[3] Lodges of instruction operate within a geographical area and provide training in the performance of the order's rituals.
The preceptor, whose position is elective, is usually a Freemason who has spent several years as a director of ceremonies in his local lodge and is considered an expert in the rituals.
[citation needed] At some universities, including Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford, "preceptors" are not students but faculty members teaching courses in writing, music, mathematics, languages or life sciences.
Harvard preceptors, who teach introductory writing, have included the New Yorker staff writer George Packer, the novelist Tom Perrotta, the former Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer and the poet Dan Chiasson.
In medicine, allied health, midwifery, paramedicine, pharmacy and nursing education, a preceptor is a skilled practitioner or faculty member who supervises students in a clinical setting to allow practical experience with patients.