While the idea of peer tutoring as a formal technique employed in schools and universities is a relatively new concept, peer tutoring has been happening in all classrooms without the need to address it or give it a proper name.
For example, if you have a test in the next 30 minutes, you’re probably sitting with your peers discussing some last-minute answers or sharing topics that might be important.
This is a form of peer tutoring that comes to us naturally. So, when you consider peer tutoring to impart education and facilitate learning, it is easy to assume its many advantages and benefits.
However, among all of them, a few advantages are the cornerstone of peer tutoring and why it is becoming a widely accepted form of learning in many modern-day schools and colleges.
Advantages Of Peer Teaching
Facilitates communication skills and critical thinking
Improves interpersonal relationships
Helps tutors learn on the job
It helps them learn to work in groups and teams
Increased academic success
Helps build interest of students in different subjects
It makes them more open to learning in a relaxed environment
Boosts confidence and motivation to learn
So with all these advantages, you’re surely convinced peer tutoring has a lot of benefits in the field of education and learning, but how do you implement it effectively?
The answer lies in your peer tutoring strategies. How do you plan on imparting your knowledge to your fellow peers, or if you’re mentoring a peer tutor, how would you go about teaching them about teaching?
These are some of the peer tutoring strategies you can employ to reap the benefits of peer tutoring.
9 Peer Tutoring Strategies
Planning Discussion Seminars:
Discussion seminars are an excellent way for students to discuss and learn about a myriad of topics that they have learned. Typically, these discussions are open-ended and do not follow a rigid structure. Still, they allow students to contribute their thoughts and encourage a healthy discussion and debate about the topic at hand.
However, the environment should be relaxed and open for such discussions to occur so students feel confident enough to speak up.
Organizing Peer Support Groups:
This is a great way to motivate students to study or work on their assignments. Typically, all the students in one group are from the same class, so they can either study together for a test or work together on an assignment.
Working in teams helps them learn about teamwork and from each other.
Teach Different Tutoring Skills:
There can be a lot of topics for tutors to address, and each of these topics might need different approaches. For such instances, tutors need to know which path to take. For example:
Directive Tutoring: This type of tutoring skill is like filling in the knowledge gaps in the peer group, for example, directing the students toward a specific answer, like when solving a math problem. For this method to be effective, the tutor must also work on their level of knowledge about the subject.
Non-Directive Tutoring: This is a more informal way of tutoring where the tutor can ask open-ended questions for which there are no right or wrong answers. It facilitates open discussions and creates an environment where students can learn and contribute to the group.
Peer Assessment:
With a group of peers willing to learn from each other, implementing a peer assessment scheme might be helpful. This strategy enhances the likelihood of students learning even more through their peers.
It’s a little bit like giving feedback to one another about the work that they have done. In a way, one can learn from another person’s method of tackling the assignment, which opens more doors for learning new perspectives for both students.
It also helps hone a few essential skills, such as:
Getting insights about the other students’ approach
Learning how to communicate properly
Enhancing critical thinking and reasoning
Giving Feedback:
Much like the previous strategy, giving feedback is integral to peer tutoring. Only through receiving feedback can the students learn from their mistakes or be motivated to study harder.
There can be two types of feedback that students can give:
Corrective Feedback: It is like constructive criticism when you can highlight their shortcomings, mistakes, and errors that the students can improve. This also includes giving them the solution or the steps by which they can achieve the correct response.
Positive Feedback: It comes in the form of praise for how the tutor handled a particular subject or topic, encouraging the person to put in more effort in the upcoming lessons.
Tutors can learn specific phrases to use as praise when a student solves a tricky question to encourage them.
Reciprocal Peer Tutoring:
Adding more variety and perspectives to a teaching method is always good. Not all students have the same set of skills or abilities, so making use of this information to create a system where you allow every student to act as the tutor and impart their share of knowledge is an excellent example of reciprocal peer tutoring.
Active Learning:
Instead of just imparting theoretical explanations of different subject matter, follow it up with exercises and activities that facilitate the theory part of the lesson. After all, peer tutoring is about breaking the barriers between traditional learning and conventional classrooms. So instead of following a one-way-only form of communication that is a tutor-to-student, create a two-way communication channel where the main focus is on active learning.
Get the students involved in various activities that are fun and have a learning curve and help them engage in the lesson. Discussing case studies and role-playing are some activities that can facilitate active learning in class.
Cross-Age Tutoring:
Another very effective method of peer tutoring is cross-age tutoring, where the tutor is of a significantly higher class than the students or vice versa. This creates an environment where individuals of different age groups can communicate with each other and learn in the process.
FAQs
1. What are the most effective peer tutoring strategies?
Effective strategies include planning discussion seminars, organizing peer support groups, teaching different tutoring skills, conducting peer assessments, giving constructive feedback, and using reciprocal and cross-age tutoring methods.
2. What is reciprocal peer tutoring?
Reciprocal peer tutoring is a strategy where students alternate between the roles of tutor and tutee, allowing both students to benefit from teaching and learning from each other.
3. How does cross-age tutoring work?
Cross-age tutoring pairs older students with younger ones, where the older student serves as the tutor. This approach benefits both parties, as the older student reinforces their knowledge while the younger one receives personalized guidance.
4. Why is peer assessment important in peer tutoring?
Peer assessment helps students develop critical evaluation skills, provides diverse feedback perspectives, and encourages students to take ownership of their learning by reflecting on both their own and their peers’ progress.
