Online Tutoring: What's Really Happening? Lisa Elliot, Rebecca Murray, Amy Johnson, & James Brunner Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf lisa.elliot@rit.edu DHHVAC The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Virtual Academic Community www.DHHVAC.org Deaf STEM Community Alliance RIT/NTID, Cornell, CCC NSF logo Abstract Synchronous online tutoring activities for courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) with students who are deaf or hard of hearing are described. Since 2012, online tutoring has been offered to DHH student participants at RIT, Camden County College, and Cornell University. The project is sponsored by the Deaf STEM Community Alliance, funded by NSF. Research Questions: Can a model synchronous online tutoring program be implemented for students who are DHH? What materials are required to provide such tutoring, especially for STEM courses? What interactions transpire during such tutoring sessions? Will student participants persist to graduation? Literature on online learning suggests that faculty members are reluctant to teach online, due to concerns about technology and communication issues. This research suggests that technical difficultites have only occurred occassionally, and the majority of interactions focus on course content. Data sugges that tutors and their students occassionally encounter technical difficulties, but that the majority of their interactions focus on the comprehension of course content. Furthermore, analysis suggests that tutoring sessions differ based on communication preferences of studetns and their tutors and the tops of the tutoring sessions. Background Students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are generally less prepared for postsecondary education than their hearing peers [1]. Online support for academic subjects is widely available for the general postsecondary student population. However, manmy of these resources are not accessible for DHH students because generic online resources do not match DHH students' communication in American Sign Language (ASL) due to its 3D use of space [4]. Outcomes of research about online learning reveal that students tend to perceive it positiviely but faculty are often reluctant to embrace the concept, citing a variety of concerns about the format [5]. Most of the research pertaining to online learning, and especially online tutoring, pertains expressly to satisfaction studies. Additional research is necessary to explore the effectiveness of such tutoring programs and to understain when online tutoring might be an appropriate way to address student needs [6]. The study presented here addresses these issues. Image of male student sitting at desk looking at laptop during tutoring session. Methods Participants- Institutions of higher education (IHEs): Campus 1- Private, Doctoral-Limited Research IHE, approximately 1300 DHH students Campus 2 - Public, 2-year community college, approximately 30 DHH students Campus 3 - Private/Public, High Research Doctoral University, approximately 10 DHH students Students- (n = 40) deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and enrolled in STEM majors/classes Tutors- (n = 17) either DHH or hearing. With the exception of 1 upperclassman undergraduate, all others have at least a bachelor's degree or higher. Procedures and Materials Tutoring sessions occure on Google Hangouts web conferencing platform. Hardware: Macs, PCs, Chromebooks, and iPads Videotaped random sample of sessiosn (n = 11) Data Analysis Descriptive statistics Content analysis Implementation 160 sessions Range: 15 minutes to 3 hours in length Average length: 63 minutes Locations: Faculty offices, academic buildings, residences Progress to Degree Graduated (n = 23) 55% Withdrawn (n = 6) 14% Continuing (n = 13) 31% Conclusions Online tutoring can be implemented that accommodates DHH students and STEM topics Despite generalized concerns about technology problems, most tutoring conversations focus on content, not technology More students who have used tutoring are continuing towards degrees or have graduated compared to those who withdrew from school Image of a male tutor sitting at a desk with a computer that has a female student on it during an online tutoring session. Male tutor is using stylus to demonstrate on iPad. Qualitative Analysis of Synchronous Tutoring Video Content Content Trend Communication Style: Student - Simultaneous Communication, ASL, Facial Expression, Spoken English Tutor- ASL, Simultaneous Communication, Facial Expression, Spoken English, Grab Attention Conversation Content: Student- Providing information or expressing understanding, Respond to questions, Ask questions Tutor- Providing information or expressing understanding, Ask questiosn, Respond to questions Materials Used: Student- Hardcopy homework, Text chat, Online resources Tutor- Hardcopy homework, Online resources, Text chat, Virtual Whiteboard References [1] Walter, G.G. (2010). Deaf and hard-of-hearing students in transition: Demographics with an emphasis on STEM education. Rochester, NY: National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology. [1] Bryant, L. (2011). Remote tutoring: A choice for deaf college students: An action research study. Doctoral dissertation. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1802/16913 [2] Elliot, L.B., Rubin, B., DeCaro, J.J., Clymer, E.W., Earp, K., & Fish, M. (2013). Creating a virtual academic community for STEM students. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 5(2), 173-188, DOI 10.1108/JARHE-11-2012-0051. [3] Marschark, M., Pelz, J., Convertino, C., Sapere, P., Arndt, M.E., & Seewagen, R. (2005). Classroom interpreting and visual information processing in mainstream education for deaf students: Live or Memorex? American Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 727-761. [4] Ubell, R. (2017, 10 January). Why faculty still don’t want to teach online. OLC Insights: OLC’s Blog. Online Learning Consortium. Retrieved from https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/faculty-stilldont-want-teach-online/ [5] Gehret, A.U., Elliot, L.B., & MacDonald, J.H.C. (2016). Active collaborative learning through remote tutoring: A case study with students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Journal of Special Education Technology, 32(1), 1-11. Retrieved from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0162643416681162