Experiences Of Tutors Research Articles

Home- School Link: Tutor’s Capacity-Building Enhancement Training for effective implementation of Modular distance learning

This study discovers the effectiveness of modular distance learning as an alternative learning modality and proposes a home-school link: a tutor’s capacity-building enhancement training. The study examines the perceived level of competence and tutoring experiences of the parents while administering the self-learning modules (SLM) at home. The study determines the relevance of parents’ tutoring competence and experiences to the learner’s academic achievement, which were identified using a mixed-methods approach through conducting both surveys and interviews. The study used a purposive sampling technique to select the participants. This study reveals that parents are only proficient in administering the module, which demonstrates their need to undergo capacity-enhancement training. Facilitating the SLM emphasizes the significance of the delivery of instruction, employing the student-centered method, appropriate teaching strategies, student motivation, behavior management strategies, and time management. In this connection, the training specifically provides opportunities for the home tutors to acquire the knowledge and skills that they need to deliver a high-quality education to the learners. Moreover, this study reveals the different interventions and challenges encountered while administering modular distance learning. Conducting the teaching-learning process at home can be difficult for home tutors who do not possess the necessary competence to facilitate the SLM, which imposes a risk of producing high-quality outcomes in learners' academic achievement. Hence, it is crucial to implement the home-school link: a tutor’s capacity-building enhancement training to nurture the necessary competences of the home tutors as partners in education. Implementing the enhancement training ensures the quality education our learners wholly deserve.

Exploring Tutor Experiences of 21st Century Skills during and after COVID-19: An ODeL Case Study

In this study, the researchers argue that the changes in 21st-century socio-economic and educational environments have significantly determined the requisite tutor skills in the 21st century. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, knowledge of technology education has become an additional determinant for effective teaching in a 21st-century environment. This study aimed to interrogate tutor experiences concerning teaching approaches and pedagogies adopted during this period. The pedagogical expectations now demand that tutors integrate technology into teaching as well as transform the traditional teacher-centred to a learner-centred pedagogy. It is imperative that tutors should not only embrace pedagogical strategies involving ICT but also align the teaching-learning strategies to subject knowledge. A qualitative exploratory approach was employed for this study with a sample of five part-time tutors and two Tutor Coordinators who were purposefully selected to be interviewed online following an open-ended interview schedule. The study was anchored on the following questions: What were tutors’ teaching experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how did they transition to online tuition? The findings depict the need for comprehensive training of tutors on digital literacy, combined with integrating pedagogical and disciplinary knowledge. The researchers applied the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model as the theoretical lens to interpret the data. The findings should contribute towards bridging the literature gap but also equip the 21st-century tutor with the requisite skills for the complex teaching and learning environment dictated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Player Modeling and Adaptation Methods Within Adaptive Serious Games

Serious games (SGs) have emerged in recent years as a key method to augment education and training. SGs allow players to experience new concepts while exploring engaging virtual environments. To further extend the educational merit of SGs, adaptive SGs integrate games with adaptive systems to provide a more supportive education. Typically, these adaptive systems either focus on assisting or engaging the player, or on providing a more human-like tutoring experience. For appropriate adaptation, these games make use of player analytics and player modeling to determine what help to provide, predict future player actions, or otherwise model a player’s mental or physical state. To assist researchers in the development of future adaptive SGs, this article reviews and categorizes both player modeling and game adaptation methods from publications over the past ten years. We offer comparisons of various methods to achieve both modeling and adaptation, as well as comprehensive categories for both aspects. Furthermore, we also offer insights for future areas of study in adaptive SGs, as well as possible directions for SG developers.

Multidimensional Assessment of the Delivery of Grade 1 Classes under Modular Instruction

This research delves into the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on educational institutions, necessitating the temporary closure of schools, which are primary learning environments for a vast number of students worldwide. In response to this challenge, the Department of Education (DepEd) in the Philippines implemented the Modular Distance Learning Modality (MDL), with a preference for this approach in many public schools across the country. MDL relies on printed and digital modules for instructional delivery. The primary objective of this research is to comprehensively assess the implementation of MDL for Grade 1 classes in selected public elementary schools in Santiago, Agusan del Norte. Specific goals include investigating stakeholder perspectives, identifying pedagogical needs for teacher support, measuring pupil competency in reading, writing, and numeracy, and formulating evidence-based recommendations for targeted catching-up programs. These programs aim to better prepare Grade 1 learners to transition to face-to-face classes, contributing valuable insights to educational policies and practices. Utilizing a descriptive research design incorporating both qualitative and quantitative techniques, this study investigates the lived experiences of teachers, tutors, and parents through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that a majority of Grade 1 pupils exhibit low or very low competencies in reading and numeracy while demonstrating above-average and excellent skills in writing.

Self-organization of songbird neural sequences during social isolation.

Behaviors emerge via a combination of experience and innate predispositions. As the brain matures, it undergoes major changes in cellular, network, and functional properties that can be due to sensory experience as well as developmental processes. In normal birdsong learning, neural sequences emerge to control song syllables learned from a tutor. Here, we disambiguate the role of tutor experience and development in neural sequence formation by delaying exposure to a tutor. Using functional calcium imaging, we observe neural sequences in the absence of tutoring, demonstrating that tutor experience is not necessary for the formation of sequences. However, after exposure to a tutor, pre-existing sequences can become tightly associated with new song syllables. Since we delayed tutoring, only half our birds learned new syllables following tutor exposure. The birds that failed to learn were the birds in which pre-tutoring neural sequences were most 'crystallized,' that is, already tightly associated with their (untutored) song.

Improving Vulnerable Populations’ Emergent Reading Outcomes by Training Preservice Teachers in an Evidence-Based Program

ABSTRACT This article details a large-scale tutor-to-teacher pipeline created in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program addressed two vital needs: 1) improving outcomes for striving readers in high-needs communities, and 2) improving teacher training in both evidence- and research-based instruction. Across school year (SY) 2020–2021 and 2021–2022, 608 preservice teachers delivered an evidence-based (Reading Rescue) or research-based (Reading Ready) early literacy intervention. Through a coordinated effort between the City University of New York (CUNY) and the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE), 857 NYC DOE students received one-on-one, interactive, remote tutoring three to five days a week, for an average of 21 sessions. Results demonstrated that students who received the emergent word reading program, Reading Ready, improved in their phoneme segmentation and nonword reading skills by 31–47%, and students who received the follow-up evidence-based program, Reading Rescue, consistently improved by one intervention reading level per 10 sessions, and showed age equivalent reading gains of one-half to almost a full year of growth as measured by a standardized, nationally normed assessment. Discussion focuses on the value of this high-quality training and tutoring experience for preservice teachers and on the critical support provided to striving readers in underserved communities in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Determining Tendency Levels and Opinions of Secondary School 12th Grade Students on Private Tutoring

The purpose of this study is, based on various variables, to determine differentiation in private tutoring tendencies of 12th grade students and their opinions about private tutoring. Mixed method sequential explanatory design was used in this study because both quantitative and qualitative methods were included. Collecting qualitative data depends on quantitative data. Thus, explanatory sequential design, one of the mixed methods, was used. The quantitative study group consists of 717 students in 12th grade secondary school studying in different schools types in İstanbul. Quantitative data were collected through stratified sampling method. The qualitative study group consists of 11 students selected according to quantitative data. The maximum variation sampling method was preferred for collecting qualitative data. The “Private Tutoring Tendency Scale” was used for collecting quantitative data; the semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used for collecting qualitative data. The SPSS 22.0 software was used in analyzing the quantitative data. Microsoft Excel and Nvivo 8 software were used for qualitative data analysis. The content analysis was preferred for conducting qualitative data analysis. According to the study results, it was observed that; there is significant difference in private tutoring tendency levels of the participants with respect to the gender and private tutoring experience variables. When qualitative findings are considered, it is evident that opinions of the participants are mainly gathered under the titles; reason for private tutoring tendency, general opinions on private tutoring and methodological opinions on private tutoring.

Tracing development of song memory with fMRI in zebra finches after a second tutoring experience

Sensory experiences in early development shape higher cognitive functions such as language acquisition in humans and song learning in birds. Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) sequentially exposed to two different song ‘tutors’ during the sensitive period in development are able to learn from their second tutor and eventually imitate aspects of his song, but the neural substrate involved in learning a second song is unknown. We used fMRI to examine neural activity associated with learning two songs sequentially. We found that acquisition of a second song changes lateralization of the auditory midbrain. Interestingly, activity in the caudolateral Nidopallium (NCL), a region adjacent to the secondary auditory cortex, was related to the fidelity of second-song imitation. These findings demonstrate that experience with a second tutor can permanently alter neural activity in brain regions involved in auditory perception and song learning.

TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH THROUGH MOBILE APPLICATIONS

The article presents a research study conducted to examine the effectiveness of mobile devices in teaching and learning English from the perspective of university students. The research aimed to investigate the interest of students in using mobile apps for learning English, explore the potential of educational applications downloaded on students' mobile phones, and assess the integration of mobile devices into classroom activities at university for English language learning. The study collected responses from students studying at the university located in Atyrau through an online questionnaire created using Google Forms. The responses were analyzed by the authors, and follow-up interviews were conducted with a subset of students to link the reported mobile device use to its actual use for language learning. The article proposes that the use of mobile devices as an educational tool in the process of university study has the potential to expand perceptions of tutorial experience in teaching and learning English. In general, the use of mobile devices as an educational tool in university education has become increasingly common in recent years. Mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets offer students and educators the flexibility to access course materials, participate in collaborative activities, and communicate with each other anytime, anywhere. It is important to ensure that mobile devices are integrated into the curriculum thoughtfully and intentionally, taking into account the specific needs and goals of the students and the course. Keywords: information technologies, software, and hardware, application of the Microsoft Office software package, sociological research, the effectiveness of sociological research.

Impact of online computer assisted learning on education: Experimental evidence from economically vulnerable areas of China

There is growing interest by both educators and policymakers in helping underperforming students catch up using computer assisted learning (CAL). While CAL interventions have been shown to be effective internationally and elsewhere in China, these have been mostly offline CAL programs that are difficult and costly to implement. An online CAL (OCAL) may be able to bypass many of offline CAL's implementation problems and enhance the remedial tutoring experience. The objective of this paper is to examine the impact of an OCAL intervention on the academic and non-academic performance of students and to explore the mechanism behind OCAL's impact. According to the findings, OCAL improved overall English scores of students in the treatment group relative to the control group by 0.48 standard deviations. This impact is large when compared with offline CAL programs previously evaluated in rural China. We found that OCAL also led to a positive change in the attitudes of students towards English learning and student aspirations for their future education level. We found three possible explanations for OCAL's impact. We believe that online features that enhance the interest-oriented stimulation of the software is the main source of improvement among students. Cost-effectiveness analysis showed that the OCAL program is more cost-effective than traditional offline CAL, which is suitable for policymakers as it indicates high potential for OCAL program expansion.

LIC in the time of COVID: experiences of LIC tutors during the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland

ABSTRACT In March 2020, due to the escalating global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, clinical placements for most medical students in the UK were suspended. A phased resumption of clinical placements started at the beginning of academic year 2020/2021. For the Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine programme (ScotGEM), 2020/21 was the first year that Dundee School of Medicine’s comprehensive LIC was extended to all 54 students in the penultimate year of the ScotGEM programme. This cross-sectional qualitative study explored aspects of tutors’ experiences of supporting LIC students in their practices. Thematic analysis of the data identified significant themes relating to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the organisation of the LIC placements and the experiences of the tutors, and the ways in which they adapted placements to the rapidly changing clinical and social landscapes. The changes necessitated by the pandemic posed significant challenges for practice-based tutors in ensuring that students had valuable educational experiences despite the constraints of social distancing requirements and the reduction in face-to-face consultations. However, tutors also identified several positive aspects of the changes which will be of interest to those involved in the organisation and delivery of both LIC and shorter General Practice based clinical attachments. Positive relationships between LIC students and practices enhanced the success of LIC placements. We will discuss how lessons learned from the experience of tutors in the pandemic could be used in the longer term to enrich the LIC experience and General Practice placements more generally.

Literacy Teachers in the Making: A Look at Teacher Candidates’ Experiences as they Tutor Elementary Students

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher candidates’ perceptions of their first experience teaching literacy. Using a case study design, this research spans two consecutive semesters and investigates 34 teacher candidates’ reflections as they engaged in structured tutoring in a university-based literacy clinic. Qualitative analyses of various reflections revealed that teacher candidates largely focused on planning and delivering quality instruction, understanding students and families, and contemplating what it takes to become a teacher. We found that over the course of the tutoring experience, candidates’ reflections shifted from (1) being micro-focused on details to focused on their student, (2) considering only general pedagogy to contemplating literacy-specific concepts, and (3) having a candidate mind-set to a practicing teacher mind-set. We argue that teacher preparation programs and researchers should continue identifying ways to incorporate discipline-specific, supervised practical experiences that allow candidates to explore the shifts we found prior to entering the field of teaching.

Tutorial Experience during Online Learning: A Topic Modelling Approach

Tutorial Experience during Online Learning: A Topic Modelling Approach

Tutorial experience during online learning: a topic modelling approach

The role of tutoring in teaching and learning cannot be overemphasised. However, limited studies exist on tutors' strategies, tools, and techniques to assist in their role as teaching assistants. This study aimed to identify the strategies, tools, techniques, and challenges encountered during online tutoring during the lockdown periods necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The study employed a quantitative approach to collect data among tutors within a faculty in a higher education institution. Short-text data were analysed to output themes using topic modelling in supervised machine learning. Findings indicated that technology and tutors were helpful and appreciated during the period under investigation. The challenges were primarily technical and social. Similarities between students' and tutors' perceptions were noted. The study's findings are beneficial to higher education policymakers and authorities to better support tutors going forward. This is especially important as universities gradually reopen contact learning with blended/online approaches.

Discussion on the Academic Guidance Strategy Based on the Students’ Personalities under the Undergraduate Tutor System

Undergraduate tutorial system is an educational mode being implemented by many universities in China. Under the tutorial system, there is a theoretical value and practical significance to explore the guiding strategy based on the personalities of college students.The authors give three guidance advises through the theoretical studies and the experiences of undergraduate tutors; The first is to establish a good teacher-student relationship, the second is to provide a speciality guidance based on the personalities and academic background, and the third is to guide the students’ personality cultivation . When the tutors apply and adjust the guidance strategy in the communication with the students, the students’ comprehensive qualities and abilities can be enhanced, and the tutors’ own scientific research and teaching level can be improved.

Auditory sensitivity and vocal acoustics in five species of estrildid songbirds

Comparative studies of acoustic communication in clades with diverse signal features provide a powerful framework for testing relationships between perception and behaviour. We measured auditory sensitivity in five species of estrildid songbirds with acoustically distinct songs and tested whether differences aligned with species differences in song frequency content. Species were chosen based on phylogeny and differences in song acoustics. Behavioural audiograms were obtained using operant training and testing. Adult audiograms were compared across species and between sexes within a species. Juvenile and adult audiograms were compared in one species. The audiograms of adults reared by their own species and those reared and tutored by another species were compared in one species. Results showed that audiograms were similar across species and similar to previous reports of songbird auditory sensitivity. Species differed in the highest frequency detected and the frequency of peak sensitivity. While hearing frequency range was not correlated with song frequency bandwidth, the frequency of peak sensitivity was highly corelated with the frequency of peak energy in song. Sensitivity did not differ based on sex, age or tutoring experience. Our findings suggest that adaptations in songbird auditory sensitivity are largely constrained by shared peripheral and central encoding mechanisms, with species-specific perception appearing only at peak sensitivity.

A Case Study on How Distance Education May Inform Post-Pandemic University Teaching

Higher education recently found itself in the unprecedented situation of being forced to rapidly switch to online education as a demand of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this article is to compare and contrast the experiences of university tutors who teach in two distance education universities with those who teach in a traditional university concerning their online lessons during lockdown. Forty university tutors participated in a survey to capture their teaching experiences. The survey was based on the transactional distance theory. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from both groups. Analysis of the quantitative data indicates no significant differences between the two groups in scores regarding course structure flexibility and the degree of student autonomy; however, significant difference with a high effect size was found regarding instructional dialogue, in favor of the distance tutors’ group. Thematically analyzing the qualitative data allowed the researchers to group the data into three main themes focused on how the instructional dialogue was manifested in the classes of both groups: (a) the learning design approach adopted, (b) the tutor-led interaction for student support, and (b) learner-to-learner communication and the sense of an online community. Ensuing recommendations involve adopting social-constructivist approaches that can sustain high-quality instructional dialogue in online learning settings and creating distance education faculty development programs in traditional universities that will help tutors support dialogical forms of online pedagogy.

Peer tutoring experiences of neonatal nursing simulations among Korean nursing students: a qualitative study

This study aimed to explore nursing students' experiences of neonatal nursing simulations using peer tutoring. In this qualitative content analysis study, data were collected using a narrative survey and focus group interviews with 27 third-year nursing students and six fourth-year nursing students from April to May 2022. Content analysis of the collected data was conducted. Four categories-"stabilizing emotionally through each other", "advancing together", "difficulties in relationships", and "hoping to continue"-and nine sub-categories were extracted. The sub-categories "reduced burden" and "gaining confidence" were grouped into the first category, "stabilizing emotionally through each other". The sub-categories "being motivated to learn," "increased learning ability", and "preparation as a process" were grouped under "advancing together", and "attitudes affecting study environment" and "depending on help" were grouped into the third category of "difficulties in relationships". The fourth category of "hoping to continue" had "wanting to supplement for development" and "wanting to participate in different roles" as sub-categories. Based on the results of this study, we expect pediatric nursing practicum education to improve through the active use of neonatal nursing simulation education incorporating peer tutoring.

Potential gains by effective early detection of diseases: proposal to approach informing public health policy in the Czech Republic

Abstract Background Significant amount of disease burden could be averted by early detection and treatment of diseases. In the Czech Republic, National Screening Centre (NSC) of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics is responsible for informing public health policy in the field of early disease detection. The objective of the proposed early detection public health foresight study (PHFS) is to gather evidence, use available computational tools, utilise knowledge and opinions of stakeholders, and summarize it in a systematic manner to inform public health policies. The presentation outlines the approach undertaken within the proposed early detection PHFS. Methods The key source of data for monitoring of population health status and healthcare system in the Czech Republic is the National Health Information System (NHIS). The study will also utilise external sources of data, namely demographic projections and data on global burden of disease, as well as qualitative data from stakeholders. The study will also utilise analytical tools and outputs developed by NSC (situational analyses, decision modelling, etc.). The conceptual model of the study will cover important underlying aspects like public policies, driving forces, population health and healthcare system, and health impact variables. Results The proposal for early detection PHFS has been developed within the PHFS capacity building course, utilising the experience and insights of tutors and fellow participants. The development of study methodology was accompanied by gathering of evidence and consultations with relevant stakeholders. Conclusions PHFS is a very useful approach to assess possible future developments of public health system, achieve participation of stakeholders, and to inform public health strategies. Following finalisation of the early detection PHFS protocol, governing board of the NSC will decide on the degree of implementation of the study.

Tutoring project for children from a refugee community: tutor perspectives

ABSTRACT Background The question of how best to support children who are refugees to resettle and thrive in a new country is important and complex. One of the many challenges experienced by such children is disrupted education. It is widely recognised that a sense of belonging and integration within a new school and community are key to enhancing children’s chances of achieving their potential. Tutoring programmes, where tutors work one-to-one with tutees, can offer a form of support in this regard. Purpose Set within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study sought to explore experiences of tutors involved in a pilot project in Scotland for primary schoolchildren from a refugee community. The home-based, online tutoring project focused on building confidence and a sense of belonging in order to support achievement in school. Methods Participants were 18 tutors who had taken part in the pilot project. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to gather rich data about the tutors’ experiences of working with the children from the refugee community. Data were analysed qualitatively, using a reflexive thematic analytical approach. Findings Tutors believed that relationships between tutor and child were essential to success. Personalisation appeared key to building confidence and helping children progress. Tutors spent time getting to know their tutee and took care to let their tutee get to know them as a person, as a way of bringing down barriers and helping the child connect. Tutors reported that they needed knowledge of the local curriculum, liaison with class teachers and understanding of the refugee community. They described the peer support network as invaluable for sharing knowledge. Although each worked with a different child, tutors learned from and assisted each other through their support network, sharing resources and ideas. Conclusion The study highlights the value of a professional learning community, particularly when tutors are working in isolation. It also draws attention to the importance of training for tutors taking on such roles, including support with the pastoral aspects of working with a child, such as the personalisation and relationship-building that was of such significance in this study.