Lectures, Tutorials and Workshops

Lectures are one of the main ways that we teach you. They are often interactive and may use a variety of digital tools to make them engaging.

Some lectures will take place in a 'flipped' format. This means that you will be asked to look at material in advance of the timetabled lecture (this might include reading, watching videos, coming up with questions on a topic). The lecture itself will then build on this preparatory work.

Lectures are often recorded so that you can access the content again if you need to for revision. These recordings can be accessed through the Learn page for each course. You should attend lectures in-person if at all possible, to gain maximum benefit from the teaching being provided. The recordings are intended for revision or to help you to catch up if you miss one or two lectures, not as a substitute for participating. 

Tutorials are normally around one hour long and the teaching in tutorials will develop your analytical and critical thinking skills. 

There are normally around 15 to 25 students in a tutorial in the early years, but they are likely to be smaller groups in later years. Tutorials are used differently from course to course and are usually designed to: 

• Improve your communication skills (both oral and written).
• Help you with problems arising in the course.
• Show how the theory learnt in lectures can be applied to the real world.

Participating in tutorials is a great way to practice discussing topics in small groups and presenting your ideas along with the reasoning behind them. These skills will be useful in many workplaces as a graduate.

There is usually some work to complete before you attend tutorials, such as to read and analyse a scientific paper or to answer some questions on the lecture content. It is expected that you will complete this work before the tutorial.

During a tutorial there might be a discussion about the work and the solutions. There will also be a chance to ask your questions to the tutor.

There are plenty of places around the University where you can complete tutorial preparation work between your other classes.

Study Spaces at King's Buildings

Workshops are designed to reinforce your knowledge, practice essential skills, as well as present new examinable material.

Workshops may be more informal than lectures. They may include participating in quizzes or learning how to use scientific software. You should be prepared to join in with tasks completed in groups, work through worksheets or computer-based activities. 

Each course that you take has an associated online Learn page. Learn Ultra is the University's virtual learning platform, and there is lots of information on these pages such as:

• Copies of lecture slides
• Recommended reading lists
• Lecture recordings
• Practical and tutorial synopses
• Course work submission deadlines and dropboxes

You can access Learn though your MyEd portal.

Access Learn via MyEd