Tutorial Supervision 11 July 2011
I am a passionate supporter of one-to-one undergraduate tutorial education of the type that has been the hallmark of Oxford University education since the 19th century. {Critical Thinking in the Oxford Tutorial; 2009, Rush Cosgrove M.Sc. Thesis; Moore, Will G. The Tutorial System and Its Future. New York: Pergamon, 1968; Markham, Felix (1967). Oxford. London: Mowbrays.}
When I ask applicants why they want to come to Oxford University, the most common reply is because of the tutorial system.
A weekly one hour tutorial enables the tutor to assess the knowledge and skills of the student and raise the bar progressively so that the student finds his or her own unique path to a successful education. I define educational success, not just in terms of essential exam success, but above all in gaining the ability to conduct your own research, critique available books, articles and internet information, and build and present a logical argument leading to your own logical conclusion. This is not only a route to a first class degree, to masters and doctoral studies, it is also a key lesson for life. It is the skill of finding reliable data, thinking logically and making sound judgements.
Where universities only offer lectures and classes these skills cannot be central to the education process. These universities of necessity cannot treat students individually and too often fall back on filling their heads with ‘content’, and then exams amount to little more than memory tests. Sometimes the exams are watered down with continual assessment marks, where lecturers end up awarding marks for class attendance and behaviour. Oxford tutors usually have a deep knowledge of their subject but are well aware that this year’s latest concepts and theories often end up in tomorrow’s waste bins. The skill of the Oxford tutor is not so much to impart knowledge as to mentor each student in the acquisition of the skills of presentation, content, and above, individual contribution. The task of the tutor within the collegiate system is to supervise and guide each individual student on his or her unique path to educational success, maturity and adulthood.
In my view the gradual shift of Oxford academic course design and supervision from the individual colleges to the faculties is leading, in some cases, to the replacement of individual tutorials by group classes much to the detriment of the students and of the University. I would go further and say that in some instances Oxford University is in danger of miss-selling its tutorial promises. If Oxford University continues down this path it will remove its key contribution to, and influence on, global education. It is essential that the core skills of the weekly tutorial and assignment are championed because only through this path do our best young men and women learn the ability and confidence to research, learn and challenge the status quo. The best students master the fundamentals quickly and soon make a contribution to the knowledge of their tutors. Thus the boundaries of knowledge, essential global human morality and progress, are pushed forward
