Practical Strategies Guide
Peer Tutoring
Peer tutoring is an supplemental instructional strategy that engages two or more students to assist each other in, or outside, of the classroom. Peer tutoring also allows higher level students, and in some cases, lower level students to mentor and tutor students struggling with an assignment or concept.
Peer tutoring should only be used as a supplement to teacher-guided instruction and not as the main source of instruction. Student progress may be measured by assessment of student understanding before, during, and after the intervention. If a student does not progress, peer tutoring may not be helpful for that student. However, this will probably show itself during the tutoring sessions.
There are two types of peer tutoring: one-on-one and class wide. One-on-one peer tutoring is virtually the same as any normal tutoring session. However, class wide tutoring can be more beneficial for all students by giving them peer help and class role models.
Data Driven:
While some studies show that peer tutoring is not drastically beneficial for the student being tutored, it can mean much more to the student who is doing the tutoring. However, students who do not benefit directly from the tutoring in terms of grades, they do benefit from learning study skills and how to study for a particular subject.
Arco-Tirado, J., Fernández-Martín, F., & Fernández-Balboa, J. (2011). The impact of a peer-tutoring program on quality standards in higher education. The International Journal of Higher Education Research,
Students in one study show that student A and student B increased their spelling accuracy scores from 74% and 76% respectively to 85% and 91% respectively.It is important to note, this study determined a baseline score for each student before implementing the intervention to determine if progress was actually made. This practice should also be exercised in the classroom.
Burks, M. (2004). Effects of classwide peer tutoring on the number of words spelled correctly by students with ld. Intervention in School and Clinic, 39, 301.