The small-group tutorial is one of the key features of problem-based /earning (PBL). The learning process within tutorials is regarded as important as know/e4ge acquisition. In spite of this, there has been little systematic evaluation of student learning process performance in tutorials. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a questionnaire for the assessment of student tutorial performance, and to compare student and tutor evaluation of tutorial performance over time.
Fourteen tutors and 115 students enrolled in an undergraduate programme in Speech and Hearing Sciences completed an evaluation questionnaire. The questionnaire included 15 items, within five categories (group discussion skills and responsibilities, information skills, communication skills, critical thinking and reasoning skills, and self-assessment ski/Is). A five-point rating scale was used for each item, and descriptors were provided for the two extremes of the scales. The forms were completed at three time periods during one academic year. Item analysis was conducted to determine the reliability of the 15 questionnaire items. Following this analysis, summary scores from the questionnaire were calculated in order to examine the following questions: i) how reliable was the evaluation form in measuring student performance in tutorials?, ii) was there a correlation between tutor and student ratings and between ratings given in semester 1 and semester 2?, and iii) was there a change in performance, based on student and tutor evaluations, between the 1” and the 2 semester?
The results showed that the questionnaire was reliable, that correlations between tutor and students and across semesters were positive for all categories with the exception of self-assessment skills. Finally, it was found that year 2 ratings were lower than ratings for years 1 and 3 and that, overall, critical thinking and communication skills received the lowest ratings. The implications of these results for students learning