TUTORING

RESEARCH FINDING:

Students  tutoring other students can lead to  improved  academic 
achievement for both student and tutor, and to positive attitudes 
toward coursework.

COMMENT:

Tutoring programs consistently raise the achievements of both the 
students  receiving  instruction and those  providing  it.   Peer 
tutoring,  when  used as a supplement to regular classroom teach-
ing,  helps slow and underachieving students master their lessons 
and  succeed in school.   Preparing and giving the  lessons  also 
benefits  the tutors themselves because they learn more about the 
material they are teaching.

Of the tutoring programs that have been studied,  the most effec-
tive include the following elements:

   .	highly structured and well-planned curricula and instruc-
     tional methods;

   .	instruction  in  basic content and skills  (grades  1-3), 
     especially in arithmetic; and

   .	a  relatively short duration of instruction (a few  weeks 
     or months).

When these features were combined in the same program,  the  stu-
dents  being tutored not only learned more than they did  without 
tutoring, they also developed a more positive attitude about what 
they were studying.  Their tutors also learned more than students 
who did not tutor. 


Cohen,  P.  A.,  Kulik, J. A., and Kulick, C-L. C. (Summer l982).  
"Educational Outcomes of Tutoring:  A Meta-Analysis of Findings."  
American Educational Research Journal,  Vol.  l9, No. 2, pp. 237-
248.

Devin-Sheehan,  L.,  Feldman,  R.  S.,  and Allen,  V. L. (l976).  
"Research  on  Children Tutoring Children:   A Critical  Review."  
Review of Educational Research, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 355-385.

Mohan,  M. (l972).  Peer Tutoring as a Technique for Teaching the 
Unmotivated.  Fredonia, NY:  State University of New York Teacher 
Education Research Center.  ERIC Document No. ED 06ll54.

Rosenshine,  B.,  and Furst,  N. (l969).  The Effects of Tutoring 
Upon Pupil Achievement:   A Research Review.   Washington,  D.C.:  
U.S. Department of Education.  ERIC Document No. ED 064462.