Absolutely. You identify two important factors.
If there are any 'personality types' of students drawn to subjects, this will be reflected in the composition of the staff. As you indicate, staff also become inducted into the culture of the discipline. When talking to the personal tutors I was very aware of their personality differences.
In relation to the way teaching is organised, I observed that the arts subjects, with their studio settings and frequent one-to-one feedback on work/performance enabled such personal discussions to take place more readily. Other subjects, with mass lectures and limited (or no) one-to-one sessions did not generate an environment that allowed 'the personal' in.
Dr Sharon Gedye (PhD, FHEA). Educational Developer.
Teaching and Learning Directorate, Room 114, 3 Endsleigh Place, University of Plymouth, Devon, PL4 8AA
T: +44(0)1752 584 534. Email: [log in to unmask]
Please be advised that my normal working hours are Monday to Wednesday.
-----Original Message-----
From: Fedotova, Oksana [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 21 June 2011 09:33
To: Sharon Gedye; [log in to unmask]
Subject: RE: Student Variability
Sharon - interesting - the 'raking up' point especially rings true.
Regarding 'arts students needing to talk more with staff about pastoral matters' - not so sure. Shouldn't we also throw into the equation the following possible influences
(a) staff themselves (personality types but also code of dress, communication style in the Dept, projection of particular identity, eg 'free-spirit' vs 'business-like', not to forget gender composition of staff)
(b) the way the teaching is organised in different disciplines? eg arts with studio / atelier style, psychology with seminar discussions invite a more personal tone to staff-student interactions in general?
Basically, I am wondering if this is less about different 'need to talk' and more about different expectation / perception of what is acceptable? Just wondering.
Oksana Fedotova
Senior Lecturer in Media
Sheffield Hallam University
________________________________________
From: learning development in higher education network [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Sharon Gedye [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 21 June 2011 09:03
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Student Variability
Thank you all for responding to my original posting. Your responses have been fascinating.
The reason I posted this question is because I am doing some work on personal tutoring. Through interviews with academics, I am picking up on differences in the types of support needs. For example, arts students seem to be more emotional and need to talk more about pastoral matters with staff. I wondered if this was a combination of the personality traits of this group of students coupled with the fact that their work often draws on their emotional life (i.e. it rakes things up!). A conversation with a counsellor also revealed that certain subjects had clusters of mental health issues (psychology and depression, maths and Aspergers, medicine and bipolar disorder). Interesting stuff.
Cheers
Sharon
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