Cross-age tutoring: how to promote tutees’ active knowledge-building

Cross-age tutoring is characterised by status and age differences between tutors and tutees. Tutees are often inactive in this setting, because responsibility for effective learning is transferred to the more experienced tutors. This study focused on improving the outcomes of cross-age tutoring for tutees by providing tutors with a tutor training session that emphasised knowledge-building instead of knowledge-telling. The tutors learned to encourage tutees’ autonomy, competence and active knowledge construction. In a quasi-experimental design, an experimental group of 74 tutors, who were 8th-grade secondary school students, received the tutor training in knowledge-building, and a control group of 82 tutors received no training. The students in both groups subsequently tutored 583 3rd-grade primary school students in small groups on elementary aspects of electric circuits. The tutoring process was videotaped and coded. Trained tutors showed more knowledge-building and less knowledge-telling behaviour. In the tutoring interaction with trained tutors, tutees showed more active behaviour and tutors showed more restrained behaviour. Tutees coached by trained tutors reported more experiences of autonomy, competence, and intrinsic motivation and learned more than tutees instructed by untrained tutors. The study showed that cross-age tutoring can be improved by providing tutors with training that focused on knowledge-building.     

Perceptions of tutoring roles and psychological distance among instructors,tutors and students at a Korean university

This study explores issues related to the tutor’s role when initiating tutoring as an institutional strategy at a conventional university. Based on a pilot tutoring program implemented in four college courses, we investigated the perceptions of instructors, tutors and students regarding the role of tutoring and whether it affected the psychological distance between the different types of participants. The results indicated that instructors’ perceptions of the tutor’s primary role and the psychological distance from the students and the tutors differed from the perceptions of the tutors and the students, perhaps because the instructors perceived tutors as a source of instructor support rather than student support. Implications and suggestions are discussed.     

The effects of peer tutoring between domestic and international students: the tutor system at Japanese universities

International students often require extracurricular assistance upon arrival in the host country. Many universities operate programs pairing international and domestic students for academic and adjustment assistance. The tutor system operating at Japanese national universities has similar objectives. Although the literature has highlighted several problems with the system, it is viewed as a viable form of educational assistance. This study examined the data from 38 interviews with tutors, international student tutees, and administrators, qualitatively analysing the perspectives of these stakeholders to uncover the main factors determining program effectiveness. Data analysis revealed several main themes relating to tutoring effectiveness, and differences were found in how tutors and tutees perceived their participation in the system. Although tutees tended to focus on the interpersonal relationship, tutors were more concerned about their tutoring ability. Implications of the findings are discussed for enhancing peer‐pairing programs to better accommodate the needs of students.     

Do Boys or Girls Make Better Reading Tutors? An Empirical Study to Examine Children's Effectiveness as Tutors Using the Pause,Prompt and Praise Procedures

This study aimed to assess the effects of single‐sex and cross‐gender pairings in the context of the ‘pause, prompt and praise’ procedures for improving reading, the effects of boys as tutors compared with girls as tutors and those of choice in sex of tutor. Four groups were involved in the study: boys tutoring boys, girls tutoring girls, girls tutoring boys and boys tutoring girls. The tutees were 24 Year 7 pupils and the tutors were 24 Year 10 pupils from a large suburban comprehensive school in the Midlands of England. The reading age of each of the tutees was measured both before and after the intervention so that gains in reading age could be evaluated. The results showed that peers could be successfully trained to use the pause, prompt and praise techniques and that these were effective in raising the reading standards of tutees in all four groups. However, little evidence was found to suggest that any of the pairings was any more successful than the others or that the sex of the tutor had any significant effect on the tutoring outcome. On the other hand, however, there was some evidence that choice of tutor sex might have an effect on gains in tutee's measured reading ages     

At the bridging point: tutoring newly arrived students in Sweden

In Sweden, tutoring in the mother tongue is a special support measure primarily intended for newly arrived students to facilitate their transition into the Swedish school system. Tutoring is premised on the collaboration between the class teacher, responsible for subject-related expertise, and the tutor, who contributes with knowledge of the student’s mother tongue and previous context of studies. In this case study of class teachers’ and mother tongue tutors’ conditions for collaboration at a multi-ethnic primary school, six mother tongue tutors and six class teachers were asked about the purpose of their work, how it was organised, and what could be done to improve working conditions. Interviews with head teachers, and data on work organisation from observations, document study, and participation in meetings for a period of one and a half years supplemented the teacher interviews. The analysis focuses on whether tutors and teachers belong to the same or different Communities of Practice, based on shared concerns and opportunities for collaboration, as well as looking at the relative positioning of languages and teaching roles. Findings suggest that the degree of collaboration between tutors and teachers was not sufficient to allow tutoring to function in the way it is envisaged by national steering documents. Tutoring was instead based on the tutors’ own knowledge of the subjects they taught. Recruitment of suitable tutors was difficult. However, conditions for collaboration and more effective tutoring in the schools could be improved with relatively simple support structures at the level of the municipality.     

Effects of training peer tutors in content knowledge versus tutoring skills on giving feedback to help tutees’ complex tasks

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of training tutors in content knowledge of a particular domain versus training them in tutoring skills of pedagogical knowledge when tutoring on a complex tutee task. Forty-seven tutor–tutee pairs of fourth-year secondary school students were created and assigned to one of the two treatments. Twenty-two tutors received training in content knowledge and the other twenty-five tutors in tutoring skills. Tutors formulated written feedback immediately after the training. Tutees first interpreted the tutor feedback and then used it to revise their research questions. The results showed that tutors trained in tutoring skills formulated more effective feedback than tutors trained in content knowledge. In addition, tutees helped by tutoring-skills tutors found the feedback more motivating than those helped by content-knowledge tutors. However, no differences were found in tutee performance on revision. The findings are discussed in terms of the set-up of this study and implications for improving the effectiveness of peer tutoring.     

School tutoring and academic performance: A too close relationship?

In Spain, each student class is assigned a tutor teacher who is also responsible for individually following their tutoring students’ performance, guiding them in personal issues and regularly meeting their families. Although tutors may suppose an important support for students during their school life, their close personal relationship may also influence the teaching and learning process in additional ways. This research analyses whether the fact that the tutor teaches a particular subject makes any difference in students’ academic achievement in that subject and if this differential achievement is conditioned by tutor-student/family relationship or not (being a possible over/under-marking). With this objective we employ a rich administrative census database from the most populated region of Spain (Andalusia), using student fixed-effects within-students between-school subjects. Our main results show that tutors seem to be only slightly inclined to over-mark their tutoring students, being this small bias conditioned by their relationship with the student.     

Learning by teaching face-to-face: the contributions of preparing-to-teach,initial-explanation,and interaction phases

Teaching other students in a face-to-face manner has been shown to effectively foster both one’s own and their learning. This study experimentally investigated whether and how tutors and tutees academically benefit from three phases of face-to-face teaching: preparing-to-teach, initial-explanation, and interaction phases. Japanese undergraduates (n = 80) acted as tutors or tutees in peer tutoring. After studying with the expectation of teaching face-to-face or taking a test (the preparing-to-teach phase), tutor participants provided tutee participants with initial instructional explanations, without asking or answering questions (the initial-explanation phase), and then engaged in a question-and-answer period (the interaction phase). Tutor and tutee participants learned better by providing and receiving higher-quality explanations in the initial-explanation and interaction phases. Face-to-face teaching vs. test expectancy had no effects on the quality of tutor participants’ explanations or their learning outcomes. The results suggest that both the initial-explanation and interaction phases contribute to learning by teaching face-to-face, whereas the preparing-to-teach phase does not.

     

Tutoring interventions within special education settings: A comparison of cross-age and peer tutoring

In two experiments, cross-age and peer tutoring interventions conducted within special education settings were compared. In Experiment 1, learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered (BD) students acted as tutors of younger LD and BD students. In Experiment 2, same-age LD and BD students alternated tutor and tutee roles. In both experiments, tutors and tutees exhibited academic gains. Only in Experiment 1, however, were attitudinal gains observed. Implications for future research and practice are given.     

Peer‐tutoring: what’s in it for the tutor?

Drawing on role theory and socio‐constructivist ideas about learning, this study explores how peer‐tutoring can support tutors’ learning. The sample comprised ten 16–17‐year‐old biology tutors, working with twenty‐one 14–15‐year‐old students from a science class over eight weeks. Data were collected through an online wiki, tutor interviews, paired tutor discussions and video recordings. Tutors’ perceptions of their role motivated them to learn the material, and their learning was supported by discussion and explanation, revisiting fundamentals, making links between conceptual areas, testing and clarifying their understanding, and reorganising and building ideas, rehearsing them, and working through them repeatedly, to secure their understanding. When tutors employed long answer questions, there was evidence of reflection on their learning and links made between conceptual areas. When preparing to tutor, tutors could focus on key points and engage with basic ideas from alternative perspectives. Mental rehearsal of peer‐tutoring episodes helped them appreciate weaknesses in their own subject knowledge.     

Peer Mediated Intervention in Reading Instruction Using Pause,Prompt and Praise

A multiple baseline research design across subjects (pairs) was used to examine the effectiveness of peer tutoring in reading using the Pause, Prompt and Praise tutoring procedure. Twelve 11 year‐old, Year 6 students of varying reading ability were trained in the systematic use of delayed attention, prompting and praise to tutor 12 Year 6 students of a similar age and similar reading ability. Individual trends in tutor behaviours were examined using a statistical programme specifically designed for analysing data from interrupted time series research designs. A one‐tailed t‐test was also computed to test for significant differences in pre‐ and post‐test means in reading achievement. Continuous data collection throughout the programme indicated that all peers were effective in increasing their use of the tutoring behaviours; not all tutors experienced statistically significant increases, however. Both peer tutors and tutees made statistically significant gains in reading accuracy and comprehension over the course of the intervention.     

Investigating Microadaptation in One-to-One Human Tutoring

The authors investigated whether some advantages of tutoring over other instructional methods are due to microadaptation, or, tutors basing their actions on assessments of tutees they develop during tutoring. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment, independent variables were shared experience (tutors either worked with the same or a different tutee in each of four segment of the tutoring session) and communication context (face-to-face or computer-mediated). Although there were no overall learning differences across experience conditions, tutees who worked with the same tutor demonstrated better learning of concepts initially discussed during the final tutoring segment. Shared experience led to accurate competence assessments only in the computer-mediated context, suggesting that cognitive load influences assessment development. However, there was no evidence of micro-adaptation.     

Peer tutoring in writing: a school systems approach

In this study seven 10‐year‐old to 11‐year‐old students peer‐tutored seven six‐year‐old students in writing over a 10‐week period. Tutoring took place over 20‐minute sessions four times per week in the six‐year‐old students' regular classes during their usual writing time. The first author trained the tutors to assist tutees to (1) produce a writing plan, (2) use the plan to develop a piece of writing with help from the tutor, (3) proof‐read writing samples for meaning and accuracy, and (4) prompt tutees to make editing changes to their writing by asking appropriate questions. Samples of the writing of tutors and tutees were compared at baseline, intervention and follow‐up phases and the attitudes of participants towards the programme were evaluated. Unlike most peer tutoring programmes the study relied largely on intrinsic motivation for student participation, and utilised a procedure that required responsive feedback by tutors and a problem‐solving approach rather than a constrained linear methodology. Results indicated gains in terms of writing rate, accuracy, and audience ratings of clarity of message and enjoyment of writing, for tutors and tutees. Issues of programme maintenance and generalisation within the school system are discussed in addition to the implications for inclusive educational practice.     

The personal tutor–student relationship: student expectations and experiences of personal tutoring in higher education

The personal tutor plays a key role in the student experience at university, and personal tutoring embodies the student relationship with the university, suggesting that it has the potential to provide insights beyond that specific relationship to the institution and higher education context. A focus session with first year undergraduate students explored expectations and experiences of personal tutoring from the student perspective. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore students’ lived experiences, and identified superordinate themes of expectations, experiences and relationships, with cluster themes including independence and authenticity. Developing a positive and genuine relationship with the personal tutor was found to ‘buffer’ against some of the first year challenges and contribute towards a sense of belonging. Importantly, this study provides evidence that experiencing poor personal tutoring is worse than not having a personal tutor at all, as this can lead to students experiencing strong negative emotions and re-evaluating their decision to go to university. Implications of these findings in the current higher education context of fee-paying students and competing institutional demands are discussed.     

Pastoral Care for Senior Students: An Analysis of a Voluntary Staff Counselling Scheme in a Sixth-form College

This article is written for new and experienced tutors to review the ways in which they are supporting their students’ learning. It considers the purposes of tutoring, drawing on the voices of students themselves. The article then considers the ways in which the tutor can support the learning of young people, including academic tutoring. It concludes with some guidance for the tutor to develop their own learning about tutoring.     

What a Difference a Label Makes: Positioning and Response in an Afterschool Tutoring Program

In this qualitative case study, we used the framework of positioning to show how college-age tutors and their middle school tutees interact in an afterschool tutoring setting with regard to ability. The authors show how educational tracking and understandings of disability permeated tutoring spaces and influence tutors’ instructional decisions. Even though the tutors’ participation in this program was framed as an act of social justice, the tutors do not feel empowered to use a critical lens when discussing tracking and/or disability because, as the authors posit, the framing of the college students as role models and these middle school students as “needy” prohibits conversations that do not have easy answers.     

Student and tutor perceptions of effective tutoring in distance education

Questionnaire responses of 457 students and 602 tutors were used to investigate conceptions of a ‘good tutor.’ In each case, factor analysis identified scales that reflected key constructs; cluster analysis identified subgroups with different patterns of scale scores; and discriminant analysis determined the scales that contributed the most to differences among the clusters. Both sets of data yielded conceptions of tutoring that were described as task‐oriented and student‐oriented, respectively. The students’ data yielded an additional, career‐oriented conception. The tutors’ data yielded two additional conceptions that were described as knowledge‐oriented and impersonal, respectively. The distribution of the tutors’ conceptions (but not that of the students’ conceptions) varied across different faculties, suggesting that tutors from different disciplines have different beliefs about effective tutoring. The study suggests that both tutors and students would benefit from having a better appreciation of the importance of support in facilitating learning.     

Peer and Cross-Age Tutoring in Math:Outcomes and Their Design Implications

This review of the literature on peer and cross-age tutoring emphasizes programs in mathematics and suggests that such programs have positive academic outcomes for African American and otherminority students as well as for White students who participate as tutors, as tutees, or both. Such programs also appear to have a positive impact on a variety of attitudinal and socioemotional outcomes, such as students' attitudes towards school, their self-concepts, and their sense of academic efficacy. This review also explores whether specific features of the tutoring programs (e.g., tutor training and amount of tutoring) or characteristics of the students (e.g., academic level prior to tutoring and gender composition of tutor-tutee pairs) affect various outcomes. Role theory is used as a theoretical framework to explain some intriguing and surprising findings (e.g., why tutors show academic gains even when they do not receive additional subject matter instruction, whylonger and/or more substantial tutoring programs may not foster greater immediate academic gains than shorter programs, and why mixed-sex pairs do not consistently reap benefits equal to those of same-sex pairs). Finally, implications of the review for the development of peer and cross-age tutoring programs are discussed.     

Peer Tutoring for College Students with Disabilities

In an exploratory study, peer tutoring in higher education is examined for students with visual impairment and students with learning disability (LD). Data were collected by means of interviews and focus groups. Findings indicate both academic and social benefits for tutees and tutors. Difficulties encountered are discussed, and differences between the two populations are raised. It is suggested that the visibility and complexity of the student's disability affected the tutoring encounter. Professional guidance is suggested as a means of reducing tutoring problems and increasing benefits.     

The shallows and the depths. Cognitive and social presence in blended tutoring

The article investigates a system of academic education called tutoring implemented in a blended format. It looks at this teaching and learning experience based on the results of a student satisfaction survey (N = 9) as well as the analysis of the discourse between the tutor and six tutees recorded during four meetings: two traditional and two cloud tutorials. It is argued here that the blended format is a good solution which enables the two modes to reinforce each other and compensate for each other’s deficiencies. By offering more interaction and establishing good rapport, the face-to-face meetings develop social presence. In turn, cognitive presence is stronger in the online tutorials, in which the students appear to have reached higher levels of critical thinking. What is more, these two types of tutorials appear to pave the way for each other.