Tutorials and digital learning objects provide librarians a quick, concise mechanism for delivering information and training on a wide range of library topics. The semiotic theory promoted by Charles Sanders Peirce (Wiener, 1958) and Howard Smith (2005) contains implications for enhancing the effectiveness of library tutorials through the…

Perkins, a professor of Education at Harvard University, promoted the use of constructivism in conjunction with information processing technologies to facilitate students' understanding and active use of knowledge and skills. He identified five facets of a learning environment including: information banks, symbol pads, construction kits,…

Examines the Home Tutorial Program in the San Fernando Valley of California in the areas of organization, parent attitudes, learning environment, achievement, and socialization. Compare the home program with the Los Angeles Unified School District. (IRT)

Argues that a focus on building an authoring tool for a complete learning environment is misplaced. Analyzes the task of authoring a commercial educational system. Describes the Visual Translator, an authoring tool written specifically for this purpose. (Author/CCM)

Presents a prototype authoring tool for interactive educational software called Investigate and Decide Learning Environments (IDLE-Tool). Introduces IDLE-Tool as the task model around which the tool is based. A model of the authoring process called Guided Case Adaptation is offered as an approach to employing models and an exemplar to effectively…

The Teacher/Tutor Room (TTR) was created by the Special Services staff at Coweeman Junior High School (Kelso, Washington) to provide academic support for their "special needs" students in the least restrictive environment without giving them an obvious label or stigmatizing them by putting them in a special class. Students who need…

While provincial governments in Canada are increasingly regulating public schools in the name of accountability, more parents are choosing unregulated tutoring businesses or "new sector" private schools. Reasons include a competitive edge, an emphasis on cognitive development, a more personalized environment due to small teacher-student…

Discusses interviews of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students' conducted to assess their reactions to a tutorial project for improving cognitive performance in content courses through the use of talk and writing as learning tools. The study concludes that ESL learners should be given opportunities to use their own language resources to…

Focuses on elementary and middle school students as peer helpers. The five articles describe the peer helper concept and how it can enhance learning, offers suggestions for training peer helpers, describes helping projects and program evaluation, and suggests other ways of improving school climate through cross-age interaction. (JAC)

Yakima Valley Community College (Washignton) developed "A Living-Learning Community" in the Student Residence Center to create an intellectually stimulating and socially exciting environment for both resident and commuting students. The project strived to enhance the students' collegiate experience by providing them with a learning…

This report describes the key elements of an alternative access program at Mount St. Mary's College (California), from the recruitment and orientation of culturally diverse students to those ongoing academic and support services necessary to student persistence to graduation. The model is outlined in chapter II. Chapters III and IV describe how…