Self-efficacy is essential to motivation and learning. Compared to students with weak self-efficacy for academics, students with strong self-efficacy have higher motivation, make greater effort, persist longer, and achieve more. Unfortunately, struggling learners with weak self-efficacy often avoid academic tasks or give up prematurely, reducing…

There is wide agreement on the importance of scaffolding for student learning. Yet, models of individual and face-to-face scaffolding are not necessarily applicable to educational settings in which a group of learners is pursuing a process of inquiry mediated by technology. The scaffolding needed for such a process may be examined from three…

In a series of focus groups, past and present distance students of the Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, were interviewed to establish which factors they believed enabled them to persist with their program. Related issues, such as reasons for enrolling, expectations, and barriers to…

The Maui Hawaii Educational consortium (the Maui School District and Maui Community College) sought scientifically based evidence for the effectiveness of the "Cognitive Tutor (CT) Algebra I Curriculum" to inform adoption decisions. Decision makers were particularly interested in whether the use of the "CT" program affects…

Tutoring has long been recognized as superior to group instruction, especially for students with special needs. Tutors can adapt instruction to the learner's pace, learning style and level of understanding. Feedback and correction are immediate. Basic misunderstandings can be quickly identified and corrected. Tutoring also has emotional benefits:…

Despite the negative image of many adolescents and the perception that they are more influenced by peers than by adults, research consistently finds that most adolescents value positive relationships with parents, teachers, and other adults. Research also shows that adolescents who have positive relationships with caring adults are more likely to…

Objectives: To use methods from the field of marketing research to involve students in the redesign of McMaster University's small group, problem-based undergraduate medical education program. Methods: We used themes from a focus group conducted in an electronic decision support lab to compose 14 four-level educational attributes. Undergraduate…

During the last years, development of open learning environments that support effectively their users has been a challenge for the research community of educational technologies. The open interactive nature of these environments results in users experiencing difficulties in coping with the plethora of available functions, especially during their…

This study examines the post-observation interactions between six English as a Second Language (ESL) student teachers and their university tutors during their teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Data consist of interviews with university tutors, transcriptions of recorded conferences and stimulated recall interviews with student teachers. Case…

This study examined the relationship between training in Cognitive Coaching and a number of qualitative and quantitative components of teacher cognition and behavior hypothesized to be positively impacted by such training. Cognitive Coaching involves a planning conference between coach and teacher, classroom observation, and a reflecting…

In 1994-95, the firm Interactive Images developed an interactive laserdisc training program to train adult literacy tutors in four specific areas: interpersonal skills; communication skills; expectations of effective tutors; and incorporation of the skills of effective teaching into a tutoring session. In 1995-96, a trainer-of-trainers model was…

A project provided more than 800 adult educators in Pennsylvania with a wide range of staff development activities and instructional strategies for teaching students with learning differences and multilevel abilities in the same classroom. It established a model for staff development that built upon previous projects and used a variety of delivery…

This final report describes a staff development project designed to provide for the effective and statewide dissemination of significant current or previous Section 353 special demonstration projects in Pennsylvania. A panel of 8 literacy experts reviewed 65 special projects funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education's Bureau of Adult…

Inquiry-centered staff development requires that adult literacy practitioners (adult educators, tutors, and administrators) function simultaneously as learners, researchers, and reformers performing the following actions: forming research communities within program or across program sites; using literature and their own experiences to investigate…

The Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is the largest, most comprehensive, and most rigorous international comparison of education ever undertaken. TIMSS findings show similarities and differences in the processes and outcomes of schooling between the United States and East Asian countries, particularly Japan. This report…