The Case Study Tutor

During the case study, a tutor supervises each group. This person is usually an academic member of staff or a research assistant in the department. As tutor to the group, the academic has several tasks. They should:

• Listen carefully to what students already know and stimulates them to tackle possible future obstacles
• Ask questions and stimulates discussion
• Monitor progress and performance
• Support the students with their group interactions
• Considers ways of improving the co-operation in the student group as an instrument for attaining the case study goals
• Explain how the material is organised
• Give evidence of his professional ability by listening, asking questions and giving instructions

The overall role of the tutor is:

• To stimulate the group at appropriate moments to explore the material in more depth
• Supervisor of the group learning process
• Formal moderator of the individual students within the group

Tutors should never:

• Act as the chairman
• Lecture in the traditional sense
• Impose their knowledge on the students