Peer tutoring in writing: A school systems approach
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Assessment for LearningEnglish
What were the aim and the design of this study?
The study examined peer tutoring approaches to helping low progress writers and explored their effectiveness in assisting teachers to manage a process-oriented writing programme in a large class (Click to What does an inclusive 'process writing’ approach consist of?). It aimed to use an inclusive instructional procedure to improve writing progress for a group of primary-aged students from two different classes and age-groups.
The study took place in an urban primary school and involved:
- five teachers. Of these, three taught the senior classes providing the tutors, and two the junior classes where tutoring was carried out;
- seven peer tutors aged between ten and eleven (ten was considered the minimum age necessary to handle the complexity of the tutoring task.) Although there was no requirement that they should perform at an age-appropriate level in writing, tutors were selected on the basis of their ability to write at a three years' performance difference from those they tutored. Participation was voluntary and tutors could withdraw from the programme at any time; and
- eleven six year-old students (from the two junior classes in the school) identified by the teachers as being the most in need of assistance with their writing. Seven were randomly selected to receive tutoring, and the other four monitored as controls.
Peer tutoring occurred for four twenty-minute sessions weekly in the tutees' classes over a ten week period. Tutors received no extra assistance with their writing beyond their training as peer tutors (Click to What training did peer tutors receive?) but continued to do their own writing in their own classes during their own regular writing programme (also four twenty-minute sessions weekly).
Samples of the writing of the seven target students, the four control students and the seven tutors were taken before the tutoring programme began (the 'base-line' phase), during the ten-week course of the programme (the 'intervention' phase) and four weeks after it finished (the 'follow-up' phase). Five writing samples were collected and analysed from each phase. During the intervention period, samples of independent writing by the tutees (as part of the class writing period but without peer tutor support) were taken to help measure the effect of the intervention.
The samples were measured by:
- rate (both words and sentences per twenty-minute session);
- % accuracy in both punctuation and spelling; and
- quality - blind ratings by parents and teachers of the enjoyability and clarity of the tutors', tutees' and control children's writing.
Samples of sessions were tape recorded to establish the level at which the tutors used approved tutoring behaviour. At the end of the intervention period teacher and peer tutor attitudes to the programme were assessed by survey.
