The effect of using online tutors on the self-efficacy of learners

We conducted a study to evaluate the effect of using software tutors on the self-efficacy of students - in particular, whether the type of activity covered by the software tutor correlated with any improvement in self-efficacy after using the tutor along the levels of Bloom´s taxonomy; and whether any differential effects could be observed in the improvement of self-efficacy among the sexes and racial groups. The study was conducted over four semesters using two different software tutors. The collected data was analyzed using paired sample t-test and 2 × 2 ANOVA for three different sets of students - those who used the tutor, those who needed to use the tutor and those who learned one or more concepts by using the tutor. We found that if a significant difference was found among taxonomic levels of self-efficacy after using a software tutor, the improvement was statistically significantly greater on the taxonomic level directly relevant to the topic/activity of the tutor than any other level on Bloom´s taxonomy except comprehension. Such a difference was found at least among those who actually learned one or more concepts using the tutor, if not everyone who used the tutor. In most cases, the improvement in self-efficacy resulting from the use of the software tutor was indistinguishable across sexes and racial groups.