Ideas for Using Comics While Tutoring

Comics can be powerful teaching tools when they are used properly, and not just in art classes. The right comic can help students learn to read, better understand challenging concepts, and help develop their creative thinking and reasoning skills. If you don’t know how to integrate comics into your tutoring sessions or you aren’t quite convinced that they can be helpful, here are some ideas to consider.

Teaching Children to Read

Comics are a visual medium as much as a literary medium. In its most basic format, a comic is a series of pictures with written narration. While this narration can be every bit as complicated and involved as a short story or a novel, it can also be very simple. If you have a student who is struggling with their reading, a comic that matches simple sight words with pictures that show what the words mean. Your student will eventually have to learn to read without these visual aids, but combining words with drawings could make them easier to remember for some students.

Teaching Complicated Concepts

A comic strip or book obviously won’t be the best way to teach all complicated concepts, but they can make it easier for students to understand things like history, cause-and-effect, and basic storytelling. Comics are great for presenting a linear narrative, which can help students get a good grasp on a series of historical events or a story about how actions have consequences. Naturally, some colorful and fun illustrations will make the entire lesson that much more memorable.

Letting Your Students Make Their Own Comics

Of course, you don’t have to just present comics to your students as teaching aids; you can have a lot of fun by having your students draw and write their own comics. While this will be much easier for students who are more artistically inclined, just about anybody can draw a simple comic that tells a basic story, even if all a student can draw is a stick figure and write short sentences. No matter what your student’s writing and drawing level might be, you can tailor this activity to match it. This can help improve a student’s creativity and do something that might be a nice change of pace from your usual lessons and learning activities.

How Cognitive Software is Impacting Students

In science fiction movies, artificial intelligence is made to be something we should fear. It’s painted as something that could replace human beings.

In action, artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to help people overcome obstacles. One area studies have shown this to be effective is in tutoring.

An important thing to understand about artificial intelligence is that its key advantage over other forms of software is that AI adapts. You may have seen memes floating around social media where someone forced an AI software to “watch” a few hundred hours of a television program and then write a script for the show. What is happening here is the software is learning the things the program talks about and the general tone of the conversations in the scripts. It then takes that information to create its own unique version. This is cognitive software adapting and learning.

While art is arguably not the most effective use of artificial intelligence, studies have shown learning software can be a powerful use of this technology.

Students who’ve practiced using cognitive tutor software for an hour twice a week to learn algebra have performed eight percentage points higher than students without this advantage. Eight percentage points is roughly moving up one grade, so a C- student becomes a C+ student.

The software has already learned where thousands of other students commonly make mistakes while learning algebra. As a student progresses, the artificial intelligence notices where the student is having trouble and is then able to focus the following problems on this trouble area for the student so they can better understand the material.

In a classroom setting where there are 30 students to one teacher, the teacher isn’t going to be able to notice where one student isn’t understanding the material, let alone tailor the rest of a lesson to diving deeper into that issue.

Better yet, when a classroom full of students is engaged with cognitive software, a teacher is free to walk around the classroom and assist where they are most needed.

At this point, we are still in the early stages of seeing what artificial intelligence software will be capable of accomplishing in a learning environment. Studies so far have hinted at hopes of more individualized attention for students and a deeper understanding of the material in less time.

Helping Students Learn in an Online Environment

Teachers and tutors who provide instruction online face additional challenges; keeping students’ attention in a traditional classroom is difficult, and working online can make it even harder for instructors to keep students engaged in the lesson and establish a personal connection.

The following steps are effective ways to establish a relationship with online students, increase student engagement and ensure that digital lessons are transformed into valuable, meaningful experiences.

Parents and instructors alike can benefit from tuning into their students’ response and adjusting the environment to be accommodating, comfortable and promote active learning.

Encourage Communication

Teachers and tutors should strive to make sure students are actively participating in the class. The only way to truly guage comprehension in an online setting is to openly discuss and engage with students over the course material.Communication occurs through conversation, not simply tests and exercises. Communication also helps build trust and confidence, making students more likely to ask questions and engage more later.

Choose the Right Platform

Teachers and parents of students should strive to choose a platform that feels natural, welcoming and intuitive. The right online tutoring platform will make learning easy and fun for students while being convenient and accommodating for instructors.
There should be limited but powerful ways for students to engage with the lesson, such as interactive games and lessons that allow students to physically connect with their coursework and get personalized feedback.

Minimize Distractions

There should be no TV, radio or distracting backgrounds when giving a lesson. Children who are taking online lessons should be in a quiet space without any disruption, including family moving in the background, younger siblings intruding or any other electronics.

Many students and online teachers are often separated by time zones, so cultivating an environment that creates a sense of continuity is essential to student success. This means that instructors should have a designated workspace and avoid any loud noises or interruptions during lessons.

Incorporate a Reward System

Reward systems with online tutors and teachers can make students feel accomplished, encourage hard work and make the experience more memorable. Incentivizing students while offering positive reinforcement for both good behavior and effort will ensure that online students feel connected to their instructor and truly remember the content they’re being taught.