Most Professors have honors instructors, sometimes referred to as tutors. The tutors are 2L or 3L students who, if you couldn't have guessed, scored rather well in the subject class their 1L year. Their role is to help the 1L students have more understanding of the subject matter.
One of my professors does not believe in tutors. He relates studies which show students who attend tutor sessions do not do any better on the final exam than a student who did not attend the tutor sessions. He also points out, the studies show tutors improve over the students who are not tutors.
I respect this professor's opinion. There is truth in his words. Unfortunately, I must disagree with him about using tutors.
I have found some benefits to the tutor sessions. One, the tutor sessions provide a review session. Two, the tutor sessions provide repetition. Three, the tutor sessions can aid in outlining. Lastly, the tutor sessions can actually clear up any misconceptions.
The tutors provide handouts prior to the session. The handouts the fill-in-the blank type. I read over the handout prior to the session and attempt to fill in the blanks. Then, during the session, I discover the accuracy of my answers. This aids in recollection and reinforcement.
While the tutor sessions are a rehash of the week's material, repetition is good for the memory. The more times a person hears something, the easier the person will recall the specific item. Repetition is good.
While the handouts will not be in a strict outline form, the structure can aid in outlining. Realize law school outlines are not a typical "I-II-A.-1.-a." format. The outline is how the law student comprehends the body of work. The outline is a compilation of the notes, reading notes, tutor handouts, and cases from a class. The outline represents the law student's knowledge of the subject matter. Now the outline can be in the standard "outline" format, but, it does not have to follow the format. The tutor handouts can help in organizing and framing the major areas of a subject for studying.
Lastly, the tutor sessions can aid in clearing up misconceptions. The tutor is not the subject matter expert. Remember, the tutor is a student, not a faculty member. The tutor, though, has survived the 1L year and has done rather well in the class. The tutor can provide some insight which can aid in understanding of the material. Reiterating the repetition argument, thinking about the material in a different framework can help the brain wrap around a problem not understood.
The benefits of the tutor sessions outweigh the time investment (the tutor sessions are one hour in length - that's one hour not studying something else). Much like anything else in life, a student will get out of the tutor session what the student puts into the tutor session. I'd like to see the statistics encompass this fact.
Tutor or not to tutor? It's an easy answer. I say attend every tutor session...
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