PROTOTYPE & TEST Kavya Krishnan

IDEA : Tutor students via the Office of Accessible education.

The student has to approach office of Accessible Education and meet with one of the members to personally enquire about the listed positions

There is no central repository for students requesting to teach and those who want to be tutored

The employees at OAE send a request as and when there is a need.

If a tutor is not currently available, they do not help the students in finding one iteratively.

The hourly rate for tutors is random and there are no background checks performed on the tutor

The student’s feedback is not documented.

The teaching style, number of hours are all left at the behest of the tutor

DRAWBACKS IN THE SYSTEM

SOLUTION 1: Web Portal that matches students and tutors

ARE YOU A

Student Tutor

Are You a…

Please fill out this form:

Name : Graduate Degree:Subject Preferences:Number of hours/ week:Attach letter of recommendation here:Teaching Style: MBTI Personality Type:

Submit

Based on the information you have provided the following are the current student matches:

Please click on each profile to learn more about the student.

Student Profile 1

Student Profile 2

Student Profile 3

Student Profile 3:

Name : Undergraduate Degree:Subject :Number of hours/ week:Special Requests:Learning Style: MBTI Personality Type:

Select

Congratulations!! The student has been notified of your availability.

Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with your student:http://www.when2meet.com/student

Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with the student’s professor:http://www.when2meet.com/professor

For additional resources please contact:oae@stanford.edu

If you feel that none of the students are the right fit given your teaching style, we will keep your records in our database and notify you as and when an opportunity arises.

SOLUTION 2: Career fair to recruit tutors

Congratulations!! The student has been notified of your availability.Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with your student:http://www.when2meet.com/student

Please click on the following link to set up a meeting with the student’s professor:http://www.when2meet.com/professor

For additional resources please contact:oae@stanford.edu

1. In this case, the students who require assistance are identified by the professors in the beginning of every quarter.

2. Once the students and the various subjects they need assistance with are identified, a career fair is organized by the Office of Accessible education

3. There are booths corresponding to each subject.4. Potential tutors submit their resumes along with their teaching styles and MBTT

scores at those booths/subjects they are interested in teaching.5. An official from OAE along with subject expert i.e. professor from the department

reviews the resumes.6. Selected candidates proceed to the interview.7. In a week’s time decisions are made and each student is allotted a tutor.

TESTI tested the prototype with Mia, a student who wanted to leverage her skills to contribute meaningfully to the society. Mia loves teaching, so she was fascinated with the idea of tutoring at the Office of Accessible Education at Stanford. However, this process of becoming a tutor was not a smooth one. My prototypes aim to improve this process. Following is the feedback I received from her.

SOLUTION 1: Web Portal that matches students and tutors

+

? !

1. Thorough matching of the tutor’s skills and capabilities to the student’s requirements.

2. The MBTT and teaching style and recommendation letter serve as background check and add more credibility to the process.

1. After the initial meeting of the tutor with the student and professor, there are no frequent checks for the quality of the lectures.

1. How can we be 100% sure that the matching algorithm is very efficient in bringing together the right candidates.

1. A webex seminar tool could be used where a professor can monitor the first lecture and suggest ways in which the tutor can improve his/her teaching quality. This will really help the tutor for future teaching assistant positions.

SOLUTION 2: Career fair to recruit tutors

+

? !

1. Since the process gives a lot of attention to detail, the best candidates will be selected. Personally, Mia feels that it would be a great advantage for TA/RA positions in the future.

2. The MBTT and teaching style and recommendation letter serve as background check and add more credibility to the process.

1. Some students might realize later on in the quarter that they need help. The one-step identification of weak students does not mirror reality.

1. Not sure if professors will take time to identify students who require assistance and also whether they would be available to recruit such tutors.

1. Something should be done to eliminate the involvement of professors in this design.