The large number of experimentally determined molecular structures has led to the development of a new semiotic system in the life sciences, with increasing use of accurate molecular representations. To determine how this change impacts students' learning, we incorporated image tests into our introductory cell biology course. Groups of students…

This study investigated outcomes (achievement, attitude, and retention) of college algebra students who had access to an online tutoring resource using a pre-posttest control group design. Students in the experimental groups were provided access to an online tutoring service unlike the students in the control group. Both groups had access to other…

We studied students performing a complex learning task, that of solving multipart physics problems with interactive tutoring on the web. We extracted the rate of completion and fraction completed as a function of time on task by retrospectively analyzing the log of student-tutor interactions. There was a spontaneous division of students into three…

A study investigated the usefulness of an online writing lab, Smarthinking, in a college writing tutorial program. The study investigated 4 issues: what Smarthinking is and how it works; what students think of the program; what instructors think of the program; and whether Smarthinking is cohesive with writing center principles and procedures. A…

This study explores computer-meditated tutoring and a traditional tutoring model that is carried out on a face-to-face basis and investigates whether there is a difference in high school students' mathematics achievement. In this study, there was no statistically significant difference between the face-to-face and the computer-mediated tutored…

Considers questions posed by students during e-mail tutorials to elicit information from guest lecturers and the use of that information by students in their essays. Findings indicate: tutees tend to pose questions to elicit information or clarification rather than to elicit opinions of the guest lecturer; and two-thirds of tutees' essays cited…

Discusses a research project that uses artificial intelligence techniques to help teach programing. Describes principles and implementation of the LISP Intelligent Tutoring System (LISPITS). Explains how the artificial intelligence technique was developed and possible future research. (MVL)

The reasons that the current tutorial system (CTS) does not produce significant effects include the budgets and policies of schools, the greater independence of students, and the infrequent interaction of tutors with students. To reduce the deficiencies of the current tutorial system, this paper proposes a network tutorial system (NTS) and…

This paper addresses the problem of how a community college writing center can maintain its personalized character as it moves toward online resources and approaches. The authors describe a writing resource developed by the Writing Center at LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York (CUNY) by LaGuardia and CUNY faculty and…

In this paper, an early component of the teacher education practicum program in the College of Education and Professional Studies at Jacksonville State University is described. This program includes an on-campus one-on-one tutorial that is facilitated through the Teaching/Learning Center (T/LC). The T/LC was established so that the JSU College of…

Describes a tutoring system using a computer network between sixth graders and Master of Arts in Teaching candidates. Notes each student and teacher had access to a computer at home and at school. Develops the tutoring model and discusses the outcomes of the first year. (MVL)

Explores and identifies scaffolding (adults helping children learn inaccessible material) strategies in three specific primary schooling contexts: design and technology, mathematics, and science. Delineates the differences among scaffolding, everyday knowledge, and specialist knowledge. (MJP)

Maintains that a common set of principles governs all tutoring, no matter what the age range, and extending to a variety of formats (including computers). Compares Lev Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development with "scaffolding," both concepts relating to the process of effective educational cooperation between adults and children. (MJP)

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) aim to improve upon previous computer-aided instruction programs by embedding much of the expert knowledge that good human teachers possess. While ITS research has a practical goal of developing programs that assist students in learning, there is little data on their instructional effectiveness. This paper…

This paper describes a pilot mentoring/tutoring program which paired undergraduate and graduate students with homeless, at-risk, urban elementary students. The project addressed students' poor school performance and disparities in access to technology for minority and disadvantaged students. It purchased computer software and established a…