Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by durumu 606 days ago
I agree the average tutor is better than the average lecturer. But if I watch a YouTube lecture, then I might have access to the best lecturer in the world, or at least a 99%ile lecturer, e.g 3blue1brown. This only works because of the scale -- it wouldn't be possible for millions to get access to tutors this good 1 on 1.
1 comments
hprotagonist 606 days ago
but can you argue with them for an indeterminate period of time in earnest dialogue until the idea goes CLICK inside your head? You cannot, and so the value is much lessened because that critical access isn’t present.
link
bccdee 606 days ago
Do you always need that kind of prolonged argument whenever you learn a new concept?

> Sometimes the YouTube video is more helpful than the private tutor.

University lectures work like that. First the general lecture, which has 300 students and is not interactive. Then the tutorial, where students who want extra help can consult individually with a TA. Attendance for tutorials was typically much lower in my experience, because a lot of students thought the lecture was plenty and wanted to spend the time on something else.

link
kang 606 days ago
Except the argument is university lecture (classroom structure) doesn't work. A personal tutor might be able to teach a concept to all their students, whereas not everyone in a classroom passes. Your argument about sufficiency can be made about books and is not relevant here.
link
bccdee 606 days ago
> A personal tutor might be able to teach a concept to all their students, whereas not everyone in a classroom passes.

Why are you convinced that personal tutors are so much more effective? I'd expect the average student to be slightly better-served by having a personal tutor, but not by much. After all, personal guidance is available from TAs when necessary—my point is that it typically isn't necessary.

link
MichaelZuo 606 days ago
You can’t do that for the average lecturer either… assuming it’s a normal college lecture room with hundreds of students.

Nonetheless the 99th percentile lecturer is still better than the 50th percentile tutor in most cases.

link