Vertical Tutoring Sessions

By Bethany Harrison

In the Media Production course, we believe that students from all years can learn things from each other. To achieve this, the initiative of vertical tutoring came to fruition, led by Frankie Murdoch, which aimed to allow students to collaborate. This semester, the Level 4 students (first years) and the Level 5 students (second years) have one vertical tutoring session scheduled every other week. In each session, the students are split into groups and are given a task to complete together. For example, in one session, the students were tasked with creating short podcasts together about ideation. Below is an audiogram of student work which was created by two level 4 students, Hannah Hall and Connor McMahon and Bethany Harrison, a level 5 student.

There are many benefits of these sessions including the connections and friendships that the students form. These connections have proved valuable as they provide chances for the students in the first year to get advice from the students in the older years. This can range from tips about what to do in specific modules, to general university life. As well as this, it is also beneficial for the older students as they get to practice their skills through these tasks. Furthermore, the sessions have provided a way for the students and lecturers to interact in a less formal environment that has encouraged communication and often led to the students being able to receive more academic support from the lecturers. Also, in the case of the podcasting module, as discussed in the audiogram, there may be an overlap in the teaching content for both years, in which case these tasks can help both year groups hone their skills before they complete their assessment projects.

To understand how the students felt about this experience, I interviewed a few on what they thought of the sessions and asked them to evaluate the effectiveness. Firstly, I asked Jamie Kipling, a level 5 student, what he thought of the sessions, “It’s great because you get the chance to work with other year groups, on tasks that have a very open brief.” Secondly, I interviewed Matthew Tunnell, a level 4 student, on the same question, “I like these sessions because of how they allow you to connect with the other levels of the degree and it enables peer teaching in a friendly and fun way.” This demonstrates how the students also see the value in the sessions and that both levels are finding the sessions enjoyable and engaging.

Overall, these sessions have proven to be mutually beneficial and enjoyable for the students and later in the academic year the sessions will be switched to being between the Level 5 and Level 6 students (third years). If you would like to see content that has been created by other students in these sessions, check out the SolentMedia Instagram Page!