The influence of tutorials on the improvement of tertiary students’ academic literacy

Abstract

This paper describes a study which explored whether attending tutorials facilitated by senior students improves tertiary students' marks in an academic literacy course. Data were drawn from the academic literacy test marks and essay assignment marks of students who took a yearlong academic literacy course at the University of Pretoria. A statistical analysis was done to determine whether there was any improvement in the test marks and the essay assignments of students who attended tutorials at least 10 times, in addition to regular lectures. Findings suggest that attending extra academic literacy tutorials has little effect on students' TALL (Test of Academic Literacy Levels) marks, but it does seem to have an influence on students' writing ability. Because of the number of problems encountered in doing the research, it also illustrates the complex and problematic nature of research into language performance.

Student perceptions on writing support

“…Twelve years later Maxwell (1990: 3) points out that a well-trained tutor can serve a vital role in helping fellow students attain their academic goals. Similar views are echoed by Brindley and Scoffield (1998) who found that peer assessment enabled students to better understand the assessment process; Fouche (2007) whose study determined that attending academic literacy tutorials had an influence on students' writing ability; Longfellow et al (2008) whose findings suggest that peer-assisted learning enables students to become better learners and Shrestha and Coffin (2012) who conclude that tutor mediation is an effective way to support students academic writing development. These and other studies highlight the value of tutor or peer-assisted learning.…”

Debilitating colonialism through ethnographic user-oriented evaluation of a collaborative science ICL course

“…The general outcome of ESS is that students' academic and general proficiency in English should improve, and that they should acquire language and study skills which will enhance their performance in Mathematics and the Sciences (cf. Ngoepe 2007;Fouche 2007). Ngoepe (2012, 63) avers that in an attempt to address this inequality, the UL BSc EDP was introduced.…”

A social justice approach to providing academic writing support

“…The literature on peer tutoring and collaborative learning is rich with evidence of the success of these strategies (Longfellow, May, Burke, & Marks-Maran, 2008;Rambiritch, 2016;Shrestha & Coffin, 2012). Tutor-assisted learning or peer-assisted learning can be understood as the learning process that sees a senior student, or a more experienced learner, support or guide a student who is less experienced, less expert, or less knowledgeable (see Bruffee, 1984;Fouche, 2007;Grant & Hoeber, 1978;Maxwell, 1990). These and other studies highlight the value of tutor or peer-assisted learningthis is especially so in a country like South Africa where most tertiary institutions need measures in place to assist under-or poorly prepared students.…”