Tutors often make use of explanations that do not promote learning. One reason for the ineffectiveness of explanations might lie in tutors' failure to take into account a tutee's understanding in order to individualize instruction. To test whether tutors provide more effective explanations when they are assisted in assessing a tutee's…

This commentary on C. Addison's Stone's paper on the scaffolding metaphor for the learning disabilities field suggests: (1) repositioning the metaphor in its theoretical frame; (2) considering the ways in which contexts and activities, as well as individuals, scaffold learning; and (3) examining the relationship between scaffolding and effective…