When the first national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, all higher educational institutions in Ireland moved to remote learning and have effectively remained in this mode ever since. The situation presented enormous challenges for many mathematics lecturers who had not delivered lectures or tutorials online before. This study looks…

Large undergraduate courses make it difficult for students to achieve learning outcomes, in part due to the lack of resources available to course instructors to support student learning in these intimidating and often impersonal settings. One way to support instructor teaching and student learning is the implementation of undergraduate peer…

A number of researchers have explored the role and nature of design in education, proposing a diverse array of life cycle models. Design plays subtly different roles in each of these models. The learning design research community is shifting its attention from the representation of pedagogical plans to considering design as an ongoing process. As…

Tutorials/discussion classes are seen as an essential part of the teaching mix in the natural sciences, because that is where problems can be solved and course content is applied. Learning support provided by teaching assistants may free up the lecturer to do research, but are these assistants sufficiently well trained and well informed? Do…

Federal legislation specifies equitable access to education for all students at all levels of education, including postsecondary. To explore how well the physics education research (PER) community is currently serving students who inherently vary in needs, abilities, and interests, four research-based curricula (Tutorials in Introductory Physics,…

A lock-in amplifier is a versatile instrument frequently used in physics research. However, many students struggle with the basic operating principles of a lock-in amplifier which can lead to a variety of difficulties. To improve students' understanding, we have been developing and evaluating a research-based tutorial which makes use of a computer…

The United States lags behind many countries in mathematics proficiency. Quite often, students after graduating from high school are not prepared to enter college and are required to take remedial courses before taking credit-bearing math courses. This is particularly true at two-year institutions such as LaGuardia Community College, which…

The emergence of simple video and voice recording software has allowed faculty to deliver online course content in a variety of rich formats. But most faculty are still using traditional text comments for feedback to students. The author launched a study comparing student and faculty perceptions of text, voice, and screencasting feedback. The…

Introduction: Recent investigations have emphasized the need for university teachers to develop tutorial programs for students at university. Many universities are committed to broadening research on university teaching that will sharpen academic performance and levels of student satisfaction. Tutoring programs improve the development of the…

The recent emphasis in higher education on both student engagement and online learning encouraged the authors to develop an active e-learning environment for an introductory geohazards course, which enrolls 70+ undergraduate students per semester. Instructors focused on replicating the achievements and addressing the challenges within an already…

Research on the learning and teaching of science is an important field for scholarly inquiry by faculty in science departments. Such research has proved to be an efficient means for improving the effectiveness of instruction in physics. A basic topic in introductory physics is used to illustrate how discipline-based education research has helped…

A study of sustainable assessment theory in nine tutorial courses at four colleges demonstrated that three long-term learning outcomes improved: Independence, Intellectual Maturity and Creativity. Eight of 10 traits associated with these outcomes were validated through internal reliability, faculty and student rubrics, and faculty case studies…

Several studies of distance education students' attitudes toward and need for local student-teacher contact time suggest that the provision of local tutorial time can be important for student success and should be planned by the tutors in consultation with their students. (MSE)

Discusses prison education in Great Britain and reports on a study of Open University prison tutors that investigated tutorial relationships, student characteristics, and contextual features. Highlights include research on prison education; the Open University/Home Office Scheme that arranged prison education; and an appendix that shows course…

Reports results of a telephone survey of students in the Open University's School of Education (Wales), set in the context of Total Quality Management, that investigated student attitudes toward tutorial support. The need for improved service in rural areas is discussed, and implications for tutors and for marketing strategies are suggested. (LRW)