Quote From heifer:
In my last session I tried to break the hour up into a few different activities like small group discussions and full group discussions but I did come away worrying that I had been to lenient and made things too light hearted. I recall reading an article in the Times Higher where a lecturer said "I don't need to be the students' friend - they've got friends already" and I sort of agree - but on the other hand I was an undergraduate myself not so long ago and remember how some tutors were just hated for no real reason and everyone sat in a sulky silence totally unwilling to co-operate!
Yeah, I know I shouldn't want to be their friend, but I'd rather they felt relaxed enough to tell me if they didn't understand something. I've also found that there are a certain few students in each of my groups who are an absolute god-send. They engage and then make sure their groups do the work properly. I think I probably do verge on the side of too informal, but I'd rather that than austere.
I feel like my level of knowledge is only slightly higher than that of the students and it really panics me. I'm frantically trying to read some textbooks and feel like I'm revising for an exam or something.
Me too! When i was an undergrad I got the distinct impression that some of our seminar tutors had been chucked in there without knowing anything and I would hate to be that person. I also don't particularly want to have to spend 2 days reading a preparing for a 2 hour seminar. I have my own work to do.
Another question: how do other people handle it when hardly anyone in the group has done the required reading? I was visibly annoyed on Friday. If they haven't done it then they cab't discuss it and it kind of mucks up my seminar plan.
