More investment, more engagement? Analyzing dialogic behavior in online one-to-one tutoring among different payment mechanisms

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between students’ financial investment and their learning engagement in online one-to-one tutoring, specifically whether increased financial investment leads to greater dialogic engagement. We analyzed online one-to-one mathematics tutoring dialogues across free, token-based, and subscription-based sessions using a coding scheme and a well-trained AI (Artificial Intelligence) model. Our findings reveal several key insights. First, students and tutors in free tutoring sessions have the longest conversations, while those in subscription-based sessions have the shortest. Students receiving free tutoring exhibit the least off-topic behavior compared to those in token-based and subscription-based sessions. Second, students in free tutoring demonstrate higher levels of constructive engagement, whereas those in token-based tutoring show more metacognition-related patterns. Third, tutors induce more reflection and provide direct instruction more sequentially in subscription-based sessions than in free sessions. These findings suggest that students’ engagement levels in online tutoring may not be positively correlated with their monetary investment, offering new perspectives on the relationship between educational investment and learning engagement.