I had a few more tutorials last week. Two on programming (coding) and two on what can be described as 'modern physics'.
The first Python tutorial was delivered by somebody who was using part of somebody else's slide deck. They appeared to have a very good knowledge of the Python language, but seemed a little unfamiliar with the Python content of the SM123 module. Part way through the tutorial, with one eye on the time constraints no doubt, the tutor asked students to stop asking questions because they were slowing down and interrupting the flow of the session. This might sound a bit harsh, but it was well justified in this particular case. Towards the end of the tutorial the tutor deviated from the course materials and became a bit self-indulgent by talking about the role of Python in their own day job. It was all very interesting and entertaining stuff, but I'm not sure it helped anybody understand what they needed to know to successfully tackle the coding component of the module.
The first modern physics tutorial was delivered by an OU staffer rather than an associate lecturer with a non-OU day job and the difference in quality was notable. It was a really difficult subject to put across and it was done really well. It wasn't helped by a poor bandwidth connection, a bad cough and a baby crying in the background. However that's not the fault of the tutor, it's a consequence of the OU having moved to 'online' from traditional to 'face-to-face' tutorials. This tutor overran the session by a good 50 minutes because students were asking questions. This was fair enough, as they appeared to enjoy answering the questions that the students were putting to them.
The other skills tutorial on Python took place mid-week and was facilitated by my own tutor, the one who marks my assignments. They are at the 'no nonsense' end of the spectrum, and adopt a 'hard but fair' approach, which suits me just fine. On this occasion though they were just grumpy, bordering on rude in places. The scene was set at the start when it was announced that it would probably be 15 minutes shorter than advertised. Questions were tolerated rather than welcomed and at one point a normally talkative student was firmly put in their place. It was clear that the tutor appeared to be taking this session under some sort of duress. It was embarrassing to listen to in places to be honest. Fortunately, the number of attendees rarely went above 5 and never reached double figures at all.
The poorly advertised skills tutorial called ‘Quantum workshop’ was supposed take place on Saturday evening but it didn’t happen. Lots of people were wondering what had gone wrong and were posting about it on the SM123 forum. There was no announcement from the OU at the time, but a few days afterwards the tutor made contact and rescheduled it for the following Friday. It did indeed take place, and was reasonably well attended considering the confusion with the timing. The tutor knew their stuff and also knew the SM123 syllabus quite well. Some students wanted a more 'in depth' treatment of the subject but the tutor was very good at reigning them in while at the same time appearing to give them what they wanted. That's a very rare skill.