Many post-secondary institutions use lectures combined with large class sizes to convey important information to the students. There is a growing fear that as more students attend colleges and universities, the class sizes will continue to grow (Griffiths, 2007). In fact, such institutions in Hong Kong are already over capacity in some nursing undergraduate programs (Chiang et. al, 2013). There are numerous students who have turned to small group teaching to personalize their academic experience and to better understand their studies. With the help of knowledgeable tutors and co-operative peers, some students are realizing more success than they otherwise would have. There are a number of points that tutors of small groups have to keep in mind so …show more content…
Many texts include proper questioning skills as a topic (Brown and Atkins, 1988). Tutors must be prepared to both ask and answer questions at any given time, and so they must prepare and stay on top of their particular subject. Students can also boost their own confidence if the tutor encourages students to prepare questions from the course material before the small group session starts (Griffiths, 2009).
Learning can be positively or negatively affected by the type of question asked. An open ended question can be used to have the students think deeply and freely about a subject, and a closed ended question can be used to have the students recall something that was said previously.
The way they are asked is another thing to consider when asking questions. Body language is very important here (Griffiths, 2009). If the tutor displays themselves as closed off, or angry, the students may be uncomfortable and unwilling to ask questions. A better way for a tutor to display them self is to be open, happy, and intellectually nurturing.
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