Peer Tutoring
Students Helping Students Learn to Read and So Much More!
Who are these students that need support from others?
- The National Assessment Education Progress Report from 2005 states that 29% of eighth graders are reading below functional levels.
- 8% of all students in U.S. Schools are identified as having Emotional Disturbances, and additional 2.4% are English Language Learners.(Zehler, Gleischman, Hopstock, Pendzick & Stephenson, 2003).
Why do they need additional support from others?
- Difficulties in reading and behavior can sometimes go hand in hand(2011).
- The students with Emotional Behavioral Disabilities deal with having a lack of attention and being highly distractible.
- Students need to learn through a caring, safe relationship with a peer that it is alright to trust someone else and not to fear rejection or failure(Coleman and Vaughn, 2000).
So what is the answer?
PEER TUTORING!
- What is peer tutoring?
- What is the teacher doing during this time?
- Why would a student learn better from another student rather than a teacher with a college degree?
Answers and Ponderings about Peer Tutoring
- Peer Tutoring helps to build social skills in a safe, small setting.
- It is linked with higher sight word recognition and standardized test scores(Cochran, Fent, Cartledge & Hamilton, 1993).
- The teacher is monitoring the groups of peer tutors to facilitate learning.
- Students sometimes feel more comfortable with peers rather than an adult. This could be due to trauma in the student's past, insecurities about trusting adults or various other valid reasons.
- One example of peer tutoring is PALS, Peer-assisted Learning Strategies(Fuchs, Fuchs, & Burish, 2000).
Email: tcooper@davidson.k12.nc.us
Website: www.davidsoncountyschoools.com
Phone: (336)474-8250