P.A.C.T. – Scaffolding Best Practice in Home Tutoring

Abstract

Research indicates a high correlation between parental involvement and a child’s learning. The most effective parental involvement is when parents engage in learning activities with their child at home. However, parental involvement around learning activities may not occur spontaneously due to lack of domain knowledge, teaching strategies or structured support. This paper discusses how these issues can be addressed through the Parent and Child Tutor (P.A.C.T.). In particular, P.A.C.T will provide support for Suzuki parents during violin practice at home. This paper presents two studies; the first study identifies a set of best practice exemplars through lesson observations and interviews with the domain expert which informs the design of P.A.C.T. The second study validates the design of the system through analysing parent-child practice with and without the support of P.A.C.T. Results suggests that P.A.C.T. is effective in significantly increasing the use of best practice exemplars, in particular positive reinforcement and motivational games.