Teacher tutoring

The objective of teacher tutoring is to support the smooth progress of studies, the development of a student’s expertise and their attachment to the higher education community. The teacher tutor will attempt to reinforce the students’ agency and their belief in their own abilities as students of a higher education institute.

The significance of teacher tutoring is highlighted during the early stages of studies when new students are helped to become committed to their studies and the higher education community. This is why it is important that teacher tutors and student tutors work together. As the studies progress, teacher tutoring supports students when considering their choices and opportunities. However, a key part of this guidance work is always to support the student’s independent actions and motivation. Its goal is for the need for teacher tutoring to decrease as the student’s self-direction skills increase.

TAMK

tudent group at the beginning of their studies. Additionally, coaches and responsible teachers (master’s degree studies) carry out the duties of teacher tutors.

Core duties of TAMK’s teacher tutors

receiving the student group during orientation days, supporting the students’ group formation and commitment to studies
monitoring and supporting study progress, study abilities and well-being of the group’s students
annual guidance talks with the group’s students
organising teacher tutor meetings and other communications related to studying and well-being.

Teacher tutors have the opportunity to identify the special strengths and interests of their students as well as the challenges of their studies and learning. Teacher tutors also refer their students to other guidance services, if necessary. The role of the degree programme’s student counsellor is to mentor the teacher tutor and develop the programme’s guidance services.

Tampere University

According to the University’s guidance strategy, each student must have an appointed teacher tutor. It is recommended that teacher tutoring is linked in as a part of the degree programme’s curriculum, for example by integrating it into the mandatory study units of all of the degree programme’s students, such as the orientation studies, basic study units and/or thesis seminars.

The duties of teacher tutors are included in the teacher tutor’s annual work plan as determined by their faculty. This is why the teacher tutors are usually elected before scheduling the course selection for the next academic year, i.e. in February or March. The University supports tutoring by organising training for the teachers and offering support materials through the Moodle platform. These materials include instructions, good practices and examples, as well as information for teacher tutors to utilise. You can get more information and access the Moodle area of teacher tutors via the intra page Acting as an academic tutor. lock

The faculties determine the practices of teacher tutoring. By allocating sufficient resources to teacher tutoring operations, faculties can ensure the operations’ success. The practical methods are formed at the faculty and degree programme levels based on the needs that are discovered when developing the degree programmes’ student counselling operations.

Leaflet of Academic tutoring at Tampere University (PDF)