Question

May I ask for a certain gray area of "Give Help, Not Answers" to be defined?

Answer 1

Us helpers, teachers, and tutors on OpenStudy all have our own unique ways of teaching that can be tailored to the many different students coming here looking for help, or in some cases... answers.
I make this post to inquire the proper ways to instruct a person to better improve my own, and perhaps others, teaching ways. In other words, where is the line between Help and Answers drawn?

We should all understand by now that OpenStudy has a strict Anti-Cheating Policy as stated in the code of conduct as well as in the terms and conditions
http://openstudy.com/code-of-conduct
http://openstudy.com/terms-and-conditions

But I feel like some types of teaching are in a gray area that needs to be defined, and/or be better lead by examples.

The gray area I would like to inquire about is to what extent should be withheld from asker, if at all?
I was told once before (by a mod): "Nice job, but in the future could you not tell them the final answer? You did a great job explaining, but we only ever know if they understood if they can finish the problem themselves, even if it's just the last step."
for this I have followed. but I could not help but notice some things...
http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/52f8dab2e4b043c0f3591e8c
and shouldn't the same principle be enforced when checking and informing that a person's answer is incorrect?
like tell them how to do it correctly (via explanation or example on another problem) and have them try again to correct their answer for themselves?
http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/52f82c44e4b0512c88e6ea0a

It was a "just wondering" thing that would give me some piece of mind if this matter could be defined?

Answer 2

I agree with @jigglypuff314.
People who usually give the answers are the ones that get the medal.
I dont want the medal, but the students are not actually getting the concept.
Then they will ask a question that has the same concept with the previous one...

BTW, how about for multiple choice questions, are we allowed to give them answers directly.

Answer 3

@AntiNode
regarding multiple choice questions, I think any sort of mentioning of the answer is prohibited (in mathematics, since it might be difficult for other subjects)
http://openstudy.com/code-of-conduct

Obviously "The answer is D" is an out right violation. That we can all agree on.
But I have come across many that post "D" then "(explanation)" which I believe is also a violation.
but to which I receive a reply: "i can give answers if i please. especially if thats what they ask for" when I try telling people...

Then there are those who pop in in the middle of an explanation with the answer
to which the asker gives the medal to them and leaves
and the popper tells me: "well homework is not cheating :) ... Right, well u explained i just simply put in black and white :)"

both of these would be considered violations

Answer 4

I agree...I think the CoC needs to be more specific.

Answer 5

I agree with AntiNode and jigglypuff314, I see all the time where some users will give someone the answer when you are trying to help them learn. Then the people that want an answer, so you explain, and then they open another question that was basically the same as the last one.

Answer 6

I was also wondering about subject such as History. There usually isn't a way to teach History. You learn by knowing the answer. So, I think for a subject like History, giving them the answer is helping them learn.

Answer 7

@OrangeMaster I was mainly concerned with Mathematics as a majority of the users come to OpenStudy to receive help in math :P

but I can imagine that one could come up with a link, or use clues that hint towards the answers for subjects other than math. For example, you could link them to a reading that contains the information that they need to answer the question, then quote some parts of the text to help lead to an answer, so that they could at least learn how to pin point and find information themselves :) it is a strategy that could work for many cases for English(grammar) and History subjects, even Biology.

Answer 8

One of the points of OpenStudy is that it is a playground for tutors - where tutors come to learn how to teach.

I care less about whether someone new 'teaches' by giving just answers - and care more about seeing progression in tutors from answer givers to explanation givers, to teachers. Everyone on this site knows that teaching is harder than it looks. It takes practice, effort and experience. For that reason I leave the grey area precisely that - grey and not strictly defined.

That said, jumping in and giving the answer when someone else is already trying to work through an explanation is distinctly uncool and unacceptable by the Code of Conduct.

When I poke people for giving just answers, I often put practicality above ethics and explain that we discourage giving answers without explanation because the asker has no way to evaluate the validity/correctness of the response. Even though ethics are really what motivates me.

Answer 9

"I make this post to inquire the proper ways to instruct a person"
I think it'll be easier (and logical) to define the 'improper' ways as blue already said
"One of the points of OpenStudy is that it is a playground for tutors - where tutors come to learn how to teach."

"..but we only ever know if they understood if they can finish the problem themselves, even if it's just the last step..shouldn't the same principle be enforced when checking and informing that a person's answer is incorrect?"

If a user makes a calculation mistake; we can ask him/her to recalculate, but if the user has no idea about the symbols/notations he/she is working with (like the two Q's you linked), we can either advice him/her to refer to the textbook or solve the concerned question as an example. The former is considered rude and hence the later is widely adopted.

Sometimes I ask a follow-up Q to check if the 'asker' understood my explanation, but it didn't work quite well; so I discontinued it.

My point is that we can't force someone to learn.

Answer 10

If someone puts no effort into learning, I try to be kind and engage them. But if they continue to seriously put no effort into learning - I shrug and stop putting effort into teaching them.

I speak only for my own style - but I look on it as stepping stones. I provide all the explanation they need to get from one side of the river to the other, all the info, background and reasoning they need to reach the answer. But I do not give them the answer. I tell them they have everything they need, let them solve it themselves, and then I check their answer for them. If it's right, it's a pat on the back and a medal for working through the problem - if it's wrong, I go back and work through it again.

Anyone who wants to scroll back through my 1600 plus or minus answers in biology to the early days will see that when I came to the site, I was not such a good tutor. But I learned.

Answer 11

Thank you for everyone's input :) I'll keep it in mind <3

Answer 12

oooooo dug up a clarification!
for anyone interested in the Help VS Answers debate:
http://openstudy.com/study#/updates/50b1cb83e4b0e906b4a63b09