Online Tutoring Teaching Methods 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which questioning technique moves from surface recall to deeper analysis?
- Repeating the same question in different wording
- Using Bloom's Taxonomy to progress from knowledge to evaluation questions (Correct answer)
- Asking only open-ended questions
- Sticking to yes/no questions for clarity
Correct answer: Using Bloom's Taxonomy to progress from knowledge to evaluation questions
Bloom's Taxonomy provides a hierarchy that guides tutors from recall through application, analysis, and evaluation.
Question 2: When should a tutor use direct instruction rather than inquiry-based learning?
- When students need to explore creative solutions
- When foundational concepts or procedures must be taught accurately and efficiently (Correct answer)
- When the student is advanced and self-directed
- When the tutor is unfamiliar with the topic
Correct answer: When foundational concepts or procedures must be taught accurately and efficiently
Direct instruction is most appropriate for teaching explicit skills or foundational knowledge that students cannot be expected to discover independently.
Question 3: A tutor assigns a task slightly above a student's current ability level. Which concept does this represent?
- Cognitive overload
- Working within the zone of proximal development (Correct answer)
- Differentiated instruction
- Mastery learning
Correct answer: Working within the zone of proximal development
The zone of proximal development (ZPD), defined by Vygotsky, is the space between what a student can do independently and what they can do with guidance.
Question 4: Which method is most effective for teaching a student with a growth mindset deficit who says 'I'm just bad at math'?
- Agree and redirect to easier tasks
- Praise effort and process rather than innate ability (Correct answer)
- Focus sessions entirely on strengths to build confidence
- Reduce the frequency of math sessions
Correct answer: Praise effort and process rather than innate ability
Process-focused praise, based on Dweck's growth mindset research, helps students attribute outcomes to effort rather than fixed ability.
Question 5: What is the role of metacognition in effective online tutoring?
- It refers to the tutor's subject-matter expertise
- It helps students think about and regulate their own learning process (Correct answer)
- It is a method of memorizing large amounts of content quickly
- It describes multi-sensory instructional design
Correct answer: It helps students think about and regulate their own learning process
Metacognition — thinking about one's own thinking — enables students to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning strategies.
Question 6: A tutor wants to differentiate instruction for three students at different levels in the same session. Which approach is most practical online?
- Teach to the middle and hope others adjust
- Use tiered tasks where all students work on the same concept at varying complexity levels (Correct answer)
- Skip group sessions and only offer individual sessions
- Assign each student entirely different topics
Correct answer: Use tiered tasks where all students work on the same concept at varying complexity levels
Tiered tasks allow all students to engage with the same concept while the complexity is adjusted to meet each learner's readiness.
Question 7: Which technique involves students teaching or explaining content back to the tutor to reinforce understanding?
- Reciprocal teaching
- Spaced repetition
- The Feynman Technique (Correct answer)
- Guided discovery
Correct answer: The Feynman Technique
The Feynman Technique asks the learner to explain a concept in simple terms, exposing gaps in understanding that the tutor can then address.
Online Tutoring Teaching Methods 4
Which questioning technique moves from surface recall to deeper analysis?