Effectively serving a diverse student body requires a full suite of tutoring tools - not just text based tools
Online tutoring services are an incredible way to make student services easier to access. Video, interactive white boards, and text based tutoring all combine to create a responsive service that is better able to meet the needs of a diverse student body with different learning styles. At Nimbus, we value this opportunity to offer a full range of communication mediums to maximize success for student communities.
In conversations with our clients and network, however, we’ve begun to notice a worrying trend. Education leaders are entering into contracts with online tutoring platforms to find that many of the platforms they are paying considerable sums for only offer chat-based tutoring services.
A full suite of tutoring models creates a more successful experience and reduces drop off. A study published in the Reading and Writing Quarterly found that when schools coupled peer tutoring programs with Learning Management Systems that include online messaging and interactive multimedia resources, access and use of the peer tutoring system increased (Abbott, Greenwood, Buzhardt, & Tapia, 2006).
Better use of the tutoring system resulted in an increase in student grades and academic confidence, as students were getting more out of their tutoring sessions.
Text-based tutoring brings some benefits — notably, the ability for students to reach support from anywhere, without the need to find a quiet environment to have a conversation in. Students who are contending with anxiety or a language barrier may also be more comfortable in this medium. However, while chat-based conversations can help bridge the gap during distance learning, it does have significant drawbacks that require face-to-face or video support to make a successful learning experience.
“When schools coupled peer tutoring programs with Learning Management Systems that include online messaging and interactive multimedia resources, access and use of the peer tutoring system increased.”
The words we use cover only a portion of the total communication experience. Cues such as eye contact, body orientation, tone of voice and gestures also carry critical information (Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, 2003).
Tutors can use information like facial expressions or tone of their responses to understand when a student is confident with the material or may need some more explanation. Conversations can also help tutors understand if a student is feeling stressed or excited about the material, or approaching overwhelm.
All of this information is critical to offering a fully engaging, wrap-around support model that will help students master the material and embrace the learning experience.
Drop-in chat rooms — round-the-clock online conversations that anyone can join or leave at any time — also offer a flexible method of tutoring. Often, these sessions will be moderated by a trained teacher or tutor during specific times, at which students know they can drop in to connect with an instructor. The complex nature of communication in a chat room, however, can create an extra barrier to understanding information a student may be uncomfortable with.
In worst-case scenarios, this complexity may mean students who are struggling to connect with the subject material go unnoticed. According to Subrahmanyam & Greenfield, conversations in chat rooms typically have four distinct elements:
- Several questions or subjects being asked/discussed at once
- In a lively chat room, many comments between a conversation and its response
- Participants contributing to several conversations, often at the same time
- Moving on from subjects or questions quickly
"Cues such as eye contact, body orientation, tone of voice and gestures also carry critical information."
This complex nature of group chat rooms – where several people can ask a question at once with multiple others responding, means the conversation moves quickly. A lack of non-verbal cues often mean the tutors don’t have a chance to ensure the students grasp the topic before the conversation moves on. This is why Nimbus offers a video-based drop-in model, where students can engage in conversation with attendees – or drop questions into the text chat – and tutors can effectively manage the teaching environment.
Tutoring is an opportunity to bridge the gap for students, by personalizing how information is conveyed. With so many digital tools available to us today to provide those customized learning services, we can help every student meet their true potential. Students, tutors, and university leaders deserve more than chat boxes – get in touch with us at Nimbus Learning to see how a full suite of tools and services will elevate your learning community.
About Nimbus Learning
Nimbus Learning works with the student success services at universities and colleges, to provide an end-to-end platform for easier access, more efficient management and receiving program insights for programs including tutoring, mentorship and study groups.
Organizations that have partnered with Nimbus Learning see on average 52% in time saved for administrators managing these programs and up to a two and half fold increase in student usage. 97% of students rate sessions booked and facilitated through the Nimbus platform 4.5 out of 5 stars or higher and report increases in grades.
The Nimbus platform can utilize anonymized data points such as current course grades, class attendance, demographics and more to develop a unique predictive score of academically at-risk students. This allows administrators to directly approach at-risk students instead of relying on them to seek help when it may be too late. This feature allows Nimbus to help schools better target at-risk students and significantly improve student retention.
