How Do Students Evaluate Tutorial Education?

I. Introduction of Tutorial Education in a Basic-Medicine Course

Abstract

Tokyo Women's Medical University introduced tutorial education in 1990 for 1st-through 4th-year students. To examine the effectiveness of this system in a basic-medicine course, questionnaires were given to all 2nd-year students. Many students felt that they had become accustomed to performing self-learning tasks through collecting information themselves and discussing their findings in a group; in particular, they found that tutorial education markedly improved their communication skills. A few students thought that this method helped them develop the ability of logical/critical thinking and analytic skills from multiple viewpoints. These findings suggest that an assessment system should be established by which students themselves could recognize the extent to which they have developed their abilities, which was the aim of tutorial education.