TUTORING ONLINE VS MEATSPACE

Desmond Ross

094641110

4/27/00

The Internet has become an integral part of our society and the world. People have a variety of uses for the Internet. Some use the Internet for entertainment, (i.e. to play games, listen to music, watch videos) others use it as a resource to find places, people or to research a variety of subjects. The primary function of the Internet is to automate and/or expedite a particular task or function. For example, it is easier to search for information on a subject, from your own home than to go to a library. It is easier to email a person than to write letters to them, It is better to advertise on the Internet than in your local yellow pages because, theoretically, more people will see the advertisement. The lure of the Internet has businesses, governments and people of all walks of life using the Internet for their own advantages. One sector of our society that is trying to capitalize on this phenomenon is the education sector, more precisely the tutoring segment of that sector. Tutoring has been a consistent part of the educational system in the public and private arenas; and like everything else, it is finding its way into cyberspace. Due to the vast success of the many uses of the Internet it is believed that the tutoring that occurs in meat space, can be duplicated in cyberspace.

There are three components that comprise and entire tutoring experience, the tutor, the tutoring system, and the student/and or the relationship between the tutor and tutee. Therefore if one would look in detail to the entire process of meatspace tutoring, they would see that the entire process couldn’t be imitated in cyberspace with the same level of success as in meatspace. There are factors or certain dynamics, (that will be addressed) that occur in meatspace that cannot be addressed or carried over effectively in cyberspace.

To address the limiting factors of online tutoring we must address the sections that compromise "successful" meatspace tutoring. The target group of this evaluation is boys and girls from grades 2 through 6 that are being tutored on how to write and read better in the English language, by a volunteer tutor through a tutoring program or through a one-to-one session. Through a software company, E-tutors, I submitted email to 17 tutors and 20 students, which asked questions regarding online tutoring and meatspace tutoring.

It is important to define several words for this research before continuing: transference, mentor, and tutor. Transference is neither negative nor positive. It is always a distortion. A projection of emotions from the past to the current objects (Stringer, 1997). The definition of a tutor is a private instructor or one who gives additional, special or remedial instruction. A mentor is a trusted counselor or guide. Although these definitions are somewhat different, their application begins to overlap during the tutoring process. The overlap that occurs between tutoring and mentoring; and between mentoring and transference are very important factor in the tutoring process.

Like most inventions, reading tutors was created from a need, the need for a child to be on par with his or her classmates. Many first and second graders (perhaps 25%) fall significantly behind their peers in reading and remain behind throughout the elementary grades (Morris, 1999). The reasons for the reading failure in the primary grades have been debated for more than 100 years. The blame for this reading failure has been placed on various points, the teacher (poorly trained), the child (lack of readiness), and the spelling system. There have been debates on what is the best method for teaching beginners to read (i.e. phonics, whole word, sentence-based, etc.) Although the teaching method is very important factor in the learning process, it is also important that the opportunity to learn is addressed. In this context the "opportunity to learn" is defined as the time directly available between teacher and student to address specific needs. In a typical first or second grade classroom with only 90 minutes of reading instruction and a 1:24 teacher-student ratio, there is surprisingly little time available for individual children to read aloud under the classroom teacher’s direct supervision (Morris, 1999). The lack of supervised reading time is particularly harmful to low-achieving beginning readers who desperately need practice in a situation where feedback is available.

In our society the opportunity to learn is not equally available across socioeconomic groups. When middle economic schools are compared with lower economic schools, what is revealed is that middle-class schools often have smaller sized classes and more highly trained support staff. There are also fewer lower reading children in middle-class schools. As a result there is a greater opportunity that each of the lower reading children’s need will be addressed. Out of these needs the tutor was born.

As mentioned before, the object of a tutor is to provide remedial or special attention and instruction, on a particular subject, to a student. Although different authors on the subject of tutoring have different ideas, goals, and rules of what makes a successful tutor or tutoring program, they do share some common thoughts or goals.

For the tutoring session to be successful four principal guidelines must be present: understanding the student’s strengths and weaknesses; setting goals; documenting progress; and setting routines. In order to get a deeper understanding of the tutoring experience further insight is needed on these guidelines.

• Understanding the student’s strengths and weaknesses: The tutor should know as much about the student as possible. The more that is known about the student the better the tutor will be able to concentrate on the area where the student needs support. This information can be gathered from the student, parents/guardians, or teachers.
• Setting goals: Tutors should not only work with students to set goals but they should work in conjunction with parents and other coordinators of the tutoring program (if applicable). Once long-term goals have been established, short-term steps should be planned which help the student achieve them (schumm 1999).
• Documenting progress: Documenting progress provides a means for tutors to mark what was worked on with the student during the session. Most tutors ultimately find their record keeping worth the time.
• Setting routines: Most children like routines, they like knowing what to expect. Routines form the scaffolding for the tutoring session (Schumm1999). A basic set of routines lets the student know what to expect and helps streamline the tutor’s planning on preparation.

• The tutor (if necessary) should keep close ongoing supervision by a specialist: If the tutor is new to tutoring or they are getting overwhelmed with the tutoring task, they should be able to contact or talk to a senior or more experienced tutor. There should not be any hesitation by the tutor to seek guidance for any issues that may arise.
• Tutoring programs should remain small to ensure quality control: It is important that the tutor-child pairs should be kept at a minimum. This to ensure that the supervisor of the tutoring program will be able too effectively monitor the progress of each pair. It will also allow the supervisor to be available for the tutors when they need assistance.
• The interpersonal bond that develops between a tutor and child is a major factor in a tutoring program’s success: The bonding between tutor and child is what kept the volunteers coming back, week after week, month after month (a crucially important element in a tutoring program). Tutors experienced good and bad days, tutoring-wise however, their commitment to and affection for their students was unwavering (Morris, 1999).

The groundwork has now been created. Now there is the foundation of a good tutoring program and a prepared tutor. The third element is now incorporated into this process…the actual tutee. It is can be slightly stressful or very stressful when people meet each other for the first time, and when a tutor and tutee meet for the first time there is usually some stress. Before you and your student are introduced make sure you know his or here name and more importantly how to pronounce it correctly (Schumm, 1999). Although this may seem like common sense and it is not something that needs to be pointed out, this is the beginning of a relationship, and like most beginnings the first impression is important. I have worked with kids (6^th graders) tutoring them in reading, along with other tutors, and I have personally seen the troubled looks on a child’s face when a tutor does not know or seem to care to know the student’s name. First of all this creates to possible negative situations from the onset. If a child has to correct the tutor on his or her name (like I have seen some smart-mouthed kids do) the child immediately loses one notch of respect for the tutor. I have heard a child blurt out "this lady is going to help me she can’t even say my name." To some kids a forgotten name will translate into a feeling of neglect by the tutor. It is not the end of the world if a mistake like this happens, but what it can do it delay the relationship between the tutor and tutee---on personal and/or a professional level.

It is important to put the student at ease about the sessions. It is a good idea to chat with the students about the purpose and the frequency of the sessions. It is important to make these conversations very informal but with enough direction to get the desired result, which is, comfort for student and the tutor. Younger children and students just beginning to learn English can be given such forms like an All About Me Form. This form provides topics and prompts students to learn. Students grade 3 and up can be given a Getting To Know You Interview. In this scenario the tutor can ask questions and write down the students answer, then turn the tables around and have the student ask the tutor the questions. These forms reemphasize the need to have a good initial meeting with the student. These techniques are designed to "break the ice."

After the ice is broken it is time to start the second phase of the initial meeting---setting expectations. It is important for the tutor to set expectations about the behavior of the student. Children test limits, especially with adults who are new to them. That’s one of their developmental tasks (Schumm, 1999). The tutor’s behavioral guidelines should not be plenty generally three to five rules. When the tutor is laying down the law he or she should give examples. For example if the tutor states to the student that they should be polite, it should be followed up by stating to the student that means using words like please and thank you. It is important for the tutor to remember that in addition to setting the rules, they must also enforce them. If the rules are not enforced it will be very difficult to for the tutor’s expectations to be realized.

If all goes well in the beginning the tutor and the student will have a good chance of having productive sessions. Depending on the duration or number of sessions that a tutor has with a student, there is a good chance that a social bond will develop between tutor and tutee. The interpersonal bond that develops between student and tutor is the start of the overlapping that occurs between the definitions of tutor and mentor. A further definition of a mentor is someone who passes along a trade or craft, usually to one student at a time. A mentor may be teaching a student about one craft but within that one craft there may be many lessons being learned at the same time. The relationship of mentor-mentee is not derived from the student falling behind or needing remedial assistance in a particular subject, as it is in the tutoring environment. It is derived from the desire to learn a particular craft or trade. Let me give and example or two in each category. I have a very difficult time doing research papers; I would need a tutor to help me get better at this task. I know how to write and I can read, but I cannot put it together to make a research paper as well or as fast as others. There have been many mentor-mentee relationships depicted on television. Batman and Robin, The Lone Ranger and Tonto. In our everyday lives the relationships of teacher and teacher’s aid, older brother/sister to younger sibling, veteran police officer to rookie, are all examples of mentor-mentee relationships. In these examples there is nothing remedial happening. It is just a senior individual proving insight and knowledge to the less experienced individual. In meat space, this combination of tutor and mentor, is the main factor for a successful and or rewarding tutoring experience.

In addition to helping students achieve academic goals, such as better reading skills, tutors also are also serving as positive role models, guiding their student in becoming a productive member of society. Tutors also serve as coaches by setting goals with students, encouraging students to meet their goals, and providing structure and support (Schumm, 1999). This author uses the term tutor as a total combination of tutor and mentor; but others, such as Marina Nelson, would like to make a clear distinction between the two words.

Marina Nelson is a mentor in the mentor/mentee program at Whitehorse Middle School. The mentor program at Whitehorse is aimed at students wanting to raise their grades, Improve homework assignments and organizational skills. Ms Nelson states "I’m calling everybody a mentor when actually there’s a distinction between mentoring and tutoring. Tutoring is more remedial helping; mentoring is having a role model."(Sebastian, 1995) Nelson is a benefit trust administrator for M&I Trust Co. She expounds on a relationship that she has with a mentee named Leah. Leah had trouble learning her educational basics. Before Nelson started working with Leah, Leah did not trust anyone with anything. Now, not only has improved academically, she has also improved socially. This is an example where the tutee/mentee has benefited on two levels. According to Nelson "Most pairings of adults and students create a long lasting bond between the two." Shirley Hammond, a coordinator of the Madison School District Tutor/Mentor program says, "We’ve really been trying to get people to separate tutoring and mentoring. I suppose is someone stays with a child long enough, it becomes more than tutoring."(Sebastian, 1995)

Jaqueline Watt is a teacher in a New York City Public School. She tutors 6^th graders after school. She addresses the point of being more than a tutor to the children. She states "when I first started tutoring I viewed a task, a task that I wanted to do, but all the same it was my "good deed". I never thought I would be involved in the children’s lives as much as I have been for the past 5 years. I get to know so much more about them than I do during the regular class session when I am teaching 30 children. I talk to them about things that are happening in their home, in their personal lives, and just about anything. I am able to cover all the material in the tutoring session (usually) but there is a lot of social interaction that happens. Some of them tell me they want to be just like me, some of them don’t. I always get asked questions about matters that are not related to the tutoring assignment, but the questions are very pertinent to their everyday lives.

During my tutoring sessions with kids I have experienced the same type of behavior with my tutees. At times I have lost control of the session and continued down a path that was not related to the tutoring activity. This is where the mentoring relationship occurs, and this is the point where the transference happens as well. With children that young there could be a variety of reasons why this transference takes place. In this scenario the transference is usually a positive one. The children do not wan to be with Ms Watt or myself because we are mean people. There must be something that is attracting them to us or people like us. According to the definition of transference my these children relate in this positive manner to their tutor because they are getting something that they are not receiving elsewhere. Maybe Ms. Watt reminds them of a their nice aunt, mother or sister. Most tutors welcome this transference, in my experience. I believe it is actually expected, especially in kids of this age group. The mentoring that emerges from the tutoring is very very very important in the tutoring process. Part the reason that some children are not that productive in a regular classroom setting is due to the "dryness" or tight structure of the class. A tutoring session can have that same drying, but more than likely is will be a little more on the carefree side.

This carefree side and the mentor aspect of tutoring are the aspects that cannot be fully duplicated or achieved in cyberspace.

There are a many companies on the Internet offering online tutoring. There are many types of courses online. Being online simply means being on the Internet. There are a variety of online tutoring software offering different levels of interactivity. Some software allows the user to read text and answer questions, some offer some video or graphics to illustrate points. There are others that let you communicate with some via email. Although tutoring software is not new, it is still being developed and improved upon. There is a tutoring software made by a company named E-TUTORS. This software has the most current technology within it code to try and give tutor and tutee the complete tutoring package, as in meatspace. The software has graphics, two human cartoon head to simulate the tutor and tutee. Each head has a selections of heads that the participants can choose from that will best represent them. The tutor and student can write (type) on the screen simultaneously (both see the exact same screen at the same time). And, with the aid of headsets they can talk to each other synchronously. This software does a pretty good job of allowing both parties to achieve...MOST of the benefits of meatspace tutoring.

In meatspace tutoring the components for a successful tutoring session(s) were stated as, the tutoring system, the tutor, and the student/and or the relationship between the tutor and tutee. With this software the tutoring system is completely developed. Before the student and tutor begin to interact, the tutor is provided via e-mail what the students needs are. This information is provided by the parent or guardian. The tutor has to provide email to the student and parent with weakly, or in a mutually agreed timeframe that was established between the tutor and guardian. The routines are set up first in part by the Software Company. They tell both parties (tutor and clients) when or what time the service is available; and in part by the tutor...how does he or she wan to run the session.

The tutors are prepared before they actually go online. The tutors have training session with the company’s help desk. The tutors have to send in and extensive application regarding their professional background. There is help available for the tutors from other tutors through this system. The tutors get a listing of other tutors in the program. It is part of the agreement that each tutor will try to be available for each other. And there is quantity control. A tutor can have between 5-7 students registered to them, but they do not have access to the tutor at the same time.

The software allows the tutor to establish a routine, within its parameters. By voice or by text the teacher can let the student know what is tolerable and what isn’t. With this particular software it can facilitate a simulated carefree environment. Both parties are free to discuss subjects that are not related to the tutoring. They can ask the advice of the tutor regarding academic or social issues. The software system seems like it has it all...but it doesn’t. There is the element of face-to-face interaction that is needed. The majority (12) of teachers that responded to the email stated that the software is a good product but they were used to tutoring face-to-face. Ten of the twelve stated that there were times when they were unable to tell if they had the student’s complete attention. They would here noises in the background, such as other kids laughter, what would sound like toy noises. I actually tried tutoring a student myself, and while I was directing him to the correct answer of a problem I heard him laughing. I asked the student what was he laughing about, and he stated he had a video game running while he was online with me. I asked him to end the game, he stated he did, I had no way to verify. On the flip side some teachers responded to my questions of "what do you enjoy about online tutoring?" Some tutors responded that they enjoyed being in the convenience of their own home. They can get other things accomplished while they are home; or they could be home and have more time with their kids.

The reason is clear why online tutoring cannot completely replace meatspace tutoring. There can be too many distractions on both sides which will slow or impede that mentoring stage to take place. Therefore if that mentoring stage does not take place then the transference does not occur. The transference that occurs is like a reward to most tutors. It lets the tutor know that you have reached this child in some fashion. The distractions that occur in online tutoring prohibit the relationship to grow. In meatspace it is the tutor and student one-to-one. Being face-to-face allows the tutor to see when the student is tired, frustrated, or happy. All these emotions can be detected through body language...no words are necessary to interpret some of these behaviors. When a tutor has the ability to pick up on these things, it makes for a better understanding of the student, a faster bonding with the student, because the tutor can alleviate certain situation more rapidly. With online tutoring the tutor loses some of these abilities, which could put a strain on the session or the relationship. He or she may not easily or rapidly pick up on what is going on behind the scenes. Online tutoring is very good...but it is not GREAT.

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