Bellwether Online Tutoring Presentation 2012: It is all in how you say i

It’s All in How You Say It!

“Your face is so ugly it could stop a clock!”

“When I look at you, times stands still.”

In the world of online teaching, it’s all in how we say
it; therefore, being able to decipher what a student really means,
understanding his needs, and encouraging him with our words
become valuable tools in helping him reach his goals.

Presentation Purpose

This presentation focuses on situations that may arise between
students and online tutors. Although presented in a light-hearted
manner, the topic is serious, for a teacher’s reactions and words
can result in a student’s success or failure. Actual submissions
to the Houston Community College online tutoring service by
students and tutors’ responses are presented. Spellings and
grammar usage has remained the same. Names have been
changed to protect the guilty. There are many slides, but they are
short and do not have notes, for they are self explanatory.

Now, with all that being said, let’s begin.

A special bond needs to be formed between the tutor and the student.
This is not as easy as it is sitting down with a student. There are specific
issues that online tutors, who do not have the same dynamics as face-
to-face (f-2-f) tutors, must think about. A student who is face-to-face with
a tutor can read the tutor’s body language and facial expressions. She
realizes that the tutor is interested helping her improve his knowledge
and work.
An understanding voice and gentle smile tell a student that this tutor is
willing and ready to help solve problems.

Online Tutoring Considerations

Communication
Boundaries
Over-dependence
Unreasonable Expectations
Limited English Proficiency
Building Rapport

Communication

The questions and responses tutors post online must be carefully
formulated, and this takes a lot of practice. In an online
environment, students do not always write back when they do not
understand, which makes it difficult to measure the student’s progress.

Facing the Challenges

Unreasonable Expectations: At what point does the paper pass
from being the student’s work to the tutor’s?

Building Rapport: In an online environment, it may be difficult to
establish rapport with students because there are no cultural
markers or visual cues for online tutors.

Communication: Despite these challenges, there are many ways
for tutors to show students that they care. By acknowledging what
the students wrote, by praising something impressive, and by
asking questions, tutors send the message that they value their
students as human beings.

When a student is online, he can only judge a tutor’s reaction to his paper by
the words used. Therefore, if the words are short and curt, the student will
imagine the reaction as.

or even worse, this.
this, or this,

Be careful not to make the mistake of thinking the online student can
read your mind. All he has to go by is the words on the screen. He
already thinks that his work is probably inadequate, and some find it
hard to admit the work is below standards, let alone ask for help.
Therefore, as an online tutor, you must be very careful to let that
student know that not only is he capable of succeeding in meeting
the assignment goals, but also that you are ready and eager to help.

Be aware of the (1) lack of visual feedback, (2) communication
delays, (3) requirement of mastery of technological tools, (4)
additional work that is required with written communication, and (5)
often incomplete information about assignments.

Now, we have email and texting, and with them are new unwritten
standards of relaxed spelling and grammar rules. By accepting these new
unwritten rules as permanent , we tutors will save ourselves a lot of
frustration and aggravation. The only thing left to do is to learn how to
decipher not only the spelling of online requests but also their hidden
meanings.

Here is some examples of submissions that we received from students.
Note the use of the “new” unwritten rules.

“This is a paper" [ Reply ]
Sent by student at July 20, 2006 8:01:15 AM

yo, hows my essay. i hope u can read it.

Translation: I am anxious to see what you think, but I am a
little nervous.

“My Paper" [ Reply ]
Sent by student at Sept 15, 2006 8:04:27 AM

nothing

Translation: I want help, but I don’t even know what I need.

Not only must you, as the online tutor, be careful of how you
give advice, but you must also be able to decipher what the
student is requesting and why he “asks” the way he does.
Occasionally, you may find some requests offensive. These
types of situations require assertiveness and self-direction
on the part of the tutor.

Let’s take a look of how you, as the
tutor, could respond to this student.

“If I were you, I would conference with your instructor and
start all over.”

(Such advice may be meant as an earnest effort to
re-focus the student. However, this may serve as a
message to the student that he is totally lost and has no
chance at succeeding in reaching the assignment goals.)

The student hears, “How should I know?
I cannot make sense of this.”

Instead, help the student minimize
learning gaps.

“I see that you have some really good ideas that you want to relay to
the reader but are having difficulty with the formatting of your paper. I
am sending you an attachment that will help you understand better
how the format of an argumentative essay should be. Once you have
completed your second draft, please re-submit your paper. I am
looking forward to seeing improvements in your paper.”

Establishing Boundaries

While it is important to remember that tutors cannot assume the
role of instructor, it is also necessary for tutors to define their own
boundaries in the tutoring environment so that the students are
aware of the boundaries. It is only natural for students to get as
much help as possible so that their grades are high. Therefore, it is
up to the tutor or the tutor supervisor to decide when “enough is
enough.”

Sent by student at Oct 25, 2006 9:04:27 PM

just fix this caz i can’t

Translation: I am just not smart enough to do this.

Do not be fooled, for this is not the laziest student you have ever
seen, nor should you be caught up in feeling sorry for his
desperation. Be aware that this is a student who is crying out for

help and who needs guidance.

Sent by student at Nov 7, 2007 8:29:27 PM

I want u 2 fix my papr. Thanx in advance

Translation: I have tried and tried, but I don’t know what to do to
make this correct. I feel that your doing it for me is the only option
I have left.

“As a tutor, I am not allowed to format, construct, edit, or
grade your paper. You must do that yourself.”

The student hears, “You are on your own. There is nothing I can do.”

Instead, establish boundaries.

The student’s attitude has been changed from frustration and fear to
being pleased the tutor thinks that he has good ideas and has made
a good beginning. By setting boundaries and letting the student know
that he is very capable of being a successful writer, the tutoring can
begin with rapport and mutual respect.

Re: group research paper [ Reply ]
Sent by andrea.brown at Dec 9, 2007 7:16:40 PM

We were told to write a scientific paper, and my part is
the Materials and methods of the experiment in the past
tense. Can you check if I followed the assignment? I ran
out of connection terms and sentences to make my part flow !
can u help me?

Do not be afraid to let the student know your boundaries.
At HCC, a science paper is tutored by a science tutor for content and an
English tutor for format and grammar.

Dear Student, I have read and commented on the grammar and
organization of your paper. To see my comments, select WEB LAYOUT
from the VIEW menu in Word. Check back later to get comments from a
biology tutor about the content. I'm afraid that I can't help you with that.

The English Tutor

Student Over-dependence and
Unreasonable Expectations

Tutors should remember they are not to do the work for students.
Instead, tutors should encourage students to attempt to work
through problems after the tutor has tutored a paper and given
guides that will help the student in locating similar errors. The
following slides are examples of what a student will do when
allowed to depend too much on a tutor.

Notice the dates of submission on the
slides that follow.

First Submission

Unconditional Love [ Reply ]
Sent by student at Dec 24, 2007 5:27:33 PM
Hi.
I am supposed to write an essay on the short story I read. I
have to discuss the patterns of development and a literary
element.

Can you please help me make my essay better?
Thank You.

Download attachment: E:ENG 2RD#2.doc

Second Submission

Sent by student at Dec 25, 2007 12:03:13 AM

Hi can you please help me make my essay better
Thank You


Third Submission


Hi I have made some more changes to my paper can you please
help me make it better?

Thank You Download attachment E:ENG 2RD#2.doc

Fourth Submission

Hi there
I have made the changes that were pointed out to me

Can you please check for any other mistakes?

Thank You


Fifth Submission


Hi I have made the changes
Thank You


Sixth Submission


Hi I have made some more changes to my paper can you please
help me make it better?

Thank You

Because of the many students that we serve and the number of
tutors there are, some students “sneak” through the lines as first
time submitters. However, we have found that doing more than
two tutoring sessions is not beneficial to the student’s progress.

No matter what the question, the student can be guided toward success.

math [ Reply ]

x = y2 + 6 and y = x2 + 6. Please I want to know whether this is a
function or not.

Read on to see the tutor’s answer.

Re: math [ Reply ]
Sent by tutor at Dec 17, 2007 3:01:23 PM

If an equation can be solved for y so that there is only one solution, then y is
a function of x, otherwise y is not a function of x.
In the first case, you need to isolate the y^2 term and then apply the square
root property in order to solve for y:
x - 6 = y^2
+/- sqrt(x - 6) = y

When you apply the square root property, you get two answers: plus and
minus. Therefore, this is not a function of x.

In the second case, the equation is already solved for y. Thus, you don't
need to do anything to it. This is a function of x.

Try again now.
Read on to see how thoroughness can give a student confidence to work on his on.

math [ Reply ]

I can do it!

Here’s another example of a student’s
frustration.

physics II [ Reply ]
Sent by eddyeb at Dec 9, 2007 1:01:07 PM

I'm asked to find the drift speed of the conduction electrons. I'm given:
one free electron per atom, J= 6.5*10^-8, n=m/M, M of Al=26.98,
density=2.7. Solution manual shows that n=NA/(M/density) and that
Vd=J/ne. How?

Here’s another example of a tutor’s patience
and encouragement.
Re: physics II [ Reply ] 2) prove Vd = J/ne
Sent by yiyan.bai at Dec 9, 2007 7:17:08 PM Suppose a cross section of A carries current I,
then
1) J is the current density
Let's look at the information given J = I/A
one free electron per atom current I = n *e* Vd *A
current density J = I/A = nqVd = 6.5*10^-8 n is the number of electrons per unit volume
n = m/M m is the mass, M is molecular weight e is the charge of one electron = 1.6*10^-19 C
mass density = m/volume = 2.7 Vd is the drift velocity
A is the cross section
by the solution manual: here Vd = delta X / delta t
n = NA/(M/density) Vd * A = delta X * A /t = delta Volume /t
below we try to prove the above: n * e = total charge of electrons
current definition is in a time interval of delta t
compare n=m/M given the total charge/over a cross section
and n = NA/(M/density) which asks to prove: so I = n *e* Vd *A is correct
n = NA * density/M
we just need to prove: divide A from both sides:
m = NA*density
density = m/vol I/A = J = neVd
NA * density = NA * m/vol finally we have :Vd = J/ne
vol = length N * area of cross section A
NA *m /vol = m
so you have n = NA/(M/density)

At what point does the paper pass from being the
student’s work to the tutors’?

Where did
my ideas go?
tutored

tutored tutored
tutored

tutored

When the student’s essay has changed to reflect the tutor’s ideas
instead of his own and/or the paper contains vocabulary that
reflects the tutor’s words, the student has ceased to be the author
of the paper. When a math paper contains answers but the steps
needed to work the problem are not completed by the student, the
paper has ceased to be the student’s work. Students often request
that the tutor edit, fix, or change whatever needs changing so that
their papers will make a good grade. Upon returning a student’s
work, the tutor should explain that such expectations will not be
met. It is important that the tutor emphasizes that the tutor is a
guide and not a grader.

Students with Limited English Proficiency

A student’s background may affect how he communicates,
including the use of appropriate and inappropriate vocabulary and
diction. Online tutors may find it difficult to decide if students do not
understand the content or they have a language barrier. When
tutoring such papers, remember that such students are unusually
sensitive to the way you respond.

A student sends in his request.

argumentative essay [ Reply ]
Sent by student at Aug 2, 2007 4:120:36 AM

I’m not so good. please help me with my language of english
grammar. Thank you a head of time.

Download attachment: E:essay.rft

Translation: I know I have problems. I am glad that there is someone to
help me improve.

“This paper has such serious grammar errors that I just can’t help you. I
suggest you tell your instructor that you have serious problems with
English grammar or get help from a live tutor.”

By simply pointing out the serious grammar errors, the student is
made to feel that there is a “mountain” that just can’t be climbed.
He is already struggling, so there is no need to harp on it.

By focusing on what the student has done correctly first, his sense
of accomplishment will give him the encouragement to begin
“attacking” his grammar problems.
“Your first draft shows that you understand the required format of an
essay. Your thesis statement focuses the reader and your topic
sentences reflect the main ideas of each paragraph. I did notice that
your main grammar error is with verb tense. I have indicated some of
these errors. After correcting the ones that I indicated, use your new
knowledge to located and correct similar errors.

I am looking forward to seeing your second draft.
Thank you for using the HCC online tutoring service.”

With so many grammar errors, it is hard to understand
what you are trying to say.

The student hears, “This is disgusting. No one could understand
this. I may as well give up”

Instead, let the student know there is a light at the end of the tunnel
and that you are ready and willing to assist in his success.

I made some grammar notes. Please go through the rest of your essay to
see if there are any more occurrences. Having a friend who is a native
English speaker proof read your essay will help catch some of the minor
grammar issues that are present.

Building Rapport

In an online environment, it may be difficult to establish rapport
with students because there are no cultural markers or visual
cues for online tutors.

Despite this challenge, there are many ways for tutors to show
students that they care. By acknowledging what the students
wrote, by praising something impressive, and by asking
questions, tutors send the message that they value their
students as human beings.

Here are some examples.

Example 1 (Psychology): Your case study is very interesting, and you
have done a good job in describing your friend Mario. I have provided
several suggestions for enhancements in an attachment to your report. I
will now forward the report to an English tutor who will check for
presentation.
If you need further assistance, feel free to contact Askonline. Best wishes.
Example 2 (English): There were some nice ideas to build off of in the
essay. You will want to go back and take a look at your word choice, word
form, and general sentence structure. This will help with the clarity of your
paragraphs. With some revisions, your essay will be on track. I hope that
you continue using this service during the semester.

Example 3 (English) : You have made a very good start with a strong
thesis statement and strong topic sentences, but there is still a lot of work
to be done. Your quotes from the text also provide strong support. Were
you to follow MLA standards when citing these quotes? If so, please go to
the site indicated in the MLA information bubble to find some examples of
in-text citing. Please read the information in the bubbles carefully so you
will have a strong to guide to locate and correct similar errors.

Example 4 (Psychology): Dear Student--The report is a good one, but still
needs some work. I have provided some suggestions in the attachment.
The paper will be forwarded to an English tutor for review of grammar and
presentation. Please feel free to contact ASKonline if further assistance is
needed.

Example 5 (Math) : Your formulas are strong and show you well
understand what the problem-solving technique requires. Always review
your calculations before moving on to the next step.

Example 6 (Psychology): Your assignment indicates that you are to
choose one topic per section of exam material. While the submitted report
is a good one, are you supposed to turn in others as well? I wanted to be
sure you were aware of this. My suggestions about the submitted report
are in the attachment. I will now turn the report over to an English tutor.
Please feel free to contact Askonline if you need further assistance. Best
wishes.

If a tutor keeps all these thoughts in mind, the student will
go from this.

Critical Essay [ Reply ] Sent by at Nov 14, 2007 11:03:11 AM

Is my grammar fine? Is my essay well-written? In this essay we were
supposed to compared two characters. the essay should be
thoughtful, focused and firmly rooted in a close reading of the text.
Is my work cited well-written?

Thanks
The Student

Download attachment: F:College CrapEnglish 1302essay2.doc

To this

SOCI 1301 [ Reply ]
Sent by one pleased student at Nov 13, 2007 9:14:05 PM
wow.

Thank You so much.
I clearly understand my mistakes now.

Thanks

Tutor
Student

Success is sweet for everybody!

Bellwether Online Tutoring Presentation 2012: It is all in how you say i

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Bellwether Online Tutoring Presentation 2012: It is all in how you say i