How are students instructed in the UK?
Most universities and colleges use a combination of teaching styles that include tutorials, lectures and seminars and, if appropriate, practical classes and laboratory work. Lectures are given to a large group of students, usually in an auditorium, and students are expected to listen and take notes. Seminars are taught by one or more staff members with a smaller group of students. Students may be asked to prepare presentations for the group to debate. Tutorials often involve a much smaller group – usually one member of staff with four or five students. There is a strong tradition in the UK of close personal contact between student and tutor, although emphasis is also placed on independent study. Students are expected to structure their own time and are not continually assessed through homework and intermittent tests or quizzes. Because there is no classroom component for Research Masters or traditional PhDs, research students work independently, but are supervised by a professor.
