In this feature, the author has compiled a collection of links to developmental education best practices, literature reviews, publications, research reports, teaching strategies, and related tutorials. The author hopes that one will find this collection of developmental education resources useful.

Currently 38% of U.S. college students are age 25 or older. The majority of these are required to take remedial courses, with twice as many taking remedial mathematics as reading or writing courses. Mathematics instructors often use online tutorial programs to deliver homework assignments and course assessments. Web-based programs offer support…

The developmental program at Los Angeles City College, designed six years ago for those with low likelihood of success, has been regularly up-dated as needed. For the past two years, counselor assistants and student tutors have helped the regular faculty. In 1968, student tutors were assigned to help students, both regular and developmental, in…

Kaplan Educational Centers and Sylvan Learning Centers, private remedial instruction programs, are being used increasingly to move students through college remedial programs more quickly, either through oversight or teaching. One uses its own instructors; the other hires teachers already employed by client colleges. Some find the services…

Argues for the academic performance and retention benefits of Supplemental Instruction (SI). Among other things, SI increases retention, increases final course grade averages, increases overall GPAs, improves thinking and study skills, and increases graduation rates. Compares a list of Chickering's 7 Principles to the practices of SI programs.…

Describes several models for the design, evaluation, and delivery of developmental programs, including the Expanded Individualized Prescriptive Instruction system (which includes placement, counseling, and intervention phases), and the Developmental Pyramid Model (which includes diagnosis, prescription, evaluation, and advising/tutoring). (DMM)

Argues that demandingness, responsiveness, and self-regulation could be used to organize, explain, and predict useful techniques for developmental education practitioners. Also contends that student self-regulation is developed in demanding and supportive environments. Stresses the need for a training initiative in developmental education.…

This document presents 13 keynote addresses and major papers presented at the 1997 and 1998 conferences of the Pennsylvania Association of Developmental Educators. The papers are: (1) "Developmental Education: History of Implications" (Hunter Boylan, 1997 keynote speaker); (2) "Learning and Teaching in the 21st Century: Seven Habits of Highly…

Discusses the importance of academic support services in ensuring the effectiveness of developmental programs. Describes the Learning Assistance Support System developed in Washington's community college system and Luzerne County Community College's Institute for Developmental Educational Activities. (DMM)

Analyzes factors internal to the tutor and tutee (i.e., cognition, metacognition, and affect) and external to them (e.g., teacher/tutor background knowledge, educational environment, content to be learned, socioeconomic status, family background, and cultural forces) that influence the tutoring process. Suggests a theoretical framework for…

This handbook describes the developmental education program at Alvin Community College (ACC) in terms of its philosophy, purpose, operation, implementation, and assessment. The first section examines the mission of ACC; the history of the developmental education program at the college and its current organizational structure; and the need for the…

Describes the following aspects of the Developmental Education Program at Triton College: student placement, courses, faculty selection, reading and writing instruction, mathematics instruction, the Learning Assistance Center (LAC), LAC tutoring, LAC special projects, LAC management, special needs assistance program for disabled students, and…

Programs designed to enable Australian aborigines who had not successfully completed high school to qualify for science- and mathematics-related courses in higher education emphasize diagnostic testing, individualized instruction, short-term goals, and learner independence. Tutors have instructional, management, and support roles. Some early…

A program to mesh the skills of counselors and tutors was implemented in an educational-opportunity program designed to serve underprepared and economically disadvantaged students at a New York four-year college in the late 1980s. The model's success resulted in additional private funding at the original site and incorporation of the model into…

The Purdue University (Indiana) Department of Freshman Engineering offers a counselor-tutorial program to high-potential, but academically disadvantaged, freshmen. The program's counseling and tutorial services are intended to help students successfully complete their first-year courses in calculus, chemistry, and physics. Experience shows…