelines for students on this,
describing the structure of the report, length, bibliographic conventions and so on, but you may have to
interpret these for them. And in general you will really need to care for the Students you supervise. The
project will probably be a newand daunting experience for them, they will have no benchmarks on which
to judge their progress or likely outcome, and their performance might have a signicant impact on their
degree results. It will be a stressful time for most of them, so as with assessment generally, be considerate
and understanding and give them plenty of support. You will also need to get to know them very well
as early as possible in the process - their background knowledge, motivation, independence, enthusiasm,
stamina, imagination, etc. The easiest students to supervise are the self-propelled, keen types, perhaps
like yourself, enthusiastic and capable. Often you can leave them to themselves, perhaps only having to
rein them in when it is time to write up. Much more difcult is the average student who treats the project
just like any other part of the course, a hurdle to be overcome. Their enthusiasm and interest may be
more restrained. It will be harder for them and for you. But your job is not to make up for any lack of
application - they have to demonstrate independence, stamina and dedication to the task.
4.14 Working with Teaching Assistants
It may be that you have postgraduates or postdocs to help you with your tutorials, and possibly with
some marking. Remembering that tutorials are front line teaching and learning activities, it is clear that
supervision of such assistance is very important. In recognition of this the MSOR Network runs training
sessions for postgraduates who teach mathematics. The materials for these sessions can be found on
the Network website (http://mathstore.ac.uk/) and may give you some ideas of the sorts of problems
they experience (You might have already been there!). So far as you are concerned you just need to liase
with them regularly, ensure that they can do all the problems in a number of ways, and that they too
understand the need to engage, enthuse and explain in dealing with students. If they mark work set
in the tutorials then provide them with good marking schemes, and regularly check their marking and
feedback to students.
Exercise
The previous three sections cover topics that are rather specialized and rely very heavily on
departmental policy and procedures. Survey those that you think are appropriate to your duties and
gather the necessary documentation, discussing with colleagues what actually happens on the
ground.
4.15 Evaluating Learning and Teaching in Tutorials
Morss and Murphy ([56], p. 71) quotes Jacques on evaluating tutorials. They give the following self-
evaluation checklist.
Did I ask questions which stimulated lively discussion?
Did I manage the time well?
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Did the students all participate in discussion and tasks?
Were there any difculties?
What would I change if I did this again?
What notes do I want to make for the next time round?
Student evaluation questions might include the following.
Did you enjoy that activity/task?
Which aspects of the group activity worked well?
Which aspects did not work well?
What skills do you think you were developing as a result of the group work?
What is the most important thing you learned today?
But how can we be sure, at the end of the class, that the students have learned what we had intended?
The honest answer is that you can never be sure what they have learnt! You can try though. One way is
to give a short quiz at the end of the session - specically, something like What are the three key points of
this session?. During the session monitor their behaviour and any contributions (or lack of contribution)
they make. This is of course much easier in a small tutorial. You have to think carefully about the sort
of questions you ask, and your ability to get responses from across the class. For example, if you have
just been discussing the various uses of integration by parts, give the students a couple of minutes at the
end to simply write down the methods they would use to integrate each of xexp(x), xexp(x
2
), x
2
exp(x),
x
2
exp(x
2
). If you then collect their responses you will soon see if they have assimilated the key points.
By the way, dont regard this as a waste of precious class time - it will also help the students to learn.
Exercise
Design a checklist for evaluating how a tutorial went, including questions for the students and
yourself.