Discusses the special needs of English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students within the context of writing laboratories. Considers the issues and options involved with training writing tutors to work with ESL students on their writing. (HB)

Considers the evolution of writing-tutor pedagogies, from the job-specific training of tutorial-centered "practical" manuals to the professionalizing approach that establishes awareness of the specialized discourse of writing-center scholarship. Suggests that the latter approach also writes tutors into the field's most painful and…

An alternating treatments design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational program that combined timings, peer tutoring, positive-practice overcorrection, and performance feedback on mathematics fluency in four elementary school students with mathematics skills deficits. Results are discussed in terms of combining intervention…

Presents a study where 12 poor readers of first grade were randomly assigned to one of two daily tutoring conditions designed to teach children to read regularly spelled short words by either blending sounds to form words, or cumulative introduction of whole words. Finds no initial difference, but finds different results in delayed posttest one…

Volunteer tutoring programs resembling a Delaware school's HOSTS Program will probably succeed if a certified reading specialist supervises tutors; tutors receive ongoing training and feedback; tutoring sessions are structured and contain basic elements; tutoring is intensive and consistent; quality materials are used; student assessments are…

Critiques "America Reads," a federal initiative (launched by President Clinton in 1996) to foster universal literacy by sending a million tutors into schools. Argues that the program fails to take into account much of what is known about best practices in literacy instruction, and that inexperienced or poorly trained tutors may present…

Compares the knowledge content of GTE (Generic Tutoring Environment), a generic instructional knowledge base that facilitates dynamic pedagogical decision making, and PEPE, a computational framework for representing pedagogical knowledge to tailor instruction to an individual student. The courseware's interaction with the student and instructional…

Discusses the place of GTE (Generic Tutoring Environment) as an approach to bridging the gap between computer-assisted learning and intelligent tutoring systems; describes DCG (dynamic courseware generation) which allows dynamic planning of the contents of an instructional course; and considers combining GTE with DCG. (Author/LRW)

Reports that, based on a pilot study at the University of Missouri (Kansas City), high-risk students are more likely to participate in supplemental instruction sessions (SI) if they attend an accelerated learning group (ALG)/SI combination instead of only SI. Adds that those who attended the combination ALG/SI sessions instead of SI had higher…

Summarizes 3 documents and 12 journal articles that discuss programs and classroom efforts in which older students tutor younger children. The programs address literacy and academic subjects including reading, writing, science, and math. (BC)

Explains that semantic coaching is a system of conversational analysis and communication design developed by Fernando Flores, and was based on the earlier research of John Austin and John Searle. Describes how to establish the coaching relationship, and how to coach for improved performance. (PA)

Investigated Dutch college students' motivation to commit themselves to studying in a problem-based health sciences curriculum, expressed in terms of levels of attendance at tutorial meetings. Data on functioning of the tutorial group, tutor functioning, prior knowledge level, quality of instructional problems, time spent on individual study,…

Describes how Williams College borrows an old format, professor-student tutorials, to put a new spin on a more personal education. (EV)

Explored relationships among college students' cognitive and affective reactions to required academic tutoring, prior attitudes, and attachment style. Found that resistance to tutoring was related to prior negative attitudes toward tutoring and to insecure attachment; students with prior negative attitudes tended to feel even more negatively…

Describes how a student-based program at the University of Maine at Farmington encouraged students to use the renovated library facilities. Following a needs assessment, Writing Center peer tutors were trained to deliver a library instruction workshop. The key factor in the instructional program was that it was student-led. (AEF)