Annotated transcripts

All six transcripts are fictional and constructed for training purposes. They are not recordings of real children; tutor and student names are invented. They are built from documented middle-school algebra misconceptions so that the errors students make in them are the errors real tutors will meet — the misconception research behind that choice is cited in the evidence notes. A structured realism review (agent-based; practitioner review pending) checked each transcript against that research — see evaluation methods.

Why transcripts instead of videos

Videos of real sessions would show real children — a privacy problem, and a consent problem minors can’t meaningfully opt out of. Written fictional transcripts are private by construction, searchable, annotatable, and screen-reader accessible. They are also editable: trainers can adapt a transcript to their local curriculum without re-filming.

The annotation format

Each transcript is a dialogue between the tutor and 2–4 students, broken into exchanges. Numbered annotations follow each exchange — never floating in a margin — and name the move the tutor used (e.g., probing question, wait time, confirm and ask why), which competency domain it serves, and what an observer would look for. Move names and hint-ladder levels (0–5) are shared with the companion Socratic AI Tutor project — same moves, encoded for an AI.

The library

# Transcript Verdict The one thing it teaches
T1 Routine holding together Strong The first 3 minutes + a closed data loop
T2 A student stuck in the same spot Strong Worked example after repeated failure (L4), done right
T3 Questioning strong, data loop broken Mixed Good teaching ≠ a good program: the ticket matters
T4 Structure intact, feedback generic Mixed “Good job” ×20 teaches nothing; the M5 door opens and closes
T5 The tutor explains everything Weak Over-explaining: prepared, warm — and the students never think
T6 The tutor answers for the students Weak No wait time, ladder skipped, speed as the prize

Suggested sequence for new tutors: T1 → T5 → T2 → T6 → then spot-the-move practice, then T3 + T4 when your first observation is scheduled (they show why the rubric scores domains separately).

Using transcripts in training

  • Spot-the-move (interactive): practice tool — 10 exchanges from this library; you name the move and whether it worked; feedback explains why. Nothing you answer is stored.
  • Live sessions: Session A and Session B facilitator guides use T1/T2/T5/T6 excerpts as role-play material.
  • Calibration: coordinators score T1, T3 and T5 against the observation rubric and compare scores — the calibration activity protocol.

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Content licensed CC BY 4.0; code licensed MIT. Bridge Math Tutoring is a fictional organization; all transcripts are fictional and constructed for training purposes.

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