Information for Tutors

The person who coordinates the tutors is Linda Stals, room Pap Moran 2006.

Introduction

This document contains information for people interested in tutoring in the Department of Mathematics at The Australian National University. It is designed to complement the information given in tutors@anu and focuses on the administrative aspects of tutoring in the department. Please read tutors@anu first.

Who Can Tutor?

Priority is given to Honours and PhD students in the department. If positions are available we will also consider other people with a strong mathematics background, such as graduates with a degree in mathematics.

What is Involved in Tutoring

The structure of the tutorials depend somewhat on the particular course but some general guidelines are listed below:

• The rule of thumb is that tutors give two tutorials per week, one initial tutorial and one repeat tutorial. This rule may be broken but you will need to argue your case. You are paid less for the repeat tutorial.
• Tutors are expected to attend regular tutor-lecturer meetings. These are not optional as you are usually paid for your time.
• Regularly check WebCT. As a tutor you will be given access to WebCT, which is where all of the course information is held. Lecturers will post important information such as exam dates on WebCT, information that the students will expect you to know.
• Keep very careful records of the student grades. It is the tutor's responsibility to keep a record of the grades they have assigned to the students. The grades will be uploaded and collated on WebCT but tutors still need to keep their own copy. Students will regularly question their grades, so it is important that the tutors can verify the grade.
• Let the lecturers know of students who appear to be having difficulties in the tutorials. The lecturers can take exceptional circumstances into account when finalising the grades, but they need to know about the student.
• Students are expected to attend the tutorials they been assigned to. We try as much as possible to distribute the workload and resources evenly across all of the tutorials. If a student can't attend their tutorial because they are sick etc. they need to talk to the lecturer about making other arrangements. Tell the student to contact the lecturer, the lecturer will pass on any information onto you.
• At the beginning of the semester the lecturer will organise a meeting to discuss the structure of the tutorials, please do not make any changes to the tutorial structure without discussing it with the lecturer. You are the ones giving the tutorials, you are the ones dealing with the students, the lecturers appreciate (and need) any feedback about what does or does not work. However, we have to keep the tutorials within a given course fairly consistent, so any changes that are made need to be made across all of the tutorials.
• Check the timetable and make sure you will be available during the teaching period.
• We appreciate that it is necessary for Honours and PhD students to attend conferences, but if you will be away for more than one week during the semester you need to let Linda know before applying for the tutoring position. It is no help to anyone if you are not actually on campus to give the tutorials. It is the tutors responsibility to organise for another tutor to take the tutorial if they are going to be away. The lecturer should also be notified of these arrangements.

An overview of what is required in each course is listed below:

• Mathematical Modelling 1 MATH1003 :
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Each tutorial consists of two 50-minute sessions, the last 1/2 hour is for quizzes.
• Mathematics and Applications 1 MATH1013:
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Each tutorial in MATH1013 goes for 1.5hrs. All of the grading is done in the tutorial and tutors are given the questions and solutions for each tutorials. The tutorials are very structured with a lot of work being packed into each tutorial, so the tutor needs to be well organised.
• Mathematics and Applications 2 MATH1014:
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Tutorials last 90 minutes. The first 10 minutes will be a quiz, then students will work through worksheet questions with the help of the tutor. The tutor is required to mark both the quiz and the workbook during class.
• Mathematics and Applications 1 Honours MATH1115:
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Tutorials are held every second week. Tutors are required to grade assignment questions during those weeks that do not have a tutorial. Students work on questions similar to the assignment questions during the tutorials.
• Mathematical Modelling 2 MATH1005:
• Starts in Week 3.
• There are ten two-hour tutorials. The last two tutorials of semester will be held in lab rooms and will involve a computer component. An hour of preparation is expected per week, some time of which will be allocated to tutor's meetings.
• Mathematics and Applications 2 Honours MATH1116:
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Tutorials are held every second week. Tutors are required to grade assignment questions during those weeks that do not have a tutorial. Students work on questions similar to the assignment questions during the tutorials.
• Games, Graphs and Machines MATH2301:
• Starts in Week 3.
• Each tutorial relates to a specific Question Set. Students are invited to present solutions (verbally, preferably at the whiteboard). Tutor corrects and/or moderates class discussion as appropriate. Tutor presents solutions him/herself for questions (or parts of questions) causing difficultly for most of the class.
  Tutors monitor and record student participation in tutorials and provide a mark out of 10 for each student at the end of semester. Tutors mark three assignments. Solutions and marking schemes are provided.
• Differential Equations and Applications MATH2305:
  • Starts in Week 3.
  • Tutors are required to mark the assignments (8 in total) and put the grades up on WebCT. In the tutorial time, the tutors are expected to solve exercises similar to those in the assignment for that week. The lecturer will provide the assignments and their solutions, which will be emailed to the tutors. Tutors need to be well prepared and ready to answer students' questions related to assignments.
• Calculus and Differential Equations Honours MATH2405:

Who to Contact

• If you are interested in applying for a tutoring position contact Linda Stals (x53966).
• To arrange payment and to collect pay sheets contact Kelly Wicks (x52908).
• The tutorial rooms should be fully equipped, but items such as white board markers do have a habit of disappearing. If you need any equipment please speak to Kelly Wicks (x52908).
• Kelly Wicks (x52908) is also the person to speak to about room keys and card access.

Advice from Previous Tutors

If you have previously tutored or are just starting to tutor please contact Linda and let her know about any words-of-wisdom that you would like to pass onto new tutors. What are the things that you would have liked to have known about before tutoring? Some advice that tutors have passed on include

• Be aware that the students will assume that the tutors know everything about the course, including course administration procedures.
• Students may not be up-to-date with the lectures so don't assume they know the material, you need to be aware of the lecture content.