How tutors benefit from participation in open, online homework forums with a spontaneous participation structure

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van de Sande, C. & Leinhardt, G. (2008). How tutors benefit from participation in open, online homework forums with a spontaneous participation structure. In J. Luca & E. Weippl (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2008 (pp. 2746-2753). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/28752.

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Conference Information

World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (EDMEDIA) 2008
Vienna, Austria
June 30, 2008
ISBN 1-880094-65-7
  Joseph Luca & Edgar R. Weippl
AACE

More Information on EDMEDIA
Table of Contents

Authors

Carla van de Sande, Gaea Leinhardt, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Abstract

We show how free, open, online homework forums that exist to benefit students also benefit participating tutors. These forums are staffed by volunteer tutors who have the time, knowledge, and willingness to help students with specific problems from homework assignments. Many such forums are self-regulated and any forum member can contribute spontaneously a response to a posting. Using a sample of 176 exchanges on related rates problems in calculus from a representative spontaneous online help site, we note how the spontaneous participation structure results in contributions from multiple tutors to a single exchange and discuss ways in which tutors attend to fellow tutors’ contributions: seeking verification, providing alternative solutions, distributing problems, and answering for one another. We show how tutors in these spontaneous online help sites can benefit mathematically through interactions with other participants. We conclude that this mode of e-help may be a viable alternative for face-to-face tutoring centers.

Keywords

• Students
• Tutoring

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