Improving the University Tutorial.

Abstract

attention is given to the problems involved in the small group discussion method. That such problems exist is attested to by the number of university and college lec turers who are uncomfortable in this teaching situation. These difficulties are not so much an inherent part of the method as a function of the way it is used. Potts (8) has outlined many of the disadvantages of small group work, focusing particularly on the point that the nor mal tutorial or seminar does not provide sufficient space for participants to express themselves. With a meeting time of fifty-five minutes, a group of one tutor and ten students have, theoretically, five minutes speaking time each. However, we know that speaking time is not allocated so evenly. As competition for the available time is great, interruptions are common, with one group member cutting across another to get his point heard