Tactical vs. Strategic Online Tutoring

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Tactical tutors should be able to display sensitivity to group interactions and progress. In addition, a tactical tutor should respond to students at critical moments where their mastery of the subject and ability to explain it is requested by the learner, or in which the learner makes errors. They are more likely than strategic tutors to be employed in one-on-one interfaces.

Strategic tutors must do more prior planning, including determining the number of learners per group, than tactical tutors. Smaller groups are more likely to cultivate trust, whereas a larger group provides for greater heterogeneity and promotes interaction and task achievement. For strategic online tutoring, full participation depends upon connectivity and efficient use of bandwidth to guarantee full participation. Online activities are one aspect of strategic tutoring.

Click here to view strategic online tutoring activity examples: Online Tutoring Activities

Return to: Unit 4 - Methods of Online Tutoring