The tutoring revolution : applying research for best practices, policy implications, and student achievement

When NCLB brought tutoring into public education, many administrators lacked any sense about what good tutoring practice is or how to create a program to meet NCLB requirements. The authors explain NCLB so that people can realize the implications to all tutorials. The scholarship provided in The Tutoring Revolution can help identify a framework to facilitate good tutoring practice?and for all those involved in education this provides a good summary of educational psychology. The background in educational psychology provided here presents a clear picture of the state of research involving tutoring. The book goes on to provide a matrix for challenges that will need more research. The authors touch on all the basics of the tutorial climate, feedback, reflection, and goals, ending with structures provided by the BBB and EIA that can be used as standards. I want to speak for the cause of The Tutoring Revolution, as one who sees first hand tutoring as an effective tool for education. These authors act as an agent to change schools and to revolutionize tutoring. The effect of which will benefit future generations of learners. -- Mike Zenanko, director, Instructional Services Unit, Jacksonville State University (AL) This book provides much to be considered in understanding evidence-based tutoring services in America. I support the author's conclusion that tutoring done by well-trained professionals can have a significant impact on learning outcomes. I also support the conclusion that the nation would be well-served if there were new undergraduate and graduate courses on tutoring that include instructional methods, curricula, and research methodology. -- Daniel F. Bassill, president, Cabrini Connections, Tutor/Mentor Connection, Chicago The Tutoring Revolution presents a fair and unbiased look at the successful world of private tutoring. The authors embarked on their work without preconceived notions of the outcomes. Parents as well as educators in private practice will find the book a useful tool. It is a succinct guide for parents attempting to choose the most appropriate tutor for their child, and it is a masterful piece of research for educators wishing to improve their tutoring practices. The Tutoring Revolution will be well received and will help loosen the National Education Association's vice-like grip on America's Educational process. Tutoring is indeed a powerful tool for enhancing student learning, and The Tutoring Revolution highlights this truth. -- Jim Giovannini, founder and owner, Academic Tutoring Centers, Park Ridge, IL The authors have managed to explore all the aspects of tutoring in a text that for me was easy to understand (not a bunch of educationese) and was truly enjoyable to read. I know there are 'how-to' tutoring books out there but this book is a research based 'how to think about' tutoring book and I really appreciated the difference. I especially liked the discussions of the education theories that support and inform the tutoring process. -- Dianna Baycich, Literacy Projects coordinator, Ohio Literacy Resource Center, Kent State University The Tutoring Revolution provides an academic treatment of tutoring which has often been considered a 'feel good' activity for volunteers. Since school districts now receive funds to provide tutoring for under-achieving students under No Child Left Behind, tutoring should be examined carefully in terms of research-based best practices, student achievement outcomes, and policy development. Fortunately, this book provides very useful perspectives on all of these dimensions. The four authors provide blended expertise based on research in teaching and learning, practical experience from years of professional tutoring, and policymaking background. The book, furthermore, argues against a single way to evaluate student progress by high stakes testing as well as a single way to conduct educational research. It concludes with a call for the professionalization of tutoring that includes training, research-based programming, and academic graduate programs. The extensive bibliography is especially useful for those who would like to pursue research and teaching in tutoring. -- Eunice N. Askov, Ph.D., distinguished professor emerita of education, co-director emerita, Goodling Institute for Research in Family Literacy, Institute As both government-financed and private-pay tutoring explode on the periphery of K-12 education, this perceptive guidebook is welcome indeed, the more so because it examines what works, not just what's happening. -- Chester E. Finn Jr., senior fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University & president, Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, Washington, DC When NCLB brought tutoring into public education, many administrators lacked any sense about what good tutoring practice is or how to create a program to meet NCLB requirements. The authors explain NCLB so that people can realize the implications to all tutorials. The scholarship provided in The Tutoring Revolution can help identify a framework to facilitate good tutoring practice-and for all those involved in education this provides a good summary of educational psychology. The background in educational psychology provided here presents a clear picture of the state of research involving tutoring. The book goes on to provide a matrix for challenges that will need more research. The authors touch on all the basics of the tutorial climate, feedback, reflection, and goals, ending with structures provided by the BBB and EIA that can be used as standards. I want to speak for the cause of The Tutoring Revolution, as one who sees first hand tutoring as an effective tool for education. These authors act as an agent to change schools and to revolutionize tutoring. The effect of which will benefit future generations of learners. -- Mike Zenanko, director, Instructional Services Unit, Jacksonville State University (AL) Using their combined areas of expertise, co-authors Edward E. Gordon...Charles J. O'Malley...and Judith Ponticell...present a comprehensive review of current research about tutoring as it relates to how students learn. School Administrator, January 2008 Read more...