Tutor Training Research Articles

Video game play impacts on biological regulation

The current study sought to explain the connection between biological control and video game usage. Specifically, the study examined video game usage at three levels to determine if there were differences in the ability to control biological responses such as heart rate variability to complete different biofeedback activities. A biological feedback software package, ALIVE, was used to measure “heart rate smoothness” and time task completion during a tutorial training, autopilot control video game car race, and manual control video game car race. Participants were instructed to use biological control techniques including breathing and heart rate “smoothness” to complete the biofeedback video games. Results found that there were significant differences in average heart rate smoothness in autopilot and manual car races and the amount of time it took for participants to complete the manual car race between three levels of video game usage. Implications for individuals’ biological control on behaviors such as relaxation and emotions were discussed.

Ценностно-смысловые характеристики тьюторской позиции педагога

The relevance of the research is due to the trends developing in the Russian education that are connected with updating the approaches and principles of the pedagogical activity based on tutorship ideas. The formation of a new pedagogical profession of a tutor in mass educational practice has objectified the problems associated with a unified understanding of the key categories of tutoring by the pedagogical community. These categories determine the essence and peculiarities of professional tutoring. The purpose of the study is to identify the axiological characteristics of the teacher with a tutor’s viewpoint, revealing the specifics of the tutor’s interaction with students and distinguishing the profession of a tutor among other pedagogical professions. The following methods (tools) were used: the review of psychological and pedagogical literature, content analysis, comparison, juxtaposition, generalization, schematization and systematization of the materials on the problem under analysis. The research methodological basis is built on scientific works considering the categories ‘viewpoint’ and ‘professional viewpoint’, studying the essence and peculiarities of the teacher’s tutoring viewpoint. Results: the concept of the ‘viewpoint’ is defined as a system of opinions, principles, and a person’s attitudes to certain aspects of reality, manifested in their behavior and actions. One of the significant aspects of a person’s position is their professional views, which determine the trajectories of life and the professional path. The comparative analysis of researchers’ views on the professional viewpoint in the aspect of one’s pedagogical activity has made it possible to identify the correlation between the pedagogical viewpoint and the level of one’s professional development. The teacher’s viewpoint based on the ideas of tutorship is considered as a specific culture of the pedagogical activity grounded on the ideas of anthropologization and individualization of education. The author proposes the understanding of such categories as ‘a teacher as a tutor’, ‘a teacher with a viewpoint of a tutor’, ‘a teacher with the tutor competence’. On this basis the study distinguishes the principal vectors of one’s professional development in the field of tutoring. Main conclusions: the singled out and theoretically substantiated axiological characteristics of the teacher with a tutor’s viewpoint allow it to be identified among other pedagogical positions and roles as well as to determine the place and purpose of the new profession of a tutor in modern education. Practical significance: the results obtained can be used as meaningful and axiological guidelines in the construction of a system of vocational education in the field of tutoring and the development of educational programs for the professional training of tutors.

Tutoring as a form of support for the adaptation of foreign students at the university

Introduction. Strengthening globalization processes leads to the expansion of international cooperation in the field of education. This is especially reflected in the growth of international mobility of students in higher education institutions, in particular, Russian universities. And if the first students of the beginning of the large waves of mass educational migration were proficient in the Russian language and were familiar with Russian culture, then the students who followed them were much less proficient in the language and cultural code. And, since the internationalization of education remains a prerequisite for the existence of universities, and long-term adaptation of foreign students to learning conditions worsens the quality of their training, there is a need to organize their psychological and pedagogical support in the first years of study. The purpose of the article: to specify the main problems of adaptation of foreign students to the conditions of study in Russian universities and to justify the need to organize their tutor support. Materials and methods. The study involved 556 international students of the first and second years of study of three Tatarstan universities (Kazan National Research Technological University (KNRTU-KICT), (Kazan); Kazan National Research Technical University named after A. N. Tupolev (KNRTU-KAI), (Kazan); Elabuga Institute of the Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University (EI KFU) (Elabuga). Research results. The results of the study confirmed the presence of adaptation problems among foreign students. The main ones are difficulties with the Russian language (41%) and acclimatization (21%). It takes 46% of students about a year to get used to the learning conditions, and 23% – more than a year. The main learning difficulties they identify are awkwardness when speaking in public in front of an audience (23%) and teachers’ underestimation of their educational results (20%). More than half of the students see older compatriots as a source of help in overcoming cultural and educational barriers; The help of a supervisor turned out to be effective only for 15% of respondents. Taking into account the results obtained, it is proposed to organize the training of future tutors from among foreign senior students who have undergone appropriate psychological and pedagogical training. Conclusion. While maintaining the institute of curatorship, it is necessary to create a tutoring institute in universities that train foreign students. The main functions of tutors, which are absent from the curators of academic groups, should be to help foreign students overcome barriers to socio-cultural adaptation and insufficient proficiency in Russian, promote the acceptance of foreigners by their new environment, help in building effective interaction with the university administration and teachers, study students' personalities, monitor the results of their educational activities, help in professional identification, monitoring of newly emerging difficulties of students, strengthening cooperation between Russian and foreign students.

Tutees' Bullying Experiences in Employment of Pair Tutoring: A View from Grade Two Pupils

Bullies can victimize others in a multitude of ways. While some are hidden and private, others are obvious and public. Bullying in schools frequently takes place in unstructured learning environments. Direct bullying combines verbal and physical abuse. Verbal bullying occurs when a pupil is the target of remarks made aloud or information written that harms their feelings. This exploratory research study was to identify the experiences of bullying by tutees.The research sample comprised fifteen tutees at the Division of Misamis Oriental at the Tagoloan Central School, Philippines. Using the qualitative approach with an exploratory research design, the fifteen grade two tutees who experienced bullying inside the classroom during pair tutoring sessions were considered participants through purposively sampled selection. There was the utilization of in-depth interviews in the data gathering. The study adhered to ethical principles during the conduct. It strictly followed the components of trustworthiness: credibility, dependability, transferability, and conformability to review the validity of the qualitative data. The study revealed that during pair tutoring, tutees experienced verbal bullying- the tutor to the tutee as the tutor constantly uses mean remarks, such as You are dull. Relationship bullying to the tutee as the tutor becomes bossy and short-tempered by letting tutees learn quickly. Physical bullying to the tutee as the tutor eventually hits the tutee if the tutee cannot learn quickly. Along with the insights, the study emphasized that teachers must closely monitor by observing tutor behavior and words they utter during pair torturing sessions and select and train tutors; training should cover tutor roles and responsibilities so that bullying will not occur during pair tutoring sessions and bullying is an issue in education that needs to be solved to ensure pupils good learning outcomes by a safe learning environment. Bullying affects children's academic achievement because it makes them afraid to stand out and pursue their learning desires. Every teacher should work to stop bullying in the classroom by integrating anti-bullying policies and discipline into classroom discipline.

Comparison of Dual VET Models in Spain: Analysing Educational Quality from the Perspective of Educational Centres

In Spain, dual vocational training has recently become a fundamental pillar to train the working population. This article focuses on two objectives: to evaluate the quality of two models of dual VET in Spain and to identify their differences in terms of the following dimensions: Teaching Team, Process, Evaluation and Synergies. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative methodology and a cross-sectional design were used to collect data using an ad hoc questionnaire (37 items) developed based on a literature review and the 14 European quality criteria. The sample consisted of 263 educational institutions. Regarding the results for the first objective, Model B implemented EQAVET with higher quality. With regards to the second, researchers observed that all dimensions received a high or very high compliance of 70%. However, discrepancies were primarily found in the training of tutors in training centres, quality certification of dual VET and links, and support and cooperation between training centres and companies. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the factors that lead to higher quality dual VET in schools, based on the manner in which the criteria of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET) are implemented.

How Can I Get It Right? Using GPT to Rephrase Incorrect Trainee Responses

AbstractOne-on-one tutoring is widely acknowledged as an effective instructional method, conditioned on qualified tutors. However, the high demand for qualified tutors remains a challenge, often necessitating the training of novice tutors (i.e., trainees) to ensure effective tutoring. Research suggests that providing timely explanatory feedback can facilitate the training process for trainees. However, it presents challenges due to the time-consuming nature of assessing trainee performance by human experts. Inspired by the recent advancements of large language models (LLMs), our study employed the GPT-4 model to build an explanatory feedback system. This system identifies trainees’ responses in binary form (i.e., correct/incorrect) and automatically provides template-based feedback with responses appropriately rephrased by the GPT-4 model. We conducted our study using the responses of 383 trainees from three training lessons (Giving Effective Praise, Reacting to Errors, and Determining What Students Know). Our findings indicate that: 1) using a few-shot approach, the GPT-4 model effectively identifies correct/incorrect trainees’ responses from three training lessons with an average F1 score of 0.84 and AUC score of 0.85; and 2) using the few-shot approach, the GPT-4 model adeptly rephrases incorrect trainees’ responses into desired responses, achieving performance comparable to that of human experts.

Training of Tutors in Problem Based Learning: Feedback of Participants

Background The faculty members should have knowledge on PBL process and must be familiar with the changing role of teacher to facilitator to adopt PBL as a teaching/learning strategy. The transition from the role of teacher to tutor is critical for the success of PBL. The objective of this study was to describe the process of proceedings of training workshop at the outset of introduction of PBL in Gandaki Medical College Nepal and assess the feedback of the tutors towards PBL training workshop.MethodsTwo one-day training workshops were organized at GMC; first on November 28, 2021, and second on October 16, 2022. Feedback of the participants was taken on valid semi-structured self-administered questionnaire at the end of proceedings of training workshops. Data was analyzed for frequency and central tendency. ResultsThe response rate was 100% (Total number of participants =37). The training workshops were rated for usefulness (7.89±0.90), content (7.83±0.76), relevance (7.83±0.98), facilitation (7.91±1.11) and overall process (8.13±0.82) using scale 1-10(1=Poor, 10= Excellent). Most of the participants found the sessions moderately important ("PBL Process" 70.3%, "Role of Tutor" 75.7%, "Designing PBL problem package" 48.6%, and “Conducting PBL" 70.3%). The majority of the participants recommended increasing the duration of workshop, allocate adequate time for the practice session and arrange other types of training workshops in medical education. Conclusions The significance of PBL trainings was recognized by the participants. Overall, their feedback on training workshops were positive.

Teaching the tutors: use of an OSTE to train medical students to be peer tutors.

First-year medical students are often challenged by the rapid pace and large volume of content that must be learned. Peer teaching has emerged as a supportive educational strategy. However, the most effective strategies for training peer tutors (PTs) for their role are not known. This paper examines the use of an Objective Structured Teaching Exercise (OSTE) to augment PT training sessions. Applying deliberate practice as a conceptual framework, an OSTE was used to provide tutors with an opportunity to practice their skills and receive feedback about their performance when meeting with a student presenting with a challenge. The newly trained PTs were required to assess a standardized student, determine challenge(s) being experienced, and present options to address the challenge(s). Standardized students evaluated the tutors' performance and a pre- and post-OSTE questionnaire was used to determine whether the OSTE was effective in increasing the confidence level of PTs to effectively assess and support students seeking help. Participants reported an increase in confidence in their ability to assess areas requiring improvement, understand the active learning strategies, and suggest appropriate active learning study strategies. Evaluations completed by standardized students documented that newly trained PTs accurately diagnosed the challenge presented in the OSTE and in most cases PTs asked all relevant questions to assess. Increased self-efficacy promotes PT's capacity to perform their work and feedback during an OSTE can further advance required skills. Aggregate OSTE results can also inform efforts to enhance the PT training program.NEW & NOTEWORTHY This novel application of the Objective Structured Teaching Exercise (OSTE) was done to enhance tutors' skills as valued members of our integrated academic support program. The OSTE provided feedback to the tutors and enabled us to identify a need for enhanced tutor training in active learning strategies. The OSTE can be adapted for use in other health science educational programs to enhance their training programs and to assess tutor's skills in preparation for their role.

Perceptions of tutors on tutor training at a University of Technology

Perceptions of tutors on tutor training at a University of Technology

Helping Children Achieve Literacy Proficiency: A Case Study

ABSTRACT A single embedded case study was conducted to examine the benefits students experience from participating in the Augustine Literacy Project – Charlotte (ALP) Tutoring Program, specifically regarding the positive outcomes in students’ reading proficiency development. A survey was administered to 135 tutors, followed by person-to-person semi-structured interviews with 12 tutors. Additionally, scores on pre- and post-assessments were analyzed to determine students’ progress in their literacy skills. A comparison of mean scores at the beginning and end of the school year showed a statistically significant difference for all the reading components assessed in the DIBELS and the ALP assessments. Findings from this study suggest that ALP-Charlotte administrators and tutors have worked effectively to help struggling readers achieve higher levels of literacy proficiency. The strengths identified in the ALP program are the tutoring approach, the tutor training program, the relationship between tutors and students, student access to individualized instruction, and the program’s general structure. Likewise, recommendations for program improvement were also identified, which included offering ongoing training throughout the school year, diversifying the tutor population, strengthening the relationship between tutors and other tutors, parents, and teachers, and dealing with distracting factors and student behavior issues.

Recognizing professional development of mathematics and statistics learning support staff

Abstract Tutors play an important role in effective Mathematics Learning Support, and ensuring good initial training and development is key. Typically, in the UK and Ireland, tutors do not gain any formal recognition for the training they receive. This paper details a four competences model of training for tutors and presents the analysis of feedback from 11 tutors and two staff involved in piloting the model at two institutions. The model, which is informed by professional development guidelines, consultation across the mathematical sciences community, and enabled by a national Mathematics Learning Support Network, provides immediate recognition of the professional development undertaken and is amenable to formal accreditation. A structure of four digital badges is used to assign immediate value to the training and development of tutors. To add further value for tutors, a capstone tutor badge has been established for those completing all four competences. Thematic analysis of feedback from the piloting of the model identifies three overarching themes: the importance of community, developing as a professional, and motivating and enabling professional development. Although primarily of interest to those involved in Mathematics Learning Support, the innovative structure of the model and the insights gained from its piloting are such that it offers potential for genuine transferability across other subject disciplines.

Miscommunication and Mismatched Expectations: Challenges in an EFL Writing Center

Recently writing centers are expanding to Asian higher education contexts. However, there is a scarcity of research from writing centers in Asian settings and from non-native English speaker (NNES) tutor perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to enrich understandings of the challenges and expectations perceived by NNES tutors during tutoring writing sessions with intermediate level Japanese EFL (English as Foreign Language) students. A qualitative approach was employed utilizing two data collection methods: 16 interviews with writing tutors, and two quasi-focus groups. Thematic analysis of the data revealed five major categories for challenges perceived by NNES tutors: miscommunication, student silence, mismatched expectations, interpretation of teacher feedback and error correction. It is argued that these are the main challenges that EFL writing tutors face and hence indicate the necessity to train tutors how to deal with them. The implications for creating Asian writing centers and tutor training are discussed.

Training and development of flipbook learning resources for Master Bimbel in Malang Regency

Master Tutoring aims to help students study at home since the Covid-19 pandemic, when learning at school had to be done online. To realize innovative guidance, there is a system for using learning media, control cards for student progress reports, and regular learning evaluations for tutoring teachers. Apart from that, Master Tutoring plans to package teaching materials that will attract students' interest so that they are more motivated in learning. Thus, the aim of the IndoMS Serving activity is to improve the ability of Master Bimbel tutors in packaging teaching materials in the form of flipbook learning resources. The method used is Master Bimbel tutor training activities, which are carried out in several stages, including: 1) coordination, 2) training on the use of Canva and Heyzine, and 3) flipbook development. The results of this activity show an increase in the knowledge and skills of Master Bimbel tutors in developing teaching materials in the form of flipbook learning resources, which have been applied to Master Bimbel students.

Language Learning for People Living with Dementia and Their Caregivers: Feasibility and the Quality of Experience.

A body of research from around the world has reported positive effects of bilingualism on cognitive ageing and dementia. However, little is known about whether foreign language learning could be applied as an intervention for people already living with dementia. Yet, before it is possible to determine the efficacy of language courses as an intervention for people living with dementia (PLWD), it is necessary to establish whether such an intervention is feasible. Our study explored this possibility. We conducted an exploratory study to examine the feasibility and tolerability of 2-week Italian beginner courses for PLWD in early stages and their family carers in two Scottish Dementia Resource Centres (DRCs). The courses were delivered by trained tutors from Lingo Flamingo, a social enterprise specialising in language teaching for older learners and learners with dementia. Twelve PLWD and seven carers participated in the study. Focus groups preceded and followed the courses. Additional post-course open interviews with the DRC managers were conducted, with a follow-up via telephone approximately one year later. Qualitative content analysis resulted in 12 themes, 5 reflected in the interview schedule and 7 arising from the focus groups and interviews. Overall, the courses were perceived positively by PLWD, carers, and DRC managers, although a few logistically and linguistically challenging aspects were also mentioned. The courses were found to positively impact both the individual by increasing self-esteem and producing a sense of accomplishment as well as the group by creating a sense of community. Notably, no adverse effects (in particular no confusion or frustration) were reported. The positive outcomes of our study open a novel avenue for future research to explore foreign language training in dementia as an intervention and its implications.

Practice tutors' readiness to support nursing students who require reasonable adjustments for clinical placement.

Preregistration nursing students (trainee nursing associates and student nurses) may have a disability or impairment that requires reasonable adjustments while they are on clinical placement. At The Open University, practice tutors support nursing students on clinical placement, which includes overseeing the facilitation of any such reasonable adjustments. However, they may not feel prepared to provide this support. A qualitative approach with a broad interpretivist paradigm was adopted. Data were collected from three focus groups that included a total of 10 nursing practice tutors. Audio data were transcribed and analysed using complete coding followed by thematic analysis. Three main themes were identified - it's complex; impact of engagement; and a cohesive approach - along with associated subthemes. Despite their clear interest in helping nursing students who require reasonable adjustments for practice-based learning, practice tutors can be hindered by barriers resulting from a lack of both training and guidelines. The complexity of the practice tutor role and student issues can compound this. Consistency in practice tutor training is recommended, as well as regular access to peer support to address these difficulties and develop the skills and knowledge.

Strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable training and professional development of graduate teaching assistants, teaching assistants, and tutors: a scoping review

PurposeThe aim of this scoping review was to identify key characteristics related to strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable training and professional development (PD) of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), teaching assistants (TAs), and tutors. While the continuous, coherent and responsive programmes for such training and PD may address needs that are congruent with the needs of other sessional teachers, the literature has not focussed on GTA training and PD that support the longer-term retention of GTAs as sessional teachers.Design/methodology/approachIn this scoping review, we devised a search strategy to identify literature relating to the key characteristics of strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and professional development in higher education settings. We were guided by the frameworks for such reviews developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), Levac et al. (2010) and Westphaln et al. (2021). We used PRISMA guidelines to guide our reporting processes, and used thematic analysis practice (Braun and Clarke, 2022) as our analytical approach in order to identify and discuss the key themes.FindingsWe identified that strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and PD frame GTAs as future academics and leaders in teaching; provide institutional support and investment in teaching; deliver departmental training; facilitate peer support; provide pedagogical training; implement training strategies; and support the teacher identity of GTAs.Originality/valueThese findings add to the body of research that explores how strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and PD address and meet the needs common to all sessional teachers constrained by the precarity of the part-time faculty/academia. While our findings indicate such training and PD enhance the quality of teaching available to university students, this effect is dependent on institutional support and facilitation of peer and faculty networks.

Whanaungatanga: tutors’ experiences of caring for students in an Aotearoa New Zealand university

ABSTRACT Who is caring for and supporting our students at university and how is the care and support demonstrated? Students come to university with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and needs and many will require pastoral care at some time during their study. Tutors often find themselves caring for students and this paper focuses on the experiences of care-giving of eight tutors, aged 22 to 34 years. We use a reflexive thematic analytic approach to describe how tutors conceptualised caring as whanaungatanga, a Māori concept that encompasses kinship and caring relationships, community, rights and responsibilities, and inclusion. Tutors describe whanaungatanga in terms of five themes: care for students as people and learners, creating a safe and respectful space for all students, barriers, feelings of obligation, and tutors’ self-care and needs. Our research highlights the complexities of tutors’ care for students. They felt undervalued by the university but nevertheless strove to build and embed whanaungatanga, often at their own cost. Implications for practice include properly acknowledging, remunerating, and training tutors. Future research should focus on who is caring-about and caring-for students at university, and how that caring occurs.

University Research Tutoring in A Formative and Preventive Environment

Graduating through a research work requires competencies in the student. For this reason, it is essential to study a research tutoring methodology from the tutor's training, resources and strategies that generate a positive, formative, and preventive work environment. The objective of this work focuses on the methodology that a research professor of high scientific productivity with Salesian style generates in the process of university tutoring in research, with visible results in the short term. The results show a total of 84 works completed between 2021 and 2023, an average of 28 works per year, as well as a participation of 29 female students and 59 male students. It is concluded that a research methodology accompanied by professors trained in a friendly spirit, proactive action, and immediate positive results, generates a positive environment where formative and preventive experiences permeate the conscience, the professional profile, and the life plan of the students.

Remote tutoring with low-tech means to accelerate learning: Evidence for El Salvador

This paper presents the results of an impact evaluation with an experimental design, that estimates the effect of a low-tech low-cost remote tutoring intervention applied during the pandemic for remedial education purposes on girls and boys aged 9-14 years in three departments of El Salvador. Our main contributions are a) the provision of strong experimental evidence that the intervention can improve student math learning in developing countries for closing education gaps; and b) the measurement of student anxiety levels before and after the treatment, which allows verifying whether student-tutor interactions mitigated some of the negative socioemotional effects of student confinement. The program is found to have had a positive and significant effect of 0.24 standard deviations on math learning, which is equivalent to a 33.8 percent acceleration as compared to the control group. However, no significant effects were observed on student anxiety levels, which suggests that the academic gains were not mediated by these types of socioemotional factors. The results provide valuable information for the design of tutor training and for the development of tutoring protocols, among other aspects, for future similar programs.

Capacity Building in Mathematics and Statistics Learning Support in Norway and the Czech Republic (MSLS Net)

This report describes the final meeting of the project "Capacity Building in Mathematics and Statistics Learning Support in Norway and the Czech Republic (MSLS Net)" held at the Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic (June 12-14, 2023). Provision of mathematics and statistics learning support (MSLS) is developing rapidly in many parts of the world and activity in Norway and the Czech Republic has been accelerated significantly through this EEA Grants funded project. Representatives of each of the five partner institutions worked on creating a summary of good practices in tutor training, designing learning resources, and in delivering, monitoring and evaluation of mathematics and statistics support. Provision varied considerably across the institutions and the centres represented demonstrated diverse and innovative ways in which mathematics support is evolving. Outputs from the project include a Handbook on good practice and a booklet concerned with mathematics support centre tutor training, including pedagogic training and learning resources for the development of the tutors as described below. Finally, consideration turned to the value of establishing a professional network to continue this important work. The report will be relevant to other international groups interested in working in university level mathematics and statistics support.