The influence of technology acceptance, academic self-efficacy, and gender on academic achievement through online tutoring

The study focused on variables which were posited to capture undergraduate students' experiences with a large-scale online tutoring service, and relationships with the students’ perceptions of their academic capabilities and academic performance. A theoretical model incorporating variables from research on Technology Acceptance and Social Cognitive Theory was developed and tested. A total of 365 undergraduate students from a university located in Sydney, Australia, completed an online survey. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM), and multi-group analyses (MGA). The measurement model demonstrated configural, metric and scalar invariance. There were differences between males and females regarding latent means, with females scoring higher than males for facilitating conditions. The regression paths were consistent across males and females (i.e., invariant) in the full structural model. Facilitating conditions was positively associated with the perceived usefulness of technology, which in turn was positively associated with academic self-efficacy. Surprisingly, perceived ease of use did not have a statistically significant association with perceived usefulness. Academic self-efficacy was positively associated with academic achievement. Implications, particularly for online tutoring service providers, are discussed

The Role of Writing Center Tutorials of ESL Students: Exploring Tutors, Tutees, and Instructors’ Perceptions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the writing center tutorials. Based on the assumptions of the constructivist theory, this research tried to present a cognitive framework for better tutoring at the writing center and suggested better accommodations for ESL tutees. this exploratory study investigated the role of the writing center tutorials offered to ESL students through the perceptions of tutors, ESL tutees, and university instructors. Methods. Eighty nine international /ESL students and 23 tutors were selected. They were given a survey to respond to. Afterwards ten out of the 89 students and ten out of the 23 tutors were interviewed. Volunteering ESL students, tutors, and ten university faculty were interviewed to explore their perceptions toward the writing center tutorials. Moreover, the researcher observed the two writing centers in which the study was conducted. Data analysis. This Mixed Methods Research study combined a quantitative design using surveys and a qualitative part utilizing interviews, and non-participatory observation. Therefore, the result of the survey administered were statistically analyzed using independent samples T-tests. After the interviews, coding an analysis began to investigate similarities and dissimilarities among the participants’ responses. Tables of frequency were designed to examine the range between outliers and calculate percentages of each respondent in comparison to the other group members. Each theme had a representative code, a formulated meaning, frequency of the respondent, and a significant statement asserting such theme. The themes were collected across all cases to show frequency. Findings. The findings of this study revealed that the writing center is effective in improving ESL tutees’ writing skills that may also be transferable to their future careers. Additionally, this study asserted that the non-directive tutoring approach, the commonly used in the U.S. writing centers, is not the only effective tutoring mode for all ESL tutees. Most tutors, according to this study, may not apply this prescriptive non-directive tutoring. Consequently, the study concluded that a reasonable balance between the tutoring dichotomies can make a difference with ESL students. Furthermore, the study emphasized that tutors need specialized ESL training to better assist and accommodate ESL tutees

The Experiences and Attitudes of Student Tutors to Peer Tutoring in the Class Time of the Gynecology and Infertility Course

This study was conducted to examine experiences and attitudes of midwifery student tutors during scheduled class time. Sixty-one students from 2016 to 2019, who passed the gynecology and infertility course, participated in this study as student tutors and tutees. Students’ experiences were investigated with a five-point Likert-type rating scale questionnaire including 17 items in six domains. The average score, frequency, and percentage of positive and negative attitude were calculated in each domain. All participants were female with an average age of 26.3 years. Average student experiences were favorable, and their attitudes towards peer teaching were overwhelmingly positive in all domains. Class-time peer tutoring programs where students change their roles as teacher and student may be regarded as an alternative to traditional peer tutoring programs

Risk culture of late modernity? : Mass tutoring enrolment of Hong Kong\u27s senior secondary students

Mass tutoring on senior secondary curricula, with specific focus on examination syllabi and techniques, has expanded rapidly in Hong Kong in the recent decade. Through semi-structured in-depth interviews, conducted in summer 2007, with 20 certificate level (Secondary 4 and 5) and 21 advanced level (Secondary 6 and 7) students with various level of involvement in mass tutoring, this study discovered: (1) Risk awareness and future-oriented mentality: Students expected that mass tutoring could help improve their performance in public examinations, and could secure good grades. To them, better grades mean higher chance to get a recognized qualification, fulfil their career aspiration, and secure a better life in the uncertain future. (2) Individualization of decisions and choices: Students thought that they should be responsible and accountable for their own life-choices. The decision to enrol in mass tutoring was made on their own. When they needed advice on choices of tutors, they referred to the opinions from the schoolmates with similar learning experience and academic performance as themselves. In order to locate the most suitable tutors, some students even collected various tutors’ lecture notes or recordings for comparison, or attended free-of-charge trial lessons before finalizing their choices. (3) Individual reflexivity and conditional trust on authority: In terms of enhancement of academic performance, a number of students trusted cram school tutors more than daytime school teachers, as they thought the former more familiar with the examination requirement than the latter. Nevertheless, they did not completely trust their tutors. They evaluated from time to time the effectiveness and suitability of the tutorials they were attending, and discontinued and made changes if necessary. (4) Detraditionalization of schooling values: Students viewed senior secondary education different from more idealistic lifelong learning. In their eyes, getting good grades and preparing for good prospect in further studies and career are of utmost importance in senior secondary schooling. Some of them even preferred daytime school teachers to adopt cram school tutors’ approach. With the above findings, the study argues that the microscopic phenomenon of blossoming mass tutoring enrolment is a reflection of the macroscopic risk culture of late modernity, which has been addressed by Anthony Giddens and Ulrich Beck. The study unfolds several specific qualities of individual life and social environment in the post-industrial era. To deal with the uncertain social environment, individuals prefer adapting to the existing social order rather than imposing changes to the external social environment. Appreciated traditional values not conforming to the modern social order will only be practised only after an individual has achieved ontological security in the highly modernized social environment. Individuals are locked in a cage where they had to endlessly appeal to uncertain measures to deal with the uncertainties embedded in daily life. This study also reveals the unbalanced power between individuals and social structure in the structuration process, and the disparity in power of risk negotiation due to wealth difference in the highly modernized environment, which were under-examined by the proponents of the late modernity paradigm

Peer Tutoring in Middle School: How it Changes Student Achievement and Attitudes

Research literature shows that mathematics is a gatekeeper to success. Providing alternative opportunities for students to strengthen mathematical reasoning over algorithmic computations while problem-solving in a collaborative environment helps to prepare students to compete locally and globally. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate how an afterschool Peer Tutoring Club (PTC) affected academic performances and attitudes of Grade 6, at-risk or “at-promise,” (Samuels, 2020), middle school mathematics students. The gap found in literature revealed a need for additional research involving rigorous multistep problem-solving within peer tutoring programs. This study collected data from 46, 1-hour, afterschool peer tutoring sessions between December 2017 and May 2018. Six PTC tutees were selected as participants. The participants received cross-age and same age peer tutoring while utilizing a district aligned curriculum that consisted of multistep problem-solving. This dissertation addressed the gap found in literature by collecting qualitative and quantitative data from four instruments: (a) district’s math pre/posttest, (b) Attitudes Toward Math Inventory (ATMI), (c) participants’ work, and (d) participants’ exit interviews. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze both qualitative and quantitative data. The data was triangulated to answer the two research questions. The findings from the PTC study supported theory and empirical study evidence that peer tutoring improved academic achievement and attitudes toward math

The impacts of peer assisted learning on rhythm counting in a middle school string orchestra classroom

This study addressed the topic of peer assisted learning, specifically ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), in a middle school string orchestra classroom. The purpose of the current study was to implement peer assisted learning into a middle school string orchestra classroom in order to determine the impacts of peer assisted learning versus teacher-directed instruction on middle school string orchestra students’ abilities to notate correct rhythm counting. Over the course of four weeks, the researcher implemented two different instructional strategies, CWPT and teacher-directed instruction (TDI), into a sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade string orchestra classroom. Utilizing the difference between pretest and posttest scores, the researcher analyzed and compared the impacts of each strategy; the researcher also measured students’ satisfaction of CWPT and TDI for learning to notate correct rhythm counting. Ultimately, the researcher concluded that there were no statistically significant differences in the impacts, or level of satisfaction, CWPT had on middle school string orchestra students\u27 abilities to notate correct rhythm counting when compared to TDI. However, both instructional strategies increased students’ scores from pretests to posttests, and students within each group reported equal satisfaction. Therefore, the researcher also concluded that CWPT is a tool that can be added to music educators’ repertoire of teaching strategies as a supplemental strategy to traditional TDI

How Participation in a Peer-Led Writing Center Impacts Struggling Students’ Self-Efficacy and Motivation

Many secondary students struggle with writing, both in terms of skill and confidence. This qualitative case study follows six students who have a history of struggling in English Language Arts class as they undergo a tutoring intervention based on the writing center model of peer tutoring. Students were observed in seven writing sessions which took place at multiple stages of the writing process and with informational, narrative, and analytical writing assignments. Through interview and observation, the researcher examines how students’ self-efficacy and motivation shift over the course of the intervention. Students who began with low self-efficacy and low motivation were shown to have increased in both components through the tutoring process; students with high self-efficacy and low motivation did not experience the same positive impact

Student Experiences of Tutoring in an Associate Degree Nursing Education Program

Retention in higher education is a topic of concern, especially in high demand programs. The nursing profession is currently experiencing a shortage and nursing schools are seemingly not able to successfully graduate enough candidates to overcome the shortage. Developing targeted retention solutions for nursing education programs that work not only impacts the higher education community but the nation as a whole. Peer and professional tutoring services specific to nursing education as a retention solution may provide the academic and integrative impact that assists students in performance and improves retention. Understanding the experience of the student tutee is important in developing and modifying the tutoring services to create the greatest impact on retention. This study examined student experiences with peer and professional tutoring. The goal was to determine what aspects of tutoring the students felt helped them to persist in their nursing coursework. The study also attempted to determine why students prefer peer or professional tutoring based on their experiences. Participants included associate degree nursing students from a variety of semesters who attended either peer or professional tutoring. Individual interviews using a semi-structured format were conducted with participants. Colaizzi’s method of analysis was be used to identify themes from the data collected. Jeffreys (2013) Nursing Universal Retention and Success Model was used as a theoretical framework. Findings reinforce the model, indicating that professional integration through engagement with peers and nursing professionals help alter student academic factors and psychological outcomes. Students interviewed articulated that all of these elements together improved their academic outcomes, increasing persistence and program retention

The impacts of peer assisted learning on rhythm counting in a middle school string orchestra classroom

This study addressed the topic of peer assisted learning, specifically ClassWide Peer Tutoring (CWPT), in a middle school string orchestra classroom. The purpose of the current study was to implement peer assisted learning into a middle school string orchestra classroom in order to determine the impacts of peer assisted learning versus teacher-directed instruction on middle school string orchestra students’ abilities to notate correct rhythm counting. Over the course of four weeks, the researcher implemented two different instructional strategies, CWPT and teacher-directed instruction (TDI), into a sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade string orchestra classroom. Utilizing the difference between pretest and posttest scores, the researcher analyzed and compared the impacts of each strategy; the researcher also measured students’ satisfaction of CWPT and TDI for learning to notate correct rhythm counting. Ultimately, the researcher concluded that there were no statistically significant differences in the impacts, or level of satisfaction, CWPT had on middle school string orchestra students\u27 abilities to notate correct rhythm counting when compared to TDI. However, both instructional strategies increased students’ scores from pretests to posttests, and students within each group reported equal satisfaction. Therefore, the researcher also concluded that CWPT is a tool that can be added to music educators’ repertoire of teaching strategies as a supplemental strategy to traditional TDI