This document defines tutorials and their purpose in distance education. Tutorials are compulsory and involve face-to-face meetings between small groups of students and a tutor. The main purpose of tutorials is to help students become independent learners by providing guidance, answering questions, and allowing discussion of problems. Tutorials can take various forms, including scheduled meetings and use of electronic media. They provide personal support and feedback to motivate students and help them prepare for exams.

1. Assignment Topic:
Tutorial
Submitted By:

2. Definition Of Tutorial :
 Tutor, Tutorial, and the study center are a tri-angle of
face- to- face contact and two-way communication .
Tutorials are compulsory component of distance
education system. Tutorial according to Sharma and
Chandra (2003, p.4) is a subpart of the class in which
a teacher tries to solve the problems of the small
groups of pupils. The tutor of distance education can
do much to diagnose and help the learner to change
the behavior of the learner.

3.  Tutorials as defined by Pulist (2005, p.116) include
―printed instructional materials or verbal lectures
delivered face-to-face by tutor himself‖.
 In traditional setting, tutorials are arranged in study
Centre’s. With the use of electronic media in
instructional process of distance education, tutorials
are possible to arrange through telephone,
teleconferencing and internet now a days.

4.  Main purpose of tutorial is to help learner to become an
independent learner.
 Good discussion and guideline given to distance learners
during the tutorials help distance learners to achieve the
goals of distance education.

5.  Mostly schedule of tutorials is given to tutors and learners
at the start of semester.
 Tutors plan lectures or guiding activities for distance
learners to help them in studies. Tutorials provide chances
to learners for discussing their problems with tutors that
guide tutors to have an idea about the level of attention
each learner need as result of monitoring the pace of each
learner.

6. Forms of Tutorials
There are two forms of tutorials
1. Tutorial schedule
2. Tutorial meetings

7. FUNCTIONS OF THE
TUTORIAL
 To establish a personal link
 To offer individual help
 To allow the learners to interact
 To give psychological boost
 To provide practical experience
 To provide opportunity for written work
 To help students to work confidently when on their own.
 To encourage students to work independently
 To form self-help group

8. Tutorial at AIOU:
 AIOU has a strong system of tutorials.
 During the semester, part-time tutors are appointed
throughout the country out of the roster of qualified
experts in each field available within the concerned
region.
 Thus, a group of 30 students is assigned to a
teacher/expert (tutor) who is weekly meetings remains
in the designated study Centre for 1 to 2 hours for face-
to-face guidance.

9. Students’ reasons for
attending tutorials:
 1. To meet tutor and discuss course/study matters.
 2. To get help with difficult aspects of the course.
 3. To meet other students and discuss course/study
related problems with them.
 4. For discussion and help with tutor marked
assignments.
 5. To encourage students interest and motivation.
 6. For revision and preparation for exams.
 7. For general support for studies.

10. Selection of Tutor for
Tutorials:
 Several factors like
 conditions and infrastructure of the tutorial Centre’s,
 tutor’s qualification,
 experience
 training in distance learning,
 teaching style and strategies

11. Tutorial classes:
 Tutorial classes are run in smaller groups than lectures
and usually involve a member of teaching staff and 15
to 25 students.
 Tutorials allow discussion of lecture content and
assessment, interaction with other students,
presentation and debate on themes and concepts
related to a course of study.
 Tutorials are also a great place to ask questions about
course content and assessment. Most courses have one
weekly tutorial.

12. Procedure:
PREPARATION AND CONDUCT OF TUTORIAL -
PRELIMINARY DIRECTIONS FOR THE TUTOR
 TUTORIAL – PREPARATION
1. Make sure that you have read the appropriate parts of the
study material/ content and you are ready to respond to the
queries.
2. If the tutorial has certain activities, be sure that you have
worked through these activities yourself before the conduct of
the tutorial.
3. Anticipate any difficulties that the learners may have.
4. Think out any question that the student may ask during the
tutorial.

13.  TUTORIAL – CONDUCT
5. In case a question is asked and you cannot answer,
admit it and do not provide a wrong answer.
6. in such a situation (as visualized in No.5) involve the
students in responding to such a question or shift it over
to next tutorial for correct and verified response. There
is no harm in making a promise for answer in the next
tutorial.

14. TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES -
PREPARATION
1. You may write to the students before the first tutorial,
asking them which topics they would like to discuss and what
problems they had met.
2. You may draft an agenda and circulate it before the tutorial
indicating the work, the students must do before hand.
3. students may be contacted, if possible, just before the
tutorial to remind them to come. This helps to create a feeling
of purpose.
4. You may arrange the chairs, before the tutorial, in such a
way that
interaction is expected.
5. Accommodation is important. A comfortable room may be
used for
tutorial, if available.

15. TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES : DURING
THE TUTORIAL
1. Students may be involved in small, specific and manageable
tasks.
2. individuals may be asked to work on one task and then to
share it with the neighbor.
3. They may jointly decide which of the tasks to be done or
which topics/problems to be discussed.
4. The challenges may be extended and made more open -
ended

16. TUTORIAL ACTIVITIES : ENDING
THE TUTORIAL
1. Students may be asked for ideas for the next tutorial.
2. Reference may be made to the next assignment.
3. Letters may be written to those who could not attend
the first tutorial.

17. Advantages of Tutorials:
 Enables learners to learn on demand and when they are
motivated.
 Tutorial can be done independently of time and
geography.
 Learner is able to stop for breaks and to repeat sections
as needed.
 Easier to briefly review or skip sessions if not a beginner
 Learning through written communication may be easier
than learning through oral communication
 Less ongoing staff time is needed for instruction
 Experts can devise tutorial, even though they are
located at a different institutions

18. Disadvantages:
 Not possible to ask questions of instructor or to learn
from questions asked by others learning the same
topic.
 Density of presentation may be high because content
must be self-contained.
 Individuals must be motivated enough to complete
tutorial.
 Frequently takes novices longer to learn via tutorial
than via classroom setting.