Ramaprasad (1983) defined feedback as information about the gap between actual performance level and the reference level, which is subsequently used to alter that gap. Feedback, therefore, needs to be meaningful, understood and correctly acted upon. Tutors not only have to give feedback; they should really evaluate how effective their feedback has…

In this article, an interview with paraeducator Joyce Hinckley is presented. Hinckley discusses her 15-year career as a paraeducator, how she became involved with the field, and gives advice to teachers working with paraeducators. She is the mother of five children and grandmother of eight. She has lived in farming communities for most of her life.

ActiveMath is a complex web-based adaptive learning environment with a number of components and interactive learning tools. The basis for handling semantics of learning content is provided by its semantic (mathematics) content markup, which is additionally annotated with educational metadata. Several components, tools and external services can…

Adaptive learning object selection and sequencing is recognized as among the most interesting research questions in intelligent web-based education. In most intelligent learning systems that incorporate course sequencing techniques, learning object selection is based on a set of teaching rules according to the cognitive style or learning…

Despite the fact that in some parts of the world private supplementary tutoring is a huge industry with far-reaching economic, social and educational implications, the topic has been neglected by educational researchers. This paper focuses on the nature and determinants of demand for private supplementary tutoring. It first draws on literature…

The purpose of this tutorial is threefold: (a) review the state of statistical science regarding effect-sizes, (b) illustrate the importance of effect-sizes for interpreting findings in all forms of research and particularly for results of clinical-outcome research, and (c) demonstrate just how easily a criterion on reporting effect-sizes in…

MDRC launched Opening Doors in 2003 to study the effects of community college programs designed to help students persist in school and earn a credential. This report presents early results from the Opening Doors program at Owens Community College in Toledo, Ohio, which operated from 2004 through 2006. The two-semester program served students whose…

This article proposes a mathematical model of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS), based on observations of the behaviour of these systems. One of the most important problems of pedagogical software is to establish a common language between the knowledge areas involved in their development, basically pedagogical, computing and domain areas. A…

In 1996, the State University of New York at New Paltz developed the Supplemental Writing Workshop Program for its basic writing students in response to public pressure to discontinue the offering of so-called remedial writing courses at four-year institutions. Our primary purpose in this article is to describe the design of the SWW Program, which…

Peer tutoring is essentially peers teaching each other. Many teachers already incorporate this idea into their classrooms in other curricular areas and appreciate the benefits that come from this type of teaching. Teachers can implement peer tutoring by teaching a small group of students a subject, or using a group that already understands the…

Academia has traditionally avoided adopting the fast-paced, profit-oriented operational style that accompanies corporate culture. However, a business model can be successfully adapted to the unique needs of an academic institution, discipline, faculty, and students through the selective adoption of business principles. A classic marketing mix…

In this article we present a structured set of Design Patterns (DPs) that deals with tracking students while they solve problem in specific domains such as programming or mathematics. Our collection of 17 DPs yields a three step approach: First step: to collect and analyze information on each student for each exercise; Second step: to build a…

Under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, school districts that receive federal Title 1 education funds and have a "school in need of improvement--year two" must implement supplemental educational services (SES). Such districts must allocate a portion of their Title 1 funds to free tutoring for low-income students. Providers may be…

This article raises some inconsistencies observed in attachment teaching practice in Zimbabwe. The argument made is that these inconsistencies are caused by the different philosophical approaches informing attachment teaching practice and its delivery, which is largely visible in teaching practice supervision. The discussion shows that while…

What influences who seeks foreign language tutoring? Using expectancy value theory, the present study researches the characteristics of university foreign language students in the language classroom (n = 258) and seeking tutoring (n = 29). Students' performance and mastery goal orientations, achievement task values, self-efficacy for foreign…