Question

[Guide] How to use OpenStudy, how to be a good student, and how to be a good tutor.

Answer 1

How to benefit most of OpenStudy. (For tutors and tutees alike)
\( \large \bf\Huge{~~\color{red}{\boxed{W}}\color{#FF9200}{\boxed{E}}\color{#FFDB00}{\boxed{L}}\color{#B6ff00}{\boxed{C}}\color{#00ff49}{\boxed{O}}\color{#00DBff}{\boxed{M}}\color{#B600ff}{\boxed{E}}\\~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\boxed{T}\boxed{O}\\~~~~~~~~~~~\color{#0092ff}{\boxed{O}}\color{#0092ff}{\boxed{P}}\color{#0092ff}{\boxed{E}}\color{#0092ff}{\boxed{N}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{S}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{T}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{U}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{D}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{Y}}\color{#7cc517}{\boxed{!}}}\)
If you haven’t already done so, make yourself familiar with \(the~\underline{\href{ /code-of-conduct }{Code~of~Conduct}}\)
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If you need help with the website contact someone with an \(\Large\bf\color{#872af0}{Ⓐ}\) next to their name.
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\( \LARGE How~to~be~a~good~student? \)
\(\color{#0092ff }{Open}\color{#7cc517}{Study}\) is a website aimed to help you study, not to provide immediate answers you can simply copy. Studying involves learning and understanding, and it takes time. Realize yourself that learning from someone is a \( \color{blue}{ two\!-\!way~conversation}\) with another human.
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This person is always trying this best to help you, and he or she is taking time from his/her often busy schedule to help you understand something. Make sure you show your appreciation, for example say thank you and give them a medal by clicking the \(\large\rm \bbox[#0092ff,2pt]{\color{white}{Best~Response}}\) button. Also don’t be mad at him if you think he doesn’t explain it clear enough. Ask him if he can explain it in another way if possible, or ask him more questions. Tutoring is not always easy, you don’t have to make it harder for them by being unrespectful.
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\(\large\rm\bbox[#0092ff,2pt]{\color{white}{Become~a~fan}}\) of someone that was friendly and helpful, so you can keep in touch easier. You can see this button when you mouse-over or click on someone’s name.
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Make sure to give \( \color{pink}{ feedback}\) continuously, a good tutor will use the \( \color{red}{ step\!-\!by\!-\!step}\) approach, instead of giving the whole solution at once, (I will get back on that later). If you understand a step, tell him, or better yet, show him by applying the same logic to a similar example to show him that you \(\bf truly\) mastered the concept, so that your tutor can move on to the next step. Maybe you already know the next step, and you can ask the tutor to give you some time to solve the next step.
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Conversely, if a step is not clear to you, or if you think there is missing one or more steps, tell your tutor that you don’t understand it or that you feel some explanation is missing. In this case it’s often a good idea to think about how you ask it, let the tutor know exactly which parts you \(\underline{do}\) understand and which parts you \(\underline{don’t}\) understand.
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\(\Large If~no~one~is~answering~your~question\), there is a few things you can do. \(\bf \large DO~NOT \) close the question and reopen it, it’s against the rules. You can bump it by clicking the bump button. However, maybe you should ask yourself, why is no one answering? Is my problem very hard to solve, so not many people are online that are able to solve it? Can you maybe explain the problem in a different way (not by reposting it, but by providing additional details). Maybe you should specify which part of the problem you have trouble with, specifically. You can also ask in the chat of the proper subject to ask someone for help. Also,
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\(\Large Make~sure~you~ask~in~the~right~section\), each subject Math, (which has several subgroups), Physics, English, etc. all have their own sections. It’s not very smart to ask a Physics question in the English section, because not many people why study English know about Physics. It’s also considered spam if you do this too often. Accidents can happen, but try to make sure you post your questions at the right place.
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\( \LARGE How~to~be~an~awesome~tutor? \)
\(\bf \large Don’t\) simply provide the solution (not even if you show the steps) in the first post.
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Instead, try to make the student solve his own problem, by guiding him to the right direction. Instead of giving him a solution, it’s often best to ask your student questions. \(\bf \color{green}{ Asking~questions}\) to your student gives you three very large advantages.
\(\bf 1)\) You will immediately see when a student has problems answering one particular question, so you know where the problem lies.
\(\bf 2)\) Your student will be forced to think about his problem in a different way, which may trigger a chain reaction leading to the answer eventually, he can then use the same logic for any similar problems in the future, because he knows the whole \(\bf thought~process\) behind it.
\(\bf 3)\) Your student will get the very pleasant feeling of achieving something, you wouldn’t get the same feeling when someone answers the question for him.
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So, solving problems requires the tutor and the student to be both online at the same time for best efficiency.
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\( \Large \bf Be~patient!\) It may be very simple to you, but maybe the person you are talking with has never done it before, and it may be all new to him, give him some time to really understand, and don’t force knowledge down his throat if he is still trying to consume the knowledge you gave him earlier. It will be very unpleasant for both of you, so give your student all the time he needs, and if you really have to go, ask someone else to take over or ask the student if he can continue the learning session at a more convenient time.
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The \( \color{red}{step\!-\!by\!-\!step}\) approach is often the preferred method of transferring knowledge. For example if someone would ask the question: How do I draw a graph of (x+3)(x-2)? Most people could immediately post a complete solution (showing steps) in the opening post. However, this is \(\bf not\) the \(\underline {proper}\) way to do a \( \color{red}{step\!-\!by\!-\!step}\) approach.
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The proper way to do it would be to ask him a question, for example:
\( \bf How~do~you~usually~draw~a~graph~of~a~function? \)
A possible answer could be:
\( \bf By~creating~a~table~of~several~value~for~x~and~the~respective~value~for~y \)
Then you could answer:
\( \bf correct,~is~making~a~table~for~this~function~causing~you~trouble? \)
And so on.
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\(If~a~student~makes~a~mistake\) see if you can find out what caused the mistake, and try to show the student the flaw in his logic. If a student makes a mistake, at least you know which part(s) of the problem are causing trouble, so you can concentrate your efforts in teaching that particular problem before you continue teaching other things. Depending on the kind of mistake that was made, this process can take pretty long or hardly any time at all. Above all, be patient and don’t make fun of the student, no one knows everything about everything.
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\(If~you~make~a~mistake\) be honest about it and as soon as you find out you made a mistake, try to correct the mistake and maybe you will also have to rewrite part of the explanation. The worst thing you can do is to cover up your mistakes.
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Sometimes, especially in math, there’s multiple ways of solving a problem. Some people prefer one method over the other. When you explain something to a student, it often feels natural for a teacher to use the method the teacher prefers. However, it may be better to use the method the student prefers (as long as the student’s method is a valid method in that scenario, of course). For example, one of my classmates once asked me for help with a physics related problem, a formula was provided along with a graph of the formula. I knew my classmate well enough to know he was a \(\color{orangered}{visually~oriented}\) person, so I tried explaining the problem to him in a method I believed he would understand best (and it turned out he did understand it better that way). However while I was trying to explain the problem to him, another classmate interrupted me and tried to force us to use her method, which was much more \(\color{royalblue}{equation~oriented}\). Neither method is better than the other, it’s just how your brain is ‘wired’ which way you prefer. If you are able to, try to \(\color{magenta}{‘speak~a~language’}\) the student can understand.
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I hope this guide has learned you a thing or two. Make sure to show other people this guide as well so they can also benefit from it.
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\(\LARGE \color {magenta}\heartsuit\)With love,
\(\huge \hspace{260pt} \mathbb Z \it immah\)
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\(\small if~you~want~a~tutorial~on~how~to~make~fancy~looking~messages~like~this,\\\small and~other~useful~commands~in~LaTeX~(the~code~used~on~this~website)~you~can~find~it~\underline{\href{ /study#/updates/51fbcbade4b0cc46c14a461d}{here }}\)

Answer 2

hmmm...why do I need to know this?

Answer 3

why was I tagged in this?

Answer 4

I have no idea why I was asked either...

Answer 5

i tagged a lot of online people to read it and ask their opinion on it.

Answer 6

I think it's pretty helpful, but please please pleeeasee do not tag so many people.

Answer 7

i normally don't do it. i was really thinking about if i should or not, i'm sorry if i offended anyone and won't do it again, i just wanted to know if my guide needs improvement or not. i asked in chat several times but no one responded.

Answer 8

@zimmah all I can say is marvelous!

Answer 9

its good u, learn by teaching others.

Answer 10

Great Post @zimmah!
[even if it does take half and hour to read]

Answer 11

Good job @zimmah ! :)