Abstract
Tutors generally play a vital role towards the
academic success of students at the University of Johannesburg
(UJ), South Africa, with specificity of this study on engineering
students. As such, UJ continually invest in the drive of tutors
through the Academic Development Centre (ADC) towards
activity-based education of students or interaction (ABE/I) with
students. In most cases, the activity-based interaction between
tutors and engineering students may differ amongst tutors
however, one common element remains the teaming/grouping
of students with one or more tutors as head of the team in
different subject/module. Nonetheless, it is emphasized that
tutors do not act to assume or supposedly function as lecturers
to students. Notwithstanding, the exact role of a tutor in
activity-based education is somewhat indistinct to both tutors
as well as to students. Nevertheless, to streamline and better
inform the tutors of their role and performance as well as help
them improve, the study opted for open and closed item
questionnaire aimed at appraising the supporting
hands/performance of individual tutors in one active semester
term. Tutors responses to the open item questions informed the
study about their strengths and weaknesses. While responses to
the closed items provided insight to the supporting hands of a
tutor with respect to the functional operation of a team/group,
individual learning processes, the progress of the activity/task,
the approach of the tutor to activity-based education and the
tutor’s role in imbibing in the students development of critical
thinking and problem solving skills.