This article describes a qualitative study, and it focuses on the analysis of the dynamics surrounding tutorial action in higher education. The authors have tried to determine the specific needs of the students by identifying and examining the functions associated with tutorial action. Several action guidelines aimed at improving tutorial function…

Most faculty will agree that students must learn to write well (Emerson, MacKay, MacKay, & Funnell, 2006), and in the sciences, a variety of approaches have been taken. In the College of Physical and Engineering Science at the University of Guelph, we have developed a way of embedding research, writing, and analytical skills into an…

Peer tutoring at the postsecondary level has been studied extensively, particularly over the last twenty years. Peer tutoring programs are common across institutional type and size in the United States (Boylan, Bonham, Bliss, & Saxon, 1995; Maxwell, 2001) given students' preferences for tutors who share age and status similarity (Cohen, 1986;…

Hamline University, a medium sized college in St. Paul Minnesota, dedicated resources and time to New Orleans, Louisiana in its efforts to rebuild and reclaim the city. Days after Hurricane Katrina hit, Hamline sent students, faculty and staff to help with recovery efforts. The Education Club adopted Martin Luther King Science and Technology…

Delaware Technical and Community College online courses are not properly focused to ensure instructors are effective in improving student achievement. First time online students are not given the proper tools when navigating online courses at the college. The focus at Delaware Tech should be on improving the format which students use when…

While it is well known which curricular practices can improve student performance on measures of conceptual understanding, the sustaining of these practices and the role of faculty members in implementing these practices are less well understood. We present a study of the hand-off of "Tutorials in Introductory Physics" [McDermott and Schaffer…

Each year, Austin Independent School District Department of Research and Evaluation (DRE) staff develop a plan of work to describe the scope of work for the coming year. The plans that make up this document identify programs to be evaluated and services to be provided by DRE staff and provide the blueprints for evaluation that staff will follow…

Educators are regularly challenged to design instruction that motivates learners. If interest is lacking, the challenge can be even greater. Tailoring is a message design technique that could help to stimulate interest and consequently, motivation to learn. Effective tailoring requires the formal assessment of learner characteristics and the…

This article features Campus Kids, a mentoring program located at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Gonzaga is a Jesuit University with a strong commitment to social justice and humanistic education. Campus Kids began, in the true sense of a community partnership, as an attempt to connect community resources (potential university…

This chapter looks at the development and nature of learning objects, meta-tagging standards and taxonomies, learning object repositories, learning object repository characteristics, and types of learning object repositories, with type examples. (Contains 1 table.)

This study attempt to examine the perception of stakeholders (tutors & coordinators) in open and distance education with particular reference to the eastern region of Harargie. Thirty tutors and 10 program coordinators were consulted and considered as subjects of the study. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in the data…

Perkins, a professor of Education at Harvard University, promoted the use of constructivism in conjunction with information processing technologies to facilitate students' understanding and active use of knowledge and skills. He identified five facets of a learning environment including: information banks, symbol pads, construction kits,…

Teaching to large classes is often challenging particularly when the faculty and teaching resources are limited. Innovative, less staff intensive ways need to be explored to enhance teaching and to engage students. We describe our experience teaching biochemistry to 350 students at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences (MUHAS) under…

This paper examines the working philosophy of a university-community collaborative program--the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC), a multifaceted community service center located in the Northeast Neighborhood of South Bend, Indiana, in the United States. This program's multitude of educational and social services includes individualized…

In 2006, following the Bologna Process, Turkish Council of Higher Education (YOK) adopted a resolution and changed the curriculum of teacher training higher education institutions. This curriculum revision introduced a new course called "Community Service" which aims to raise students' awareness of their responsibilities as individuals…