Heterogeneous Peer-Tutoring: An Intervention That Fosters Collaborations and Empowers Learners

Abstract

IntroductionIn this scenario, Nick, an accelerated algebra student who is taking algebra a year early, was the assigned tutor and Heather, a pre-algebra student, was the intended tutee. They were among the 14 students who participated in a Heterogeneous Peer Tutoring (HPT) program designed by the classroom mathematics teacher.Thirty minutes remain until the end of the school day. Fourteen eighth grade students, in an academic assistance period known as advisory, are seated in pairs dispersed throughout a classroom. The students are working on a problem set of classifying linear and nonlinear functions. The classroom teacher, Jake, is circulating the room monitoring students' progress. The teacher frequently questions the students to gauge their understanding of linear and nonlinear functions. While some students are able to explain the key characteristics of linear and nonlinear functions, many others are unable to do so. Two students, Nick and Heather (pseudonyms), are working on a problem that requires them to determine if a given function is linear or nonlinear. Nick is having trouble comprehending this topic and seeks Heather's help. Collaboratively, they discuss possible solution processes to the problem. A few minutes before the end of the advisory, Jake asks Nick, Do you know which of these functions are nonlinear and which are linear? Nick correctly identifies the functions. Jake poses a follow up question: How can you tell the difference between the two, especially with these problems where there is no graph provided? Calm and collected, Nick explains that the functions containing variables with exponents not equal to one are nonlinear. Nick extends his response by referring to a graph, clearly identifying the piece that makes the function non-liner. The teacher is impressed. Nick's partner Heather leans forward and says, He learned that from me, beaming with pride. Nick happily acknowledges.The goal of the program was to help pre-algebra students (tutees) deepen their knowledge of mathematical concepts by providing them an opportunity to collaborate with their peers-accelerated algebra students (tutors). The above snippet provides one instance of students' learning process. Evident also in this example is a role reversal between a tutor and a tutee. Over the duration of the program, the tutees and tutors gained a mutual respect for one another as they realized that they could both learn from each other's distinctive learning experiences. In this paper, we outline key features of an HPT program that was implemented with a group of middle school students, and we describe how this program impacted both the tutors' and the tutees' learning experiences. In so doing, we outline how this model could be used to enact some of the essential attributes of a middle level education program as outlined in the position paper of the Association for Middle Level Education (formerly National Middle School Association), This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents (NMSA, 2010).Peer tutoring: An overviewPeer tutoring is a strategy in which, People from similar social groupings who are not professional teachers [help] each other to learn and [learn] themselves by teaching (Topping, 1996, p. 322). There are many forms of peer tutoring such as class-wide peer tutoring, homogeneous peer tutoring, and heterogeneous peer tutoring. Class-wide peer tutoring enables students in a class to tutor one another (Allsopp, 1997). In a homogeneous tutoring environment tutees and tutors are of the same ability level. In contrast, in a heterogeneous tutoring environment, tutees are taught by tutors of a higher ability level (Stenhoff 8c Lignugaris/Kraft, 2007). Many teachers have used an HPT technique as an intervention strategy to enhance student learning in reading, science, and mathematics (Robinson, Schofield, 8c SteersWentzell, 2005). In an academic setting, the use of peer tutoring in heterogeneous classrooms allows students of different learning backgrounds to collaborate and learn together, which often helps remove stigmas associated with receiving tutoring (Allsopp, 1997). …