Date of Award

1984

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Nancy Polette

Second Advisor

Gene Henderson

Abstract

Can peer tutoring significantly improve student achievement, comparing students who received peer tutoring and students without peer tutoring? The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether peer tutoring, systematically controlled, could significantly improve student achievement, comparing students who received peer tutoring and students without peer tutoring.

The major research hypothesis is: There will be a significant difference between the mean gain scores of the experimental and control groups in counting money, telling time, and linear measurement as a result of the treatment from a systematic peer tutoring program.

The sample for the study consisted of 16 second grade students ages seven and eight. Eight boys and eight girls participated in this study. The samples were drawn from two classrooms in a school from a suburban school district in St. Louis County. The total population was selected into groups by the classroom teacher using the Weschler IQ test scores, classroom performance, behavior, and attitude as criteria.

Two groups were used to test the hypothesis. Four boys and four girls s·erved as tutors and tu tees. This was the experimental group which received the treatment of a systematic peer tutoring program. These students had IQ levels ranging from 135 to 97. The control group consisted of four boys and four girls ages seven and eight with IQ levels ranging from 123 to 94. The control group was housed in a separate classroom from the treatment group and received instruction from only their regular classroom teacher. Both groups were taught the same skills which were: counting money, telling time, and linear measurement. The Key Math Diagnostic Arithmetic test was given to both groups by the investigator as a pretest.

Procedure:After matching the tutors and tutees, the treatment began. Two weeks of training were given to the tutors in preparation for the role which they were to assume. The training was done by the investigator for 30 minutes each day for two weeks. The tutoring sessions began on the third week. The tutor, tutee pairs met four times per week for 30 minute sessions of instructions for seven weeks. On the fifth day of each week the investigator met with the tutors and discussed the results of the weekly sessions. Careful records were kept by each tutor and recorded on a daily assignment sheet. All instructions given to the experimental group were supplementary to their regular classroom instruction.

The tutor-tutee pairs remained in their regular classroom during the tutoring sessions; however, the sessions took place behind a screen. At the end of the tutoring period a posttest was given to all subjects. The same test that was used for the pretest and the posttest.

The students' raw score gains were treated statistically by using at-test value to compare the mean gain scores of the two groups. The students were thanked and awarded certificates of distinction.

The results of the data analysis showed that the treatment group achieved significantly higher gain scores (.OS level) than the control group on the Key Math Diagnostic Arithmetic test, therefore, the hypothesis was confirmed. While there were many limitations to this study there were indications that a systematic peer tutoring program may be significant in improving the achievement of students, comparing them with students not receiving peer tutoring services.

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