Online Tutorials

Using Zoom to Run Statistics Tutorials Online

David Cox 
School of Mathematics and Statistics
  • Case Details
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​In Short

​How would you run face-to-face tutorials in the event of a disaster? David used Zoom to host online statistics tutorials which mimicked the face-to-face experience. He used the same materials, questions, style of teaching that he normally employs. Students found the sessions helpful, noting that the major advantages included “taking tutorials from home”, scheduling flexibility, and getting more one-on-one feedback.
​As part of the wider efforts to improve resilience in SEAD, a group of academics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics worked with the resilience coordinator to trial online tutorials which would replace face-to-face experiences in the event of a major disruption (e.g., an earthquake). We replicated normal tutorial sessions with Zoom which included: practicing questions, calculating answers, drawing diagrams and plots, comparing student responses to answer keys, and discussing implications of the calculations. Overall, we found that Zoom is an appropriate tool to use as instructors adopted the format quite easily, there were no technological barriers, and learners found the experiences very valuable.
Project Team
David Cox (SMS), Jacqueline Dohaney (Resilience coordinator), Sarah Hoyte (Learning and Teaching Technology Specialist), Richard Arnold (SMS), Nokuthaba Sibanda (SMS)
​Project Aims
​To trial online tutorials using Zoom and to document the strengths and weaknesses of this format, as determined by staff and learners.
​Case Study Design
We began by developing goals, milestones, and a two-part plan for implementing the online tutorials. Next, Jacqueline observed several face-to-face tutorials to get a sense of how the sessions worked, what tools were used in session, and the overall learner experience. Nokuthaba, Richard and David all offered potential strengths and challenges of teaching in the new format. Jacqueline also met with Sarah to determine how the technology would allow them to deliver the same (or nearly equivalent) experiences online.
​Part 1 was a practice tutorial with a small group (n=3) of student volunteers who wanted an extra help session before a major assessment in the course. David ran the session from his work computer, and Jacqueline and Sarah hosted the session in a different building where they observed the practice tutorial, and were on hand to respond to student queries (in person). David had several practice questions ready to use and aimed to run the session with his normal teaching style. Part 2 was a series of online tutorials that ran during a recent offering of the statistics course (STAT193). David advertised the online tutorial which would run in lieu of a normal face-to-face session. The team hoped that students who had scheduling conflicts, or were curious about online learning would sign-up. In the end, 12 students showed interest and 6 unique users attended the sessions. Of these, two students filled out an end of course survey which contributed to our learner feedback presented below. Jacqueline and Sarah observed the early sessions of Part 2 and worked with David to iron out any minor technical issues. Following completion of Part 2, Jacqueline interviewed the project members and discussed the strengths and weaknesses of using this technology to teach online tutorials (results presented below).
​Learner Feedback
Overall, students reported satisfaction with the online tutorials. When asked if the learners would recommend trying the online statistics tutorials to other students they unanimously responded “Yes”. Interestingly, they felt that the technology lets you feel that you are in a one-on-one session with the tutor, rather than online with a group of people. All of the learners who answered surveys in Part 1 and 2 reported having no experience with Zoom before, and still they did not report major trouble adapting to the platform. Some disadvantages included minor technical issues. For example, the background noise from other students microphones and the ability of the tutor to draw graphs more accurately with a mouse. Additionally, one of the learners was worried about talking over the other students or asking too many questions.
“It felt less stressful than a classroom situation to jump in with questions.”
​“I loved it. I can see myself taking advantage of the convenience of not being tied to one location and so I feel this creates a more accessible learning space and, for me, an enjoyable one too.”
​“Some people don’t like to be the only one asking questions in class and personally felt more comfortable doing it on Zoom.”
​“I signed up for the course before realising I already had a class scheduled at the same time. I was excited to use this platform because the learning experience would not be hindered by lack of space available in a classroom (which is what happened to me in my first physical tutorial).”
​Instructor Feedback
David, Nokuthaba and Richard all reported value in using Zoom and we put together a list of advantages and disadvantages to using Zoom for online tutorials.

Advantages

  • Learners can take the tutorial, anywhere including their own homes.
  • You don’t need to book a room on campus to run a session, so the tutorials can be run ad hoc, whenever the tutor wants.
  • Learners can participate anonymously, enabling shy students to ask questions they wouldn’t normally ask.
  • Instructors can record the online tutorials (with the student’s permission) for students to use later for study and revision.
  • Instructors and students can share screens with each other, showing each other's work in real-time.
  • Demonstrators can join online sessions and help support learning, or run their own sessions.

Disadvantages

  • Students need access to devices with good hardware (i.e., microphone and video technology).
  • Some students are technology-averse.
  • Zoom is reliant on having a good internet connection. Some students may not have access to low cost internet at home.
  • Some students may still just prefer to meet face-to-face.

Instructor Quotes

“Once you get used to things, it was a good technology to use - no complaints about that. In principle, it all works absolutely fine. It’s easy to set up, it’s easy for the students to download. So if there were any time that we wanted to do it in the future, it would be easy to get it going again. If there were a disaster, it is a strength that we now have.”
“I don’t think there would be any issue trying to transfer the skills that we learned setting up and running the Zoom tutorials, and that our colleagues would be able to easily pick it up. 'If I can do it, then anyone can do it', essentially. Once you overcome the first barrier of 'how does it work?', and get over that, then you can just get going with it.”
​Final Thoughts
David, Nokuthaba and Richard all felt that working with the resilience coordinator (Jacqueline) and the learning technologist (Sarah) during the redevelopment of the course helped them to consider the use of this technology. They received support throughout the process, getting feedback and suggestions on how to improve the online tutorials experience. Two major limitations to the case study were that we did not manage to attract enough students to simulate a medium or large-class size, or play with the Breakout Rooms (where you can put groups of students into separate smaller groups, and they can interact privately away from the rest of the class). Additionally, David noted that most of the students who participated in Part 2 were above average students, so it would be good to try this again with low- to middle-performing students. We feel both of these factors would significantly change the nature of interaction within the online sessions, and look forward to testing these out in the future.
​All educational research here was conducted ethically, with approval from the Human Ethics Committee at VUW (Grant Number: 22950 “Perceptions of Academic Resilience: Experiences from the Academic Resilience Steering Group and Resilience Pilot Studies”).

​Reproduce this in Your Own Teaching

This is a quick-start guide for using Zoom online tutorials in your own teaching.  If you would like additional support, contact one of our learning and teaching team 

Step 1

Develop aims and scope.
  • What is the style and nature of your current tutorials?
  • What do you want to achieve?
  • Have a fellow academic or demonstrator come and observe one of your tutorials. Get them to help you define the key parts of the face-to-face tutorial learning experience: Are they discussion-focussed? Reflection-focussed? Do your students use software, tools or other equipment? What are the working parts that are needed to replicate this experience online?
  • Work with a member of the learning and teaching team to develop a plan.

Step 2

Get familiar with Zoom​.
  • Get the hardware needed (if necessary): webcam with microphone and some headphones.
  • Sign-up to Zoom with your university email. This will allow you unlimited access to all of the features.
  • Download the Zoom application onto your work and home computers.
  • Play around with it. Get some colleagues or family to join you in a session.

Step 3

Run a trial.
  • Organise a trial online tutorial with your graduate students and/or colleagues.
  • Try and do a set of tasks that you would normally do in a face-to-face session.
  • Record the session so that you can watch it later and gain more feedback.
  • Identify any limitations of the technology.
  • Work with a member of the learning and teaching team to adjust and adapt your pedagogy for online tutorials.

Step 4

Plan an online tutorial with learners.
  • Use Zoom to host an extra study or help session for your course.
  • Share basic information with your students about Zoom.
  • Pick a time and day that suits you and your learners (either during a normal scheduled class time or outside of class time).
  • Organise for one of the learning and teaching team to help you run the session. Have them sit in the background providing support to you.

Step 5

Run the online tutorial​
  • Support learners with clear instructions on how to download and use Zoom.
  • Share the Zoom help videos with the students.
  • Spend the first 2-3 minutes helping people get adjusted to the space, and encouraging the learners to help each other.
  • Discuss etiquette and rules of being in the online tutorial space (e.g., Online lab etiquette).
  • Record the session, and ask students if it’s OK that you record it (i.e., get their consent).
  • Run through an easy question/activity at the start and build towards more complex/interactive activities.

Step 6

Get feedback and adapt.
  • Revisit the recorded sessions. Think about what needs to change, and what doesn’t.
  • Deploy a short survey to your students. Ask the learners how they feel it went. What are the benefits to online tutorials? What are the challenges?
  • Discuss the session with the learning and teaching team or other support staff.
  • Adapt your pedagogy to suit the context, and be responsive to student needs.

Step 7

Get creative and tell others
  • Push yourself and your students to try new things with the technology.
  • Talk to your colleagues about your experiences and show them some successful recorded sessions so that they can see what you do and how it works.
  • Share your successes with your School and Faculty.

​​Resources

​Helpful resources related to this case study.
Related Technology
Related Case Studies
Case studies which cover related examples.
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Getting Help

​Contact one of our learning and teaching team to discuss these ideas further and for support using the technologies.