This study evaluated an intervention that integrated explicit instruction of word recognition strategies within a home tutoring program. A randomized controlled trial paradigm was used to study the efficacy of the parent-tutoring program Paired Reading (PR; Topping, 2001) and an experimental modification of PR on the reading achievement of children in Grades 2 to 4. Fifty-seven families were recruited to participate in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) the PR parent tutoring program that taught parents to read with their child, providing corrective feedback to their child in the form of supplying the misread word, when needed (PR); (2) a modified parent tutoring intervention which used the PR program, but included training in the word identification strategies of the Phonological and Strategy Training Program (PHAST; Lovett, Lacerenza, & Borden, 2000) to be used during the PR activity when assistance with reading was needed (PR-PHAST); and (3) a wait-list control group that continued with their regular family reading activities. Children’s reading abilities were assessed twice: prior to intervention and immediately after the 16-week intervention. Questionnaires were used to assess parental involvement with home literacy activities and to evaluate parental perception of the home tutoring program. Intervention fidelity was monitored via audio taped samples of reading sessions and follow-up telephone calls. The results suggest that superior reading gains can be achieved at home with a modification of the PR technique that incorporates teaching the word identification strategies of the PHAST Program. / School Psychology

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 225-239). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Though communicative methodologies have been preeminent over the past several decades, the skill of L2/FL pronunciation instruction has remained in the shadows, having been relegated to the sidelines along with the outdated methodologies with which it was taught. The purpose of this study was to gan insight into the efficacy of one types of second language pronunciation instruction: Individualized English pronunciation instruction under the Covert Rehearsal Model (Dickerson, 1989). To this end, seventeen university ESL students from various degree programs were recruited to receive six hours of English pronunciation tutoring spread out across six to eight weeks. Instruction was provided by eleven MA student-teachers (tutors), who concurrently received instruction in applied linguistics and pronunciation pedagogy. To evaluate the actual and perceived efficacy of the model. this study drew upon multiple instruments, such as recorded pre- and post-student-assessments, student and tutor questionnaires, and tutor portfolios. Study results indicated that (a) the individualized pronunciation instruction provided by graduate student-teachers was effective in improving tutees' reading of English reduced vowels, contracted words, intonation contours, and primary phrasal stress, and (b) tutees perceived their instruction as both effective and personally empowering. / text

This study examines multilevel factors that drive the demand for private supplementary tutoring among Grade 9 students in Mainland China. As in other parts of the world, private supplementary tutoring in academic subjects has become a major phenomenon in Mainland China. The growing demand is associated with the combined effect of factors at the system, institutional, household, and individual levels. The thesis draws on data collected through a mixed-methods approach in Chongqing which, with a population of 29 million, is the largest of China’s semi-autonomous municipalities. Three major steps were taken to serve the purpose of the research. First, the author analyzed questionnaire responses from students and parents about the features of tutoring received by the sampled students and related factors. Second, descriptive statistics were analyzed to speculate on the links between background factors of the sampled students and their participation in tutoring. Binary logistic regression was further performed to assess the most significant determinants of the probability of participation, using the background factors as predictors. Third, on the basis of the above, data collected through interviews and case studies with various stakeholders were analyzed to explain how factors at multiple levels shaped the demand patterns. The findings allowed the thesis to develop a model of key determinants of demand for tutoring. The model includes macro-level factors such as educational policies, high-stakes examinations, and the traditions of a Confucian culture. At the institutional level, school type was the strongest predictor of participation. Students sampled in the key schools in the metropolitan area were about five times more likely to receive tutoring than those in the remote rural schools. At the household and individual levels, the students’ socioeconomic status and academic aspirations had significant and positive effects on their likelihood of receiving tutoring. According to the study, over 90% of the students receiving tutoring were tutored by mainstream teachers. This feature, which reflected both students’ demand for tutoring and teachers’ desires to supply it, shaped power relations in the schools. The links between power relations and the patterns of demand for tutoring were investigated through social theories on power bases. The thesis contributes to research in a wider context by refining understanding of the nature of shadow education and by developing theories on the demand for tutoring from a Chinese perspective. It documents teachers’ involvement in private tutoring through the lens of power relations. The research findings have practical implications for policymakers and planners, school leaders, and families in making educational decisions. / published_or_final_version / Education / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) are expert systems united with computer-aided instruction. The psychological issue of human-computer interfacing combines aspects of education, cognitive science, human performance and psycho-sociolinguistics. This study presented a situation in which physicians used their reasoning to solve a computer-simulated medical case, embedded in the NEOMYCIN ITS. Experiments were designed to assess how their anthropomorphisation of the systems affected their medical reasoning in a complex ill-defined problem-solving domain. The study examines the subjects' interpretation of textual case materials, specifically their ascription of meaning and intelligibility to the form and usage of natural language. The results indicate that these factors affect their interpretation, not only of case materials, but also of their evaluation of the program's medical reasoning. This has implications for the interactive man-machine interface and its relationship to interpersonal communication is discussed.

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No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Worcester Polytechnic Institute. / Keywords: cognitive tutoring; model-tracing; web services. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-43 ).

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Illinois University, 1991. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 66-71).