Why do students get stuck in online IT training even with a mentor?

[Man]

The offer to change PROFESSION online is a modern trend. At webinars, live events, meetups, etc., training organizations talk about the nuances of remote development of work skills.

I watched one such live the other day (September 2022). The title caught my attention: "How a mentor helps in learning programming." I have been interested in this issue for a long time and have my own observations, I study student reviews, and communicate with IT specialists.

Many of the theses had already been formulated, and watching the live broadcast was just a signal rocket for writing the article.

Brief history of the issue​

At the dawn of its development, online learning was spontaneous and can be conventionally called CONSULTATIVE. Beginners, learning the basics of programming, turned to specialized forums for help and received various pieces of advice. Actually, this model still exists today.

It's not uncommon to see something like this on forums: "Smart guy, first study the mySQL tutorial yourself, then you won't ask stupid questions here." Sometimes such recommendations are given to those who give advice themselves.

Responsive IT specialists can throw a link to some article, show an example of ready code. If you are lucky, they will correct your code, explain why it is so. At the same time, there are those who criticize this solution and offer or do not offer another one.

Those who attach their code to the question are the most likely to get answers, rather than just asking how to do it and expecting someone to write the code for them.

Problems of self-development​

Despite the fact that people get answers to their questions, there are serious disadvantages to developing professional skills on their own.

1. No one will take responsibility for developing your competencies. No one is interested in this at all.
2. Different answers to one question create confusion and put the newcomer in a situation of choice.
3. The person asking for help is left alone with their tasks and spends a lot of time developing their skills. They read something, looked at examples somewhere, and then endless hours of experimenting with the code. Stuck. Run to the forum for advice. There is an answer! A new task and everything starts all over again.
4. You can't judge whether you write code well or badly.
5. Knowledge is acquired outside of any system, by trial and error, in disparate pieces; there is no continuity in learning; everyone has their own trajectory.
6. In IT, everything is updated so quickly that sometimes a newbie masters something that is no longer relevant. Now, when you make a request in a search engine, you risk getting the first article with a code example from 10 years ago. You will not only waste your time studying outdated material, you can even go in the opposite direction.

The effectiveness of independent development of competencies from scratch, without support, remains in doubt. It is not for nothing that even after training, support in skill development is recommended. More information about this can be found on the website hrd.arbat.top/sunrise

The era of development of online "schools, universities, academies"​

The Internet was filled with new tools for programmers. Narrowly specialized areas were identified in IT. The popularity of the profession grew. More and more people wanted to learn code. The problems of self-development remained unchanged.

When specialized online training platforms began to appear (some of them are more than 10-15 years old), the first thing they did was to acquire different training courses. A new role emerged - the AUTHOR of the online course.

Most often these people were instructors of courses in classrooms. Many of them, of course, are not mentors at all, since they do not take any direct part in the development of skills.

However, thanks to them, studying at “universities” has become a guarantee that you are getting relevant material, because the author is an expert and knows what needs to be studied now and what is becoming outdated.

The objectives of the author's course: to provide information in a systematized form, basic concepts, ensure continuity between topics, show practical examples and techniques, gamify. In general, to make the course useful and not boring.

Support service roles appeared. Someone had to solve organizational tasks, answer questions, even if everything was written on the website. Ultimately, the client was brought to the "Buy course" button and access to this course was organized. The flow began.

But here's the problem: the more people signed up for the courses, the more there were among them who couldn't learn on their own. They couldn't figure out the code, they hit a wall and left.

Mentors have appeared​

Marketing was correct: to attract a student once, with the expectation that over the next 1-2 years he will take several courses. For example, layout, then js, then sql, php, and then something else. But students began to "drop out" without finishing the first course - not profitable.

There was a need for someone who would help the student with mastering skills, somehow answer his questions on the topic of study. Thus, a new role appeared - MENTOR.

Marketing and sales were jubilant. Now the author attached homework with simulators to the courses. Success was guaranteed. And then there was the pandemic. The number of people wishing to change their profession increased several times.

The most interesting thing is the responsibilities of the mentors. Here I give the floor to the live host. I do not evaluate how they teach in this organization. The direct speech of the host is a vivid illustration of what is happening in this area in general, of course, in my opinion.

"The mentor is not interested in forcing you to study," says the presenter. Stop. I don't get it. What do you mean by interesting/not interesting? If the mentor works for the academy, then it would be more correct to say: obliged/not obliged. Okay, not interested, not motivating. What's more important is that he doesn't demotivate.

Why does the question of motivation of those who paid their money for the course even arise? Paid, but do not want to study? And are there many of them? Most likely, this is a signal that something is going wrong in the LEARNING PROCESS. We are not dealing with isolated cases, but with statistics that make us talk about it and look for solutions to the problem.

The presenter informs: "A mentor is not a tutor, not a teacher, does not write code for you, is not a manager who sets you tasks and deadlines. A mentor is not a replacement for Google. He is not the source of knowledge that you need to resort to when you have a problem. He does not look for articles and solutions for you." What a pain!

What in practice? During a live, a comment appears: "I got stuck at the beginning of learning js. On the simulators - it's clear, the educational project - it's clear. As soon as I sit down to a personal project, I don't understand what to do."

The host's answer: "Do something yourself. Write three lines of code. Write down what you did, show it to the mentor, tell where you got stuck. The mentor sees the path, understands where you took a wrong turn. He does not tell you the code itself, only the concept . For example, write a function that does this. Then we will discuss it. He will tell you which simulator to go through or something else to read, watch the recording with the authors."

Note: "To know the way and to walk it are two different things." Morpheus

Do you understand what is happening? The student is stuck, and he is left alone with the task again and launched into a new round of self-education. The host of the live says: "Often people get stuck because they are afraid that they will not succeed." It happens. But even more often it happens because the student is left alone with the task and does not understand what to do.

Why does this happen when learning a new profession? Listen to the host of the live: “The mentor validates the student’s solution. But he is not only a controller checking your code. He knows how to solve the problem and how not to solve it, and he can share this experience with you. The mentor leaves comments under your homework. The only goal that the mentor pursues is the desire to improve the level of your code, to instill in you the right approaches to algorithms, writing code. This is his main task. His task is not to tell you how to solve the problem.”

I thought so! It is not the mentor's responsibility to explain how to solve a problem. It remains a mystery what experience the mentor shares? What comments does he leave if he does not write code? Is there even an algorithm for how to instill "correct approaches" in students?

I listen to the presenter and think, who does this mentor remind me of? And who does he remind you of? I see a volunteer consultant from the forum. Only on the forum there is no responsibility and system, and here there are proven people, they answer on time, within the framework of the program, and even under the control of the academy administrator, they receive a reward for this.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing this approach in the industry. Educational institutions make money. There are students who do get a new profession. The system with consultants works, but students drop out, and at a painful rate.

The mentoring system is failing​

Dropout is inevitable everywhere. Maybe the problem is not in the online learning system? Let's say a person has chosen a new profession incorrectly. His expectations were not met, he does not have the necessary skills. Perhaps he should become an analyst or something else. Suddenly he got promoted at his current job, got sick, went on a spree, a child was born, was drafted into the army. He took on a task beyond his capabilities. Anything can be the reason.

The fact remains that about 60% of students, and in some programs even more, still do not complete their studies. Ta dam! ADVISERS have appeared. This means that the struggle for the client continues, and the mentors still cannot cope.

What is the advisor's functionality, according to the live host: "The advisor monitors the student's progress through the program at reference points, tracks the emergence of problems, initiates contact with the client, detects bottlenecks, and where help is needed. Maybe he has lost motivation, reminds about the deadline. Suddenly the student gets stuck on the task and is embarrassed to write to the mentor."

In general, such a regulator. Monitors the student, resolves conflicts, hands out magic kicks, even if in a friendly and caring manner.

IT specialists are very practical people. They won't tap their fingers on the keyboard unnecessarily. And here at the academy they created a whole role for retaining students. So there is a problem. And it probably lies in the learning process itself. I am sure that the main reason for dropping out is that the student is stuck, he can't do it . Developing skills turns into a long quest.

There is a psychological law, i.e. a law of nature: most people avoid situations in which they fail to achieve the intended result. People strive for what works and what works quickly.

The appearance of advisors is another sign that mentors are not working hard enough. No matter how much the live host tries to assure us otherwise: “A mentor is a time and energy saver, because he knows how to do it well/badly and can tell you how to move in an area that is new to you.”

If you are regularly "prompted" to go and figure out for yourself what you don't understand, then this is not saving time and effort. For some, it is a demotivator. It is not for nothing that the issue of changing the mentor is raised in the live...

The reasons why all this happens should be sought in the learning process. In my opinion, mentors are often called those who are consultants.

What is the difference between a consultant and a mentor?​

Let's start with the fact that these concepts are extremely vague and are used in a wide range of meanings. Suffice it to say that a mentor is understood as a leader, teacher, educator, experienced specialist, master, trainer, consultant, priest, "father figure", etc.

Some people think that these are all different roles of a mentor. The name changes depending on the area of activity, the task, the specifics of the experience being transferred. A mentor in spiritual life and in production are not the same thing. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what you call an experienced specialist who helps a student develop work skills. How he does it is much more important.

The article is devoted to the problem of training when changing professions. Therefore, let us narrow the framework to the process of practicing work skills, including online, to compare these roles. The clearer the goal, the more accurate the hit.

The mentor and consultant provide assistance in developing competencies. In some ways, their roles overlap, but there are fundamental differences. Therefore, the learning effect is different.

Translated from Latin, consultant means adviser. He validates the results of the student's work, gives professional recommendations, answers questions, leaves the student alone with the task and transfers 100% responsibility for skill development. The consultant's goal is to inform and launch an independent learning process. The approach is effective in the later stages of training, when the student is capable of self-development within the framework of practicing a certain group of skills.

The mentor has a different goal. He directly helps to PRACTICE the work skill. At the early stages of training, the student is not left alone with the task. The mentor knows where mistakes can be and already at the stage of familiarizing the student with the operations shows what leads to mistakes. If the student fails, the mentor analyzes the reason for the failure and immediately helps to eliminate it. If necessary, then by personal example, and repeatedly. Can monitor the student's work on the process and immediately give feedback. The mentor takes responsibility for the student's mistakes.

Well, this is a tutor (from the Latin repetitio - repetition)! Not exactly. The goal of a rehearsal is a perfect, flawless, ideal performance of an action. And such training is not cheap. A mentor is needed until the moment when the student learns to perform an action, find and correct his mistakes independently.

Some compare such a mentor to a nanny who "takes steps for you, moves your legs, and you do nothing." A nanny does not develop work skills. Her job is to look after the child, no matter what happens. And if your mentor does not develop the skills of beginners, he is not a mentor.

Some illustrative examples​

Example #1
During the first lessons, an artist advises a student: "Develop artistic vision." Do you understand what needs to be done at the level of specific operations? I don't either. But this is very reminiscent of the message to instill in students the "right approaches" to writing code.

And if the artist says: “We draw a bush against the background of a distant forest. On this light green background we put a dark green spot. To create the shape of the bush, we need to take a green color between light and dark green in tone. Got it? Almost. How to get this color? What paint to mix? Here the artist-mentor gives clear instructions. Shows how to experiment with color selection. Gives feedback to the student - did he hit the color or not. When the color is found, he will teach how to paint with a fan brush... This is one of the techniques for developing artistic vision in the landscape.

There is a sequence of operations in this action. Here the skill is developed, and operations can be adjusted. Students learn to act correctly faster and become independent in their work faster. This spurs their motivation. If these algorithms are not given, the student will develop artistic vision by trial and error, remaining alone with the task. How many attempts will he make before he “breaks down”?

In order not to be unfounded, look at the gallery of how amateurs paint at master classes of the Arbat Artists ww.arbat.top/gallery

Example #2
During several chilly days in mid-December before the capture of Izmail, from morning until evening, A.V. Suvorov personally set tasks and supervised the process of how soldiers learned to overcome a ditch with the help of fascines (they throw them into the ditch and quickly get out of it).

But he could have consulted them in the morning, given a couple of useful pieces of advice, left them alone with the task, and the next day validated the results of their exercises.

When Suvorov personally observed the soldiers' actions, he saw the reasons for their failures and immediately made adjustments. The consultant would validate the results and send them to read the instructions.

At the start of the training, the commander acted as a mentor and personally showed what to do. The training lasted several days. Not only individual performance was important, but also that of the entire group of soldiers. When the skills began to be practiced for a while, the training turned into a rehearsal for an attack.

Example #3
In IT, it is easier for a newbie to apply the BEM methodology when laying out one page of a website. It is not the same to apply this knowledge when laying out a website with 5 pages. It is quite another thing for a newbie to lay out a website with 30 different pages using BEM.

The mentor's share of participation in the first case can be minimal if the author's course on BEM was good. The probability of solving the problem independently is high. Therefore, it is probably possible to get by with a consultation.

But in the second, and especially in the third cases, some students may get stuck with the layout for a long time. For someone, the author's course and consultations may not be enough.

Total​

It was not for nothing that we reviewed the history of online learning development, even if only in a brief version. This is enough to see that consulting, as an approach to learning, was transferred from specialized forums and integrated into online learning, but already under the name "Mentoring". This happened partly due to the solution of marketing tasks.

But, first of all, this process has developed historically and has not fundamentally changed in terms of skill development. New roles have appeared, the material has been systematized, homework and simulators have been added. But the student is still launched into repeated rounds of independent learning and left alone with the task. Without a specific algorithm of action, at the early stages of developing a work skill, the student often "doesn't get it." As a result, he does not always achieve his educational goal.

Although, probably, not all mentors do this. If the company has a pressing issue of improving the work of mentors, then at least look at who has been working in the company the longest, what feedback their students have left about them. Look for the most successful, analyze and replicate their work experience. You can also improve the learning skills of mentors through a special program. For an example, look at the site hrd.arbat.top.

The process of developing competencies in a consultative manner is very common. We have become accustomed to the established practice, it has become the norm. Moreover, in this process there are quite a lot of those who successfully cope with educational tasks independently and receive a new specialty.

I believe that when a client is offered a training course to change professions, the requirements for the process of developing work skills should be higher, even if it is an online course in IT.

The main thing is not to teach people by trial and error.

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