26th Australian Institute of Physics Congress and the Australian and New Zealand Conference on Optics and Photonics

Understanding the First-Year Tutor Experience: A Qualitative Review of Student Feedback in Physics

Not scheduled

20m

Belinda Hutchinson Building (The University of Sydney )

Contributed Oral AIP | Physics Education (PEG)

Description

Student evaluations provide valuable insights into the teaching and learning experience that extend well beyond quantitative metrics. With approximately 800 students enrolled each semester in first-year physics units at the School of Physics, University of Sydney, maintaining a high-quality learning experience at scale is an ongoing priority. Within this context, tutors play a pivotal role. For many first-year students, tutors represent their primary point of contact with academic staff, interacting with students more frequently than lecturers through laboratories and tutorials. Their ability to foster an engaging, supportive, and academically effective learning environment can have a significant impact on students' transition to university.
To better understand the student experience and support the continuous improvement of teaching practice, a Tutor Experience Survey was developed and administered across the first-year physics units. The survey was designed to gather broad, constructive feedback on key aspects of tutoring, including communication, punctuality, preparedness, and subject knowledge. Rather than evaluating individual tutors in isolation, the survey aims to identify cohort-wide trends that can inform evidence-based improvements to tutor training and professional development.
The surveys were conducted during scheduled teaching sessions, with dedicated class time allocated to maximise participation and encourage considered responses. Students completed the surveys confidentially, enabling them to provide honest and constructive feedback on their experiences.
We present a qualitative review of the survey responses, identifying the characteristics and teaching practices that students consistently associate with positive learning experiences. We examine which aspects of tutoring are most highly valued across the cohort and explore relationships between responses to different survey questions. By identifying common themes and patterns in student feedback, this work demonstrates how qualitative analysis can complement traditional quantitative survey metrics.