The Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) program at the University of Minnesota is a primary academic support program for historically difficult, introductory college courses that serve as gatekeepers to academic degree programs. Based upon operating principles of other academic support programs and educational theories, PAL is integrated into the courses…

The Hint Factory is an implementation of our novel method to automatically generate hints using past student data for a logic tutor. One disadvantage of the Hint Factory is the time needed to gather enough data on new problems in order to provide hints. In this paper we describe the use of expert sample solutions to "seed" the hint generation…

Given complaints about preparation of international students for their writing-intensive courses, a director of first-year writing and an undergraduate researcher at a Midwestern research university conducted a needs assessment based on Kaufman's model. Instruments used included a survey, interviews, and analysis of commentary on sample papers.…

Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) that employ a model-tracing methodology have consistently shown their effectiveness. However, what evidently makes these tutors effective, the cognitive model embedded within them, has traditionally been difficult to create, requiring great expertise and time, both of which come at a cost. Furthermore, an…

This paper describes the achievements of an innovative eight-year research program first introduced in Mizoguchi and Bourdeau (2000), which was aimed at building a theory-aware authoring system by using ontological engineering. To date, we have proposed OMNIBUS, an ontology that comprehensively covers different learning/instructional theories and…

Presented are guidelines for developing a cross-age tutoring program in the elementary school. Program goals and expectations are said to include social and academic improvement, and increased self image of both tutors and younger children. Two models for cross-age tutoring are outlined, and the process of implementing the program is reviewed.…

Negotiation skills are essential in everyday life, whether in a professional or personal context. Negotiation enables two parties to address misunderstandings and avoid conflicts through an exchange that depends as much on the interpersonal skills of the negotiators as the tactics employed. Acquiring these skills requires not only sound conceptual…

This paper describes the results of some same-college-age peer tutoring experiments. It is based on a theoretical model that calls for greater satisfaction and performance to result from being assigned the role of tutor than of tutee, and under equitable (status-congruent) rather than inequitable conditions. Same-sex tutoring pairs were formed of…

A program in which mentally retarded persons are trained to tutor their peers is described. Considered are selection and training aspects of such a program, and emphasized is the importance of the relationship between tutor and student. Tutors are explained to learn principles of establishing specific plans and keeping basic records. (CL)

The Reading Excellence program seeks to provide a cadre of trained volunteers to deliver tutorial assistance in reading to at-risk students during non-instructional times that will result in significant improvement in student performance on reading and language arts as measured by their age-appropriate standardized tests. This paper describes the…

The activities of a teacher who developed and piloted an eclectic model in an eighth grade mathematics classroom are described. Peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and mastery learning elements were selected and combined into a classroom program designed to increase student mathematics success. (KR)

The objective of this paper is to introduce a standards-based model for adaptive e-learning and to investigate the conditions and tools required by authors to implement this model. Adaptation in the context of e-learning is about creating a learner experience that purposely adjusts to various conditions over a period of time with the intention of…

This survey explores community service programs involving early adolescents. School-based programs are emphasized. The following programs were selected as models of appropriate service learning and are described in detail: (1) Friendly PEERsuasion, a peer tutoring program in Arlington (Texas); (2) The Peer Counseling Program in Oakland…

This report discusses the Student Academic Services (SAS) project at Eastern New Mexico University. It looks at how student development efforts have been augmented at the university. SAS is based on student development philosophy, fundamental to which is an understanding that the human individual functions as a unit, and his/her diverse features…

The literacy club described is a model cross-aged, paired reading program that is being successfully used in an elementary school in Redwood City, California to teach literacy skills to non-native speakers of English. The literacy club pairs older students--"rapid readers"--with younger students--"little readers"--in a yearlong reading experience…