Two factors contributing to the change in writing instruction have been (1) the research investigating the way writing is taught and (2) the computer. Proponents of the various writing models endorse writing as an ongoing, multi-stage process, with equal emphasis given to each of the stages. Educational computing has undergone a change of focus…

The role of prior knowledge in skill acquisition is to enable the learner to detect and to correct errors. Computational mechanisms that carry out these two functions are implemented in a simulation model which represents prior knowledge in "constraints". The model learns symbolic skills in mathematics and science by noticing and…

Over the past 3 years, a variety of studies in intelligent tutoring system (ITS) effectiveness have been conducted. A summary is provided of the research into the use of POSIT, MALM, and the Mobile Subscriber Remote-Telephone Terminal (MSRT) Tutor. POSIT is an ITS for the tutoring of whole-number subtraction. It assumes that the learning of a…

This handbook is for volunteer tutors, student interns, and VISTA volunteers working with adult basic education (ABE) and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners. The community-based handbook contains information about adult literacy and tutoring--what tutors do, who the learners are, and how the literacy learning process works. Introductory…

This collection of essays on Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) defines terms, presents helpful suggestions, and provides models for useful documents (everything from workshop evaluation forms to contracts for visiting consultants). After a preface by Elaine P. Maimon, the collection's 12 essays are: (1) "Writing Across the Curriculum: An…

This book offers practical guidelines for implementing cooperative-collaborative learning in the classroom. Included are research reviews, sample lesson plan formats, suggestions for peer coaching, and forms and materials that teachers may duplicate. The book's 17 chapters are divided into three sections on cooperative group learning; partner…

This training package, which is designed for use by tutors teaching basic skills in a variety of adult education settings throughout the United Kingdom, consists of four booklets. The first two booklets explain how to use Microsoft Works word processing and spreadsheet software. Each contains instructions for using the Microsoft products in MS DOS…

Peer tutoring sessions involving two eighth-grade girls were recorded and analyzed through a Vygotskian lens. A "microgenetic analysis" of particular protocol excerpts from the tutoring sessions was conducted. When a lapse of intersubjectivity existed, participants frequently launched into narrative as a mediating device to negotiate a…

This practicum report describes a staff development program that was designed to implement a peer tutoring program in which nonhandicapped students instructed three trainable mentally handicapped peers in a regular high-school setting. The program was implemented to increase the achievement of handicapped students in basic academic skills that…

Reporting on small-scale classroom research projects dealing with diverse aspects of literacy, this collection of 13 research reports from Canada emphasizes common themes. These themes are: the need for parental participation in literacy and numeracy development, the beneficial effects of tutoring, the need for a wide and varied classroom…

This manual is planned for use by both community organizations interested in starting literacy programs to serve their neighborhoods and for agencies providing other services to clients who would also benefit from literacy services. It is organized in four parts, which represent various stages in thinking about and starting a new literacy program.…

This practicum report describes a primary school teacher's use of peer tutoring as a form of individualized instruction for at-risk students in a regular classroom. Targeted students were four 2nd graders and four 3rd graders who did not produce the quantity of work required but scored too high on psychological tests for placement in special…

The Tombigbee Regional Library in West Point, Mississippi, conducted a literacy program from October 1, 1988 to September 30, 1989. During the period, the program recruited 166 students and 64 new tutors, provided funding for 110 students not eligible for Job Training Partnership Act funding, solicited and used community resources and funds, and…

RAED provides a computerised infrastructure to support the development and administration of Vicarious Learning in collaborative learning communities spread across multiple universities and workplaces. The system is based on the OASIS middleware for Role-based Access Control. This paper describes the origins of the model and the approach to…

The effect of a tutorial and/or homework assistance program conducted by peers during the regular school day was investigated. Subjects were minority students from low socio-economic families. Student-tutors were assigned to provide 35 minutes of daily individualized assistance in mathematics, help that was not available in the home environment.…