Observing Tutorial Dialogues Collaboratively: Insights About Human Tutoring Effectiveness From Vicarious Learning

Abstract

The goals of this study are to evaluate a relatively novel learning environment, as well as to seek greater understanding of why human tutoring is so effective. This alternative learning environment consists of pairs of students collaboratively observing a videotape of another student being tutored. Comparing this collaboratively observing environment to four other instructional methods-one-onone human tutoring, observing tutoring individually, collaborating without observing, and studying alone-the results showed that students learned to solve physics problems just as effectively from observing tutoring collaboratively as the tutees who were being tutored individually. We explain the effectiveness of this learning environment by postulating that such a situation encourages learners to become active and constructive observers through interactions with a peer. In essence, collaboratively observing combines the benefit of tutoring with the benefit of collaborating. The learning outcomes of the tutees and the collaborative observers, along with the tutoring dialogues, were used to further evaluate three hypotheses explaining why human tutoring is an effective learning method. Detailed analyses of the protocols at several grain sizes suggest that tutoring is effective when tutees are independently or jointly constructing knowledge: with the tutor, but not when the tutor independently conveys knowledge.

Improving classroom learning by collaboratively observing human tutoring videos while problem solving.

“…In the present study and previous research by Chi et al (2008), pairs of students solved problems collaboratively as they observed tutoring. This combination of collaborative problem solving and observing tutoring is called collaboratively observing tutoring.…”

“…However, the gains of the pairs in the observing tutoring condition were not significantly different from those of the two old conditions (individuals observing tutoring and tutoring). Chi et al (2008) compared human tutoring with observation of human tutoring along with several other control conditions. Their experiment was different from the Craig et al (2004) experiments in several ways.…”

“…Observing tutoring has recently emerged as a promising new focus in the observational learning literature (Chi, Roy, & Hausmann, 2008;Craig, Driscoll, & Gholson, 2004). By observing tutoring, we refer to the process in which a learner sees and hears the dialogue between a tutor and a tutee without being able to participate in it.…”

Example-Based Learning: Integrating Cognitive and Social-Cognitive Research Perspectives

“…Recent studies that have investigated example-based learning in the context of collaborative learning yielded somewhat inconsistent results (Chi et al 2008;Craig et al 2009;Kirschner et al 2010;Rummel and Spada 2005;Rummel et al 2009). Kirschner et al showed that learning from "traditional" worked examples on a highly structured task (heredity problems) was more effective when done individually than collaboratively, whereas learning by solving conventional problems was more effective when done collaboratively than individually.…”

Teachable Agents and the Protégé Effect: Increasing the Effort Towards Learning

“…For example, demonstrating that an individual learns more by working in a group than working alone may be attributed to the increase of information exchange and not to the fact that the individual was in a social exchange. Chi et al (2008), recognizing this distinction, proposed that learning from social interaction may be due to the same processes involved in self-explanation (e.g., elaborating on a topic by explaining to oneself).…”