Tomorrow's Professor Msg.#268 PEER-ASSISTED LEARNING

Folks:

The excerpt below looks at some of the benefits, as well as the
pitfalls, of students teaching each other. As noted, "peer tutoring
is not a universal,
undifferentiated, or instant panacea. It is, however, another technique in
the instructor's repertoire."

The excerpt is from: Teaching Tips for College and University
Instructors: A Practical Guide, by David Royse, University of
Kentucky, Allyn and Bacon publishers. http://vig.abacon.com/
Copyright 2001 by Allyn & Bacon
A Pearson Education Company, Needham Heights, MA 02494. Reprinted
with permission.

Regards,

Rick Reis
reis@stanford.edu
UP NEXT: Why Do We Teach?

Tomorrow's Teaching and Learning

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PEER-ASSISTED LEARNING

Teaching Tips for College and University Instructors:
A Practical Guide, by David Royse,
Allyn and Bacon publishers. pp. 88-91

In addition to the use of small groups of three or four students, the
instructor might want to consider paring students for peer tutoring
mentoring, monitoring, or assessment. Peer tutoring is a well documented
technique that produces academic gains and the benefit of one-to-one
instruction without the prohibitive cost. Studies with student from
kindergarten through high school since the early 1980s have shown that
students have learned more in the areas of reading, spelling, vocabulary,
and math in less time using Class Wide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) than conventional
forms of teacher-directed instruction (Arreaga-Myer, Terry, & Greenwood,
1998).

Although the literature on peer tutoring in higher education is less
abundant than that in the primary and secondary systems, there is
still sufficient evidence to commend this approach. For instance,in
a study of the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT), Fantuzzo and
colleagues (1989) found that psychology students who created tests for each
other, administered and scored them, discussed the outcomes, and coached
their partners, showed greater satisfaction, and less stress than students
in two other comparison groups.

Peer tutoring is "learning by teaching" and is a deliberate development on
the notion that "to teach is to learn twice>" Preparing to teach requires
that the tutor not only pays greater attention but also obtains mastery of
the curriculum. In the process of attempting to simplify, clarify, and
develop examples, existing knowledge is organized and integrated in a way
that seems to facilitate storing and applying the information (Topping,
1998). Additionally, being paired with another student provides social
support and alleviates feelings of social isolation. It is a more
democratic, less authoritarian approach to learning.

Greenwood, Carta, and Kamps (1990) have noted these advantages of peer
tutoring: a reduced pupil-teacher ratio that results in quicker
feedback and prompting, more active learning with greater student
ownership of the learning process and better application of knowledge
and skills to new situations. Greater self-disclosure and
opportunities to respond may also result in less anxiety and fear of
making errors.

On the other hand, preparing a class for peer tutoring does require
organizational time from the total available for instruction. Another
potential problem is that not every peer tutor may be motivated or willing
to ensure an evenness of quality of tutors across all pairs. Some students will
not like or be able to get along with matched partners, or may not accept
peer feedback as valid. Additionally, instructors need to be alert for the
potential that unequal power relationships and abusive treatment of some
partners could occur. Finally, if pairs are expected to meet outside of
class, then problems might arise around schedule conflicts, work hours, and
so on.

Using the CWPT approach, students are paired either intentionally (e.g.,
by ability level) or randomly. (Larson and colleagues [1984] found that
students with low verbal ability performed best when paired with
students having high verbal ability. However the latter were not
adversely affected by these
pairings.) Each pair consists of a student in the teacher role (tutor) and
one in the student role. Roles are switched periodically in order for both
students to have responsibility for teaching, assessing the tutee's
progress, and providing feedback.

Pairs are also changed on a weekly basis if one is closely following the
CWPT model. Tutoring occurs simultaneously for all pairs during the scheduled
class time. This provides the instructor with ample opportunities to
monitor and supervise the peer tutor pairs. Weekly assessments are
conducted of material mastered.

Training students about the purpose of peer tutoring is recommended.
Topping and colleagues (1997) expressed the intent this way to students
about to use reciprocal peer tutoring to learn undergraduate economics: "Peer
tutoring is not like 'working with your friends'-it is about learning
to work in a team with people don't already know, staying on task,
systematically managing and being responsible for your own learning,
and developing other
'transferable skills'" (p.99).

Participants also receive full written instructions as well as checklist
for their activities and grading. Pairs are told that peer tutoring
sessions should not be used to work alone, copy lecture notes, or
read the textbook. If anyone is unable to attend a peer session, they
are asked to notify the department office. "Spare" partners are to
form another pair or to join another grouping whenever circumstances
prevent them from working with their regular partners.

Riggio, Whatley, and Neale (1994) paired students on the basis of academic
ability and required the following of psychology undergraduates engaged in
an RPT study:

Pairs made outlines of "important points" they believed would
be covered
on the unit test and held discussions using these outlines.

Prior to every unit exam, each partner created a short test consisting
of at least 10 multiple-choice questions based on the assigned readings
and lecture materials. The correct answers, along with brief written
rationales,were placed on a separate sheet.

During the tutoring session, pairs met and adminiserted tests to each
other under test-like conditions