Professional learning
UQ offers a number of professional learning opportunities and resources for tutors new to teaching and for those working towards enhancing their teaching practice. Tutor specific resources are outlined below.
Tutors@UQ
The Tutors@UQ program is designed for new tutors from various fields and comprises three face-to-face sessions amounting to a total of five hours. Session 1, conducted before the semester commences, centres on tutor professionalism, learning methods, and planning. Session 2, also held before the semester, addresses effective tutorial management, evaluating student learning, tutor assessment, as well as support and available resources. Session 3, recommended for later in the semester (around Week 5), involves reviewing tutorials, implementing ongoing improvement plans, and considering future directions. The program highlights active learning, encouraging new tutors to engage in small group activities while observing facilitators' effective teaching strategies.
GTA Program
The Graduate Teaching Associates (GTA) program aims to nurture the future cohort of exceptional educators. The initiative equips participants with both knowledge and practical skills essential for a successful career in higher education teaching. It encompasses various areas including understanding student learning, crafting a teaching philosophy, lesson planning, student motivation, managing group dynamics, feedback exchange, assessment methods, face-to-face and active teaching strategies, eLearning tools, UQ's teaching and learning policies, as well as involvement in peer reviews and educational evaluations.
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Teaching Online for Tutors UQx
The Teaching Online for Tutors course is an online program that complements the Tutors@UQ initiative, aiming to equip tutors for effective online teaching and learning experiences. The course covers key aspects, including creating an inclusive online learning environment, supporting and motivating students, and utilising UQ-endorsed technology to enrich collaborative learning while facilitating online assessment feedback and marking. It provides participants with comprehensive insights into preparing for online tutorials and effectively engaging students within the digital learning landscape.
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Ready to Tutor Week
Ready to Tutor Week is an immersive program designed to prepare new tutors across disciplines for their teaching roles. This comprehensive week-long event offers a series of workshops, discussions, and interactive sessions covering diverse topics essential for effective tutoring. Participants engage in sessions focusing on understanding student needs, enhancing teaching strategies, fostering inclusive learning environments, managing tutorials effectively, and utilising technology to support learning. With a mix of practical advice, interactive activities, and collaborative learning opportunities, Ready to Tutor Week equips tutors with the tools and insights necessary for successful and engaging teaching experiences within higher education.
Evidence of your teaching practice
It is recommended that you keep a record of your teaching, often referred to as a teaching portfolio, to assist when making future job applications.
Your portfolio should include:
- your name and contact details
- academic qualifications
- any formal training in teaching.
For each course in which you have been a tutor, you may wish to record:
- course name (and course code for UQ purposes)
- mode of teaching (tutorial, laboratory class, etc.)
- number of students
- your role, if any, in course development and administration
- your role in developing and/or marking assessment
- the type of assessment (essays, short question, etc.)
- the manner in which feedback was delivered
- assessments of your teaching
- students’ assessment
- supervisor’s assessment
- peer assessment.
Keep copies of teaching materials and course evaluations as evidence of your experience and skills.
Evaluation methods
There are four key sources from which you can collect and evaluate data about your teaching practice – yourself, your peers, your students’ experiences, and your students’ learning.
Formal Evaluation of Tutors
- at the end of the semester you can use the Student Evaluation of Tutor questionnaire (SETutor), a standard tutor evaluation tool used at UQ. Please note that you need to order these questionnaires online ahead of time. The feedback from SETutor is important for your professional development and for use in your academic portfolio
- ask students, “What did you find most useful about the session today?” and, “How could the session be improved?” to collect fast, relevant data on your tutorial
- use a 'suggestion box' to get feedback on how a session went, or how classes are going in general.
Self-evaluation
Self-evaluation will help you prioritise areas of teaching to focus on for evaluation and/or improvement.
Keep a journal to record, reflect on and learn from your experiences.
Peer evaluation
Ask another tutor to sit in on your class and give you feedback. Be specific about the aspects of your practice that you want observed and commented on.
Student learning
- get students to self-report on their knowledge – getting feedback from students about their learning is a useful way of getting feedback about your teaching
- observe students and student work – you can get an idea of your students' learning from their performance in assessment, in-class or out-of-class activities.
- Some general principles• don’t overuse students as sources of evaluation data
- get feedback early on in the semester, so you can address any aspects early
- always be prepared to respond to feedback
- don’t ask specific questions about the course or your teaching if you don’t intend to, or can’t change it
- guarantee anonymity.
Enhancing Practice as a tutor
As you become more comfortable with the experience of tutoring, you will want to improve your techniques, which will in turn enhance the learning experience of your students.
Good teachers reflect on their strengths and weaknesses, and identify areas in which they can improve. There are many ways to evaluate your teaching practice, and different types of information you can collect.
There are four key sources from which you can collect and evaluate data about your teaching practice – yourself, your peers, your students’ experiences, and your students’ learning.
Formal Evaluation of Tutors
- at the end of the semester you can use the Student Evaluation of Tutor questionnaire (SETutor), a standard tutor evaluation tool used at UQ. Please note that you need to order these questionnaires online ahead of time. The feedback from SETutor is important for your professional development and for use in your academic portfolio
- ask students, “What did you find most useful about the session today?” and, “How could the session be improved?” to collect fast, relevant data on your tutorial
Self-evaluation
Self-evaluation will help you prioritise areas of teaching to focus on for evaluation and/or improvement. Keep a journal to record, reflect on and learn from your experiences.
Peer evaluation
Ask another tutor to sit in on your class and give you feedback. Be specific about the aspects of your practice that you want observed and commented on.
Student learning
- get students to self-report on their knowledge – getting feedback from students about their learning is a useful way of getting feedback about your teaching
- observe students and student work – you can get an idea of your students' learning from their performance in assessment, in-class or out-of-class activities.
Some general principles
- don’t overuse students as sources of evaluation data
- get feedback early on in the semester, so you can address any aspects early
- always be prepared to respond to feedback
- don’t ask specific questions about the course or your teaching if you don’t intend to, or can’t change it
- guarantee anonymity.