Peer tutor

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A peer tutor is anyone who is of a similar status as the person being tutored. In an undergraduate institution this would usually be other undergraduates, as distinct from the graduate students who may be teaching the writing classes; in a K-12 school this is usually a student from the same grade or higher. There are some basic rules to establishing your peer tutoring program, the key to success is a clear objective. Thorough planning and evidence gathering activities will contribute to substantiation of the decisions you will make.

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About

There are many benefits for both the peer tutor and tutee in this relationship; one aspect of this is that the tutor can establish a rapport with the tutee in a way that a teacher cannot. A peer tutor may have taken the same class recently, or have taken similar classes.

Tutors themselves benefit from working with students. The skills a tutor develops can be applied to other aspects in life including graduate school or a future job. The main skill being that ability to work with people. [1] Peer tutors often succeed better in their respective courses due to the opportunity to help others. They are allowed to spend lots of time working through adversity which ultimately benefits them in the classroom. [2] In the course of tutoring, there could be more benefits than challenges for the tutors themselves. [3] Careers are often influenced from a person's experience in peer tutoring. Peer tutoring help people develop the skill to be a leader. These skills can serve an important role for success in one's career. [4]

Because the peer tutor is seen by the tutee as being more at their own level, advice given by the tutor may be accepted more readily than advice from a teacher. Another key reason for this is that a peer tutor does not give any grade on the paper, whereas a teacher serving in a tutor role may still be perceived as someone who grades papers. Students in peer tutoring programs benefit from creating better attitudes and self concept regardless of academic performance. [5]

Peer tutors skills are based on creating a healthy environment for the tutee. They often give positive feedback, keep the person being tutored on task, give praise, and give reassurance. The tutor also tends to switch up teaching strategies. [6]

In higher education tutorial settings, the benefits of peer tutoring programs also extend to class tutors. [7] Using grounded theory techniques, it was found that the following five themes underlie their experiences: role exploration, sharing responsibility, regulation of the peer tutored groups, harnessing the peer tutors’ role, and community (see article for further detail).

ESL training can be separated from regular tutor training as a subject that contains special difficulties that must be dealt with on their own. Tutoring in an Online Writing Lab can also be separated from conventional training.

Stated by Goodlad and Sinclair, "Peer tutoring is the system of instruction in which learners help each other and learn by teaching. Tutoring schemes have been used in a variety of context, with students teaching students, students teaching school pupils, non-professional adults teaching adults and children, and pupils teaching pupils." [8]

Keith James Topping's work on peer tutoring identified a typology of peer tutoring that includes ten dimensions: 1) curriculum content, 2) constant constellation, 3) year of study, 4) ability, 5) role continuity, 6)place, 7)time, 8) tutee characteristics, 9) tutor characteristics and 10)objectives. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

Bilingual education Education conducted in two languages

Bilingual education involves teaching academic content in two languages, in a native and secondary language with varying amounts of each language used in accordance with the program model. Bilingual education refers to the utilization of two languages as means of instruction for students and considered part of or the entire school curriculum, as distinct from simply teaching a second language as a subject.

Teacher Person who helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or values

A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Tutoring Instructor who gives private lessons

Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject or set of subjects.

English as a second or foreign language Use of English by speakers with different native languages

English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL), English as an additional language (EAL), English as a New Language (ENL), or English for speakers of other languages (ESOL). The aspect in which ESL is taught is referred to as teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), teaching English as a second language (TESL) or teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). Technically, TEFL refers to English language teaching in a country where English is not the official language, TESL refers to teaching English to non-native English speakers in a native English-speaking country and TESOL covers both. In practice, however, each of these terms tends to be used more generically across the full field. TEFL is more widely used in the UK and TESL or TESOL in the US.

Teaching assistant Individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities

A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), who are graduate students; undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs), who are undergraduate students; secondary school TAs, who are either high school students or adults; and elementary school TAs, who are adults.

Cooperative learning is an educational approach which aims to organize classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. There is much more to cooperative learning than merely arranging students into groups, and it has been described as "structuring positive interdependence." Students must work in groups to complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning, which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively can capitalize on one another's resources and skills. Furthermore, the teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students' learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth (1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher-order thinking tasks. Cooperative learning has also been linked to increased levels of student satisfaction.

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Micro-teaching is a teacher training and faculty development technique whereby the teacher reviews a recording of a teaching session, in order to get constructive feedback from peers and/or students about what has worked and what improvements can be made to their teaching technique. Micro-teaching was invented in 1963 at Stanford University by Dwight W. Allen, and has subsequently been used to develop educators in all forms of education.

Small group learning

Small group learning is an educational approach that focuses on individuals learning in small groups and is distinguished from learning climate and organizational learning. It is also described as a team-based approach to learning where students work together towards shared learning objectives.

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Peer mentoring is a form of mentorship that usually takes place between a person who has lived through a specific experience and a person who is new to that experience. An example would be an experienced student being a peer mentor to a new student, the peer mentee, in a particular subject, or in a new school. Peer mentors are also used for health and lifestyle changes. For example, clients, or patients, with support from peers, may have one-on-one sessions that meet regularly to help them recover or rehabilitate. Peer mentoring provides individuals who have suffered from a specific life experience the chance to learn from those who have recovered, or rehabilitated, following such an experience. Peer mentors provide education, recreation and support opportunities to individuals. The peer mentor may challenge the mentee with new ideas, and encourage the mentee to move beyond the things that are most comfortable. Most peer mentors are picked for their sensibility, confidence, social skills and reliability.

Personalized learning, individualized instruction, personal learning environment and direct instruction all refer to efforts to tailor education to meet the different needs of students.

English-Language Learner is a term used in some English-speaking countries such as the US and Canada to describe a person who is learning the English language and has a native language that is not English. Some educational advocates, especially in the United States, classify these students as non-native English speakers or emergent bilinguals. Various other terms are also used to refer to students who are not proficient in English, such as English as a Second Language (ESL), English as an Additional Language (EAL), limited English proficient (LEP), Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CLD), non-native English speaker, bilingual students, heritage language, emergent bilingual, and language-minority students. The legal term that is used in federal legislation is 'limited English proficient'. The instruction and assessment of students, their cultural background, and the attitudes of classroom teachers towards ELLs have all been found to be factors in the achievement of these students. Several methods have been suggested to effectively teach ELLs, including integrating their home cultures into the classroom, involving them in language-appropriate content-area instruction early on, and integrating literature into their learning programs.

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A 2019 report by the National Center for Education Statistics determined that mid to high literacy in the United States is 79% with 21% of American adults categorized as having "low level English literacy," including 4.1% classified as "functionally illiterate" and an additional 4% that could not participate. According to the U.S. Department of Education, 54% of adults in the United States have prose literacy below the 6th-grade level.

Peer feedback is a practice where feedback is given by one student to another. Peer feedback provides students opportunities to learn from each other. After students finish a writing assignment but before the assignment is handed in to the instructor for a grade, the students have to work together to check each other's work and give comments to the peer partner. Comments from peers are called as peer feedback. Peer feedback can be in the form of corrections, opinions, suggestions, or ideas to each other. Ideally, peer feedback is a two-way process in which one cooperates with the other.

The gradual release of responsibility (GRR) model is a particular style of teaching which is a structured method of pedagogy framed around a process devolving responsibility within the learning process from the teacher to the eventual independence of the learner. This instructional model requires that the teacher, by design, transitions from assuming "all the responsibility for performing a task...to a situation in which the students assume all of the responsibility". The ideal result is a confident learner who accepts responsibility for their own learning and directs this learning through the cognitive processes involved, moving through the academic spectrum, to independent choice. As Buehl (2005) stated, the GRR model "emphasizes instruction that mentors students into becoming capable thinkers and learners when handling the tasks with which they have not yet developed expertise".

Flipped classroom Instructional strategy and a type of blended learning

A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning, which aims to increase student engagement and learning by having pupils complete readings at home and work on live problem-solving during class time. This pedagogical style moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. With a flipped classroom, students watch online lectures, collaborate in online discussions, or carry out research at home, while actively engaging concepts in the classroom, with a mentor's guidance.

Distributed scaffolding is a concept developed by Puntambekar and Kolodner (1998) that describes an ongoing system of student support through multiple tools, activities, technologies and environments that increase student learning and performance.

Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) is a variation of peer-mediated instruction that has been used in elementary, middle school, and high school classrooms. In CWPT students form pairs and take turns in the roles of tutor and student. Students earn points for their teams by participating in the tutoring and the winning team is recognized. Researchers have investigated CWPT's effectiveness in several different academic areas.

In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. It refers to a "wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school."

References

  1. Bond, Rebecca; Castagnera, Elizabeth (2006). "Peer Supports and Inclusive Education: An Underutilized Resource". Theory Into Practice. 45 (3): 224–229. ISSN   0040-5841.
  2. Bond, Rebecca; Castagnera, Elizabeth (2006). "Peer Supports and Inclusive Education: An Underutilized Resource". Theory Into Practice. 45 (3): 224–229. ISSN   0040-5841.
  3. Freddolino, Paul P.; Lee, Vincent W. P.; Law, Chi-Kwong; Ho, Cindy (2010-10-29). "To Help and to Learn: An Exploratory Study of Peer Tutors Teaching Older Adults about Technology". Journal of Technology in Human Services. 28 (4): 217–239. doi:10.1080/15228835.2011.565458. ISSN   1522-8835.
  4. Van Dam, Drew J.; Eller, James L.; Swezey, James A. (2021-10-02). "Developing Leadership as a Federal Service Academy Peer Tutor". Journal of College Reading and Learning. 51 (4): 250–266. doi:10.1080/10790195.2021.1928567. ISSN   1079-0195.
  5. Roswai, Glenn M.; Mims, Aquilla A.; Evans, Michael D.; Smith, Brenda; Young, Mary; Burch, Michael; Croce, Ronald; Horvat, Michael A.; Block, Martin (1995). "Effects of Collaborative Peer Tutoring on Urban Seventh Graders". The Journal of Educational Research. 88 (5): 275–279. ISSN   0022-0671.
  6. Boraks, Nancy; Allen, Amy Roseman (1977). "A Program to Enhance Peer Tutoring". The Reading Teacher. 30 (5): 479–484. ISSN   0034-0561.
  7. Outhred, T.; Chester, A. (2010). "The Experience of Class Tutors in a Peer Tutoring Programme: A Novel Theoretical Framework | Australasian Journal of Peer Learning 3(1), 12-23)". ro.uow.edu.au.
  8. Goodlad, Sinclair; Hirst, Beverley (1989). Peer Tutoring. A Guide to Learning by Teaching. New York: Nichols. p. 1. ISBN   0-89397-342-4.
  9. Topping, K. J. (1 October 1996). "The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: A typology and review of the literature". Higher Education. 32 (3): 321–345. doi:10.1007/BF00138870. ISSN   1573-174X. S2CID   2430976.