Impact of Peer Tutoring on Learning of Students

Abstract

The study attempts to investigate the concept of peer tutoring and its impact on learning. Peer tutoring can be applied among the students of the same age group or students from different age groups. The students learn from each other in an organized way through the process. It is a well-organized and beneficial learning experience in which one-student acts as the tutor or teacher and the other one serves as the tutee or learner. Peer tutoring creates an opportunity for the students to utilize their knowledge and experience in a meaningful way. In this process the tutors reinforce their own learning through reviewing and reformulating their knowledge. On the other hand, the learner or tutee gets one on one attention. Peer tutoring enables both tutor and tutee to gain self-confidence, the tutor by observing self-competence in his or her capability to help someone and the tutee by gaining positive reinforcement from the peers. Therefore, peer tutoring has a very positive impact on the process of learning.

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Journal for Studies in Management and Planning
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March 2015
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Impact of Peer Tutoring on Learning of Students
Najabat Ali*
1,
Muhammad Anwer
2
, Jaffar Abbas
3
1
Research Scholar, Hamdard Institute of Education and Social Sciences, Hamdard University,
Main Campus, Karachi, PAKISTAN.
2
Faculty Member, Special Education Department, Gilgit, Gilgit Baltistan, PAKISTAN
3
PhD Scholar, Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, West Yan’an Road
1882, Shanghai Post Code 200051 China.
Email: alinajabat@hotmail.com
ABSTRACT
The study attempts to investigate the
concept of peer tutoring and its impact on
learning. Peer tutoring can be applied
among the students of the same age group
or students from different age groups. The
students learn from each other in an
organized way through the process. It is a
well-organized and beneficial learning
experience in which one-student acts as the
tutor or teacher and the other one serves as
the tutee or learner. Peer tutoring creates
an opportunity for the students to utilize
their knowledge and experience in a
meaningful way. In this process the tutors
reinforce their own learning through
reviewing and reformulating their
knowledge. On the other hand, the learner
or tutee gets one on one attention. Peer
tutoring enables both tutor and tutee to
gain self-confidence, the tutor by observing
self-competence in his or her capability to
help someone and the tutee by gaining
positive reinforcement from the peers.
Therefore, peer tutoring has a very positive
impact on the process of learning.
Key Words: Peers, Peer Tutoring, Learning,
Teaching, Education; Peer Tutoring, Peers,
Tutors, Learning, Students, Education,
Teaching
INTRODUCTION
Peer learning is a broad learning strategy. It
covers a wide range of activities through
which people learn through different
techniques. These activities ranged from a
traditional proctor model in schools to the
more innovative learning groups in colleges
and universities. In proctor model the
senior students act as tutors and junior
students as tutees. On the other hand in
innovative learning groups students of the
same age group or same level help each
other by forming partnerships. (Griffiths,
Housten and Lazenbatt, 1995). There are
some other models which include
discussions, seminars, private study groups,
counseling, peer-assessment schemes,
collaborative project or laboratory work,
workplace mentoring and community
activities. (Boud, 1988).

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As peer learning involves a large range of
activities but here the study analyzes a two-
way, reciprocal learning activity. Peer
learning should have mutual benefits and
involve the sharing of knowledge, ideas and
experience between the participants. Peer
learning can be termed as a technique of
moving beyond independent to
interdependent or mutual learning (Boud,
1988).
Through this the students learn to a great
extent by elaborating their views to others.
They also participate in such kind of
activities in which they are able to learn
from their peers. (Kaufman, Felder and
Fuller, 1999). Peer learning enables the
students to develop their skills to organize
and plan learning activities, working in
collaboration with others, giving and
receiving feedback about their work and
finally evaluation of their own learning.
Nowadays the importance of peer learning
is increasing and it has become the part of
many courses in a wide range of contexts
and disciplines in many countries of the
world. (Boud, 1988).
Students usually learn effectively through
peer learning especially at a time when
university resources are insufficient and the
demand of staff is higher. Peer learning
creates the opportunity for the students to
learn from each other by utilizing their own
skills. It enables students to have more
practice than traditional teaching. Students
take more responsibility in peer learning
and learn how to learn effectively. (Johnson
and Holubec, 1993)
LITERATURE REVIEW
The history of peer learning goes back as far
as the period of Aristotle. (Wagner, 1982).
Throughout the history there have been
many developments in peer learning,
working in different contexts. The
monitorial system developed by Joseph
Lancaster in 1800s is another type of peer
learning in which monitors or proctors learn
from their teachers and then passed it to
other children. (Gerber and Kauffman,
1981).
The term peer tutoring is used for various
tutoring activities but mostly it is referred
to the students who usually study or learn
in pairs in order to help each other. Peer
tutoring usually leads to better
understanding of the academic concepts
but it is more fruitful when the students
having different ability levels work with
each other. (Kunsch, Jitendra, & Sood,
2007).
Formal peer learning is far more
instrumental strategy in which advanced
students act as teachers or tutors and often
they require some form of remuneration
from their students who learn from them.
In many universities it is a well established
practice, whereas reciprocal learning is
considered to be incidental. (Brookfield and
Preskill, 1999).

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Peer tutoring is one of the important
techniques which has been used by the
teachers to raise the assurance and
confidence level of their students. Through
this method the learners are divided in pairs
in which one acts as a tutor and the other
as tutee or learner. (Rosewal et al. 1995)
The students who learn in cooperative
learning groups acquire more knowledge
and they take their responsibilities in a
better way as compared to others.
(Fernandez-Santander, 2008)
There are numerous advantages for
teachers, students and the students being
tutored, by using the programs of peer
tutorial. Many research have been
completed for the support of statement
that several students feel very comfort,
and therefore can focus well on the subject
problem, with a peer tutor relatively than a
qualified teacher (Ehly et. al.,). There are
different forms of academic peer tutoring in
colleges; especially in large universities the
students of graduate level are assigned the
responsibility of teaching courses of
undergraduate level. (Goodlad and Hurst,
1989).
There is proctoring program which is
another example of peer learning in which
the senior students teach or guide their
juniors. In this kind of peer learning the
students who are ahead of others teach the
students who need help. So we can realize
that peer tutoring is equally advantageous;
equally for student and tutor attitude to
achieve something. So, peer tutoring is also
beneficial for the teachers who do not have
so much time to occupy with every student
individually. (Topping, 1998)
TYPES OF PEER TUTORING
There are three main types of peer tutoring.
(I) RECIPROCAL PEER TUTORING (RPT)
In this type of peer tutoring the peers learn
from each other by changing their status
from tutor to student. Both peers take turns
at being the tutor while the other one acts
as the student or learner. This strategy
provides a very good opportunity to every
student to act as a tutor which enhances his
confidence level. (Goodwin, 2001; Goodwin
& Watkinson, 2000)
(II) CLASS-WIDE PEER TUTORING (CWPT)
Class-wide peer tutoring breaks the whole
class into smaller groups. It is one of the
important types of peer tutoring in which all
the students of the classroom very actively
learn from each other for an extended time
period. They act as tutors as well as
students or learners. So every student of
the class involves himself in the assigned
activities and learns in a very good way.
(Greenwood, Carta and Hall 1988)
CROSS-AGE PEER TUTORING (CAPT)
In this type of tutoring the elder student act
as tutor and they teach the young students.
The tutors have a higher academic
background as compared to their students
or learners in cross-age peer tutoring. This
approach is valuable for the students
because they get effective individual
instructions and feedback from their tutors.
On the other hand the tutor gets valuable
teaching experience. (Lieberman,

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Newcomer, McCubbin, and Dalrymple
1997).
IMPACT OF PEER TUTORING ON
STUDENTS’ LEARNING
Peer tutoring has a very positive impact on
learning of students. In this type of tutoring
the students are usually less hesitant to ask
questions from their tutors. They don’t feel
uncomfortable with a peer as they might
feel with a teacher. This really helps
learners that they feel the tutor is on the
same level and if he can do it, they can also
do it. So peer tutoring is very beneficial for
learning purposes.
Organized peer tutoring can give greater
results as compared to unorganized peer
tutoring. So for a teacher this activity can be
an important responsibility. The teachers
can obtain better results by making good
pairs of students. The training of tutors
plays an important role in the productivity
and efficiency of peer tutoring. Proper and
sufficient training of tutors leads to better
results in learning. The proper evaluation of
peer tutoring process can also make
improvement in learning activities. Peer
tutoring does not benefit only tutees or
learners but also tutors because it is a two
way street process which helps both tutor
and the learner. By tutoring the learners the
tutees enhance their own understanding,
abilities and skills. So the students do not
help themselves only but also help their
tutors by providing them opportunity to
teach them. In fact it is equally beneficial
for tutors and the tutees or learners. Hence
peer tutoring has an enormous impact on
the learning of tutors and students or
learners.
BENEFITS OF PEER TUTORING
There are many benefits of peer tutoring as
discussed earlier in the study. Some main
benefits of peer tutoring which have a
considerable impact on learning include the
following.
 It provides opportunity to the students to
interact directly with each other which is
helpful to promote learning activities
among the students.
 Students usually do not get sufficient time
and individual attention from their
teachers, so peer tutoring is a very good
solution for this problem which provides
individual attention to the students.
 By tutoring the students or learners, the
tutors reinforce and revise whatever they
have studied before. So it directly benefits
both tutor and the learner.
 Peer tutoring is an enjoying way of learning
where the peers do not get bore but they
learn by entertaining themselves.
 Peer tutoring is a beautiful way to learn
something out of the school, college or
university.
 Students or learners are more open and
comfortable with their tutor in peer
tutoring. So the learners learn without any
sort of hesitation from their tutor in this
kind of environment.
 Due to peer tutoring, the teachers in the
schools, colleges and universities get more

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time for lesson planning and to focus on
their next lessons.
 The important thing about peer tutoring is
that it is a financially efficient alternative
to hiring more staff members in a school,
college or university.
 Peer tutoring develops interpersonal and a
communication skill in the tutor and it also
enhances the confidence level of the tutor.
 It develops sense of responsibility,
dedication, commitment and pride in the
tutor because he is able to help the peers.
CONCLUSION
Peer tutoring is a highly effective way for
the students to learn from each other. It
does not only benefit the students in
academically but also helps the students in
developing their communication and
interpersonal skills. Through peer tutoring
the students can enhance their confidence
level and they become self motivated. Peer
tutoring is a two way process and it is
equally beneficial for the tutors and the
learners. Organized peer tutoring can be
proved more effective and beneficial for the
peers as compared to unorganized peer
tutoring activities. Hence it is concluded
that peer tutoring is a very effective
strategy for learning. Therefore it should be
utilized within the premises of the
educational institutions as well as outside.
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