Peer mentoring was an area I was keen to explore; having seen and been inspired by what two Y6 children were capable of achieving in my previous school,
After just a day’s training and support two of them had set themselves a target of organising a charity football match. They collaborated, communicated and organised the whole event, with little additional adult support. The final event was held in July and was supported by many parents.
So for a separate annual event called ‘Fab Friday’ where teachers, teaching assistants and members of the local community were invited to share their talents/interests with children I took a risk and invited Y6 children to organise, resource and run activities on the day. It was a very successful and an enjoyable experience for all.
As a result the school embarked on a bold programme of giving children more responsibility, more directly with learning. The Y6 teaching staff invited all children in the year to write a letter of application to become a Curriculum Based Ambassador: to liaise with teachers, generate ideas and take responsibility for keeping resource areas organised, Every Y6 child was also given the opportunity to take on more responsibility with regard to running ‘family’ groups (about 20 children drawn from the same ‘school house’ across the school from Y1-Y6).
However, without training or support, some of the Y6 children struggled with aspects of leading such groups and holding ‘House’ assemblies. Equally, some children did not engage with the idea of being Curriculum Ambassadors and many of the roles fizzled out.
I now wanted to see if we could learn the lessons and roll out a successful Peer Tutoring program that would have wide reaching benefits in my new school, Ravensthorpe, in Peterborough.
Ravensthorpe Primary School is a good and rapidly improving school. It is located to the north-wes of Peterborough and currently the number on roll stands at 252. This is growing year on year following a major building expansion project. Over the next 5 years Ravensthorpe will be doubling in size to be a 2 form entry school with 420 pupils.
Over a third of pupils are eligible for pupil premium support. This reflects the local evidence, which shows that almost three quarters of its pupils come from the poorest quartile of postcodes in England. Pupils attend from the Westwood and Ravensthorpe housing estate, but increasingly, children are joining the school from across the city.
Ravensthorpe is a diverse school and its pupils come from a wide range of social and ethnic minority backgrounds. Pupils who speak English as an additional language make up half of Ravensthorpe’s school roll. In 2015, half of the children in Foundation Stage spoke little or no English.
I chose to deliver ‘Peer Tutor’ training to Y5 pupils – to ensure that all children had the chance to be a tutor, regardless of ability, EAL, behaviour or attitude. In consultation with other teaching staff, I devised a project in which each Y5 child, as far as possible was matched to an individual child in Y3. (Several Y5s had the responsibility of ‘tutoring’ two Y3 children)
As a context for the peer coaching, I chose the development of an instant recall of the multiplication tables facts, in line with the demands of the new curriculum. All the children in Y3 were given a list of times tables facts to complete, which was split into 2 phases. The Blue Phase: x2, x5, x10 and the Green Phase: x3, x4, x6 x8. The children were challenged to complete each set of 20 mixed number sentences in 60 seconds e.g. 3x4 =, 9x3= (The Y5s had an additional Red Phase: x7, x9, x11, x12) The pupils were then presented with exact copies of the lists at the end of the project and the results were compared.
Learning from the Literature
Peer tutoring is ‘an approach in which one child instructs another child in material on which the first is an expert and the second a novice.’ (Damon and Phelps 1989 p11 in Leading Other Learners a UFA Publication p 11) The UFA makes a clear distinction that Peer Tutoring has learning as its focus. Others define it as ‘ … a range of approaches in which learners work in pairs … to provide each other with explicit teaching support. In cross-age tutoring an older learner takes the tutoring role and is paired with a younger tutee … with sessions of 25-35 minutes two or three times a week.’ http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/peer-tutoring/
Research has shown that the examination performance of students who were tutored was better than the examination performance of students in a conventional class, especially for mathematics and reading, at both primary and secondary school levels. (Cohen, Kulik, Kulik 1982 p237-248) Therefore, in consultation with other teaching staff at Ravensthorpe Primary, we settled on a project to improve the pupils’ instant recall of the times tables facts.
On first glance, it may seem reasonable to assume that peer tutoring favours those who are tutored. However, through my reading, I have found studies that reveal significant gains made by both tutor and tutee. The tutor benefits from reinforcing existing knowledge and gains an insight into the teaching/learning process, whereas the tutee benefits from individualised instruction in a non-threatening, supportive setting. (Goodlad and Hirst 1989)
Whilst research demonstrates that the impact of peer tutoring is relatively high with benefits for both tutor and tutee, it was especially successful in cross-age tutoring. It has also been shown that a two-year gap seems to support both tutee and tutor learning. Therefore, as suggested, we decided to match pupils carefully with the highest attaining pupils in Y5, with the highest attaining pupils in Y3 through to the lowest attaining pupils in Y5 being matched to the lowest attaining pupils in Y3. http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/peer-tutoring/ and UFA (2008)
In addition, I was keen to find out whether there would be additional benefits as reported in other studies, showing that peer tutors demonstrated increased levels of personal development, motivation and confidence (Hammond et al 2010) Further, Biggs noted that some students liked the more friendly, relaxed environments and the opportunity to develop relationships amongst their peer groups (Biggs, 1999).
A meta-analysis of findings from 65 independent evaluations of school tutoring programs showed that these programs have positive effects on the academic performance and attitudes of those who receive tutoring. Tutored students outperformed control students on examinations, and they also developed positive attitudes toward the subject matter covered in the tutorial programs. The meta-analysis also showed that tutoring programs have positive effects on children who serve as tutors. Like the children they helped, the tutors gained a better understanding and a more positive attitude toward the subject matter covered in the tutorial program. Cohen et.al. (1982).
The research on peer tutoring, demonstrates the advantages to both individuals: the peer tutor and the tutee. In the current pressurised society, in which education operates, one that continues to be stressful and target driven, the mutual benefit of training older children to support the learning of others should have us shouting from the roof tops to have many more children involved!
The Project
It was decided that this should be delivered over three days (1 full day, a second workshop on the following morning and a subsequent session on the afternoon of the 3rd day) straight after the Easter Holidays.
On the very first meeting with the Y5s, I outlined the stated aims of the course:
- To understand what is meant by peer tutoring and to help them to think about their role as a peer tutor
- To develop confidence to work as part of a team so that they feel able to support other learners
- To experience some strategies to help them to be a better peer tutor
Having explained the nature of peer tutoring, I shared the context of the project – to collaborate on a 1:1 basis with pupils in Y3 with the aim of helping them to improve their instant recall of multiplication facts.
I then shared a ‘Getting to Know You’ structure. The children mingled with a BINGO style game-board and had to ask questions of each other. I suggested they could use these styles of question to draw up their own questionnaire, which they could use to find out about their tutee on the first meeting – as a ‘Get to Know’ exercise, ensuring they focus on developing a relationship with their tutee.
Through discussions with the children in Y5, it was clear to see that many children had already had experience of helping others: to read; to learn a new game; to find their way; to tie shoe laces; cheered and encouraged people and even in listening to others, when there was a problem.
I gave Y5 pupils opportunities to share their fears and concerns about becoming a peer tutor and jot them onto ‘Post It’ notes, which we attached to the board. The most common themes were:
- ‘I am scared that I will be put on the spot’, ‘I don’t know all my tables, I might forget when they ask.’
- ‘I’m not good at my tables’ and ‘I might say a wrong answer.’
- ‘What if I teach them the wrong way?’
- ‘I may not be as confident as they are.’
- Several pupils were worried about being put with someone they didn’t know.
- One child was worried that others might just sit there and not learn
- A few children had concerns regarding the behaviour of their potential tutees ‘…they might be rude/silly and I won’t know what to do.’
We established that their concerns had similar themes and were common to many people, as they embark on new ventures and especially trainee teachers. We discussed possible solutions to some of the issues raised including the many different resources available to help them e.g. themselves, other adults and the games including those using ICT.
Together we set some clear ground rules, which included encouraging others; speaking in a positive way and giving some thought as to how their body language conveys messages. I then introduced the idea of Gardner’s Multiple intelligences and the children had an opportunity to find out in which ways they were ‘Smart’.
What pupils think makes for good learning experiences?
I asked them to reflect on previous successful learning experiences. Most pupils talked about learning how to master a particular skill in: football, gymnastics and in learning how to swim. I helped them to draw out the different stages of learning, which follow a pattern: why did you learn it? (to get better) How did you learn it? (by watching, talking and doing) Who helped? (often an adult – parent/coach) What helped? (time and practise) How did you feel at the end? (good, pleased, proud etc) To make this more visual, I listed their ideas on a feelings chart – documenting their emotions before, during and after completing any new learning experience.
Next, I gave the children an opportunity to experience being: a peer tutor, a learner and an observer and we drew out the key learning points as I challenged the learners to solve a simple puzzle. The peer tutors had the answers and so were in the ‘coaching’ role. The observers listened carefully and noted what the peer tutor did and said. Then I encouraged them to reflect on the experience and draw out what had gone well and whether it was an easy task. We also explored ‘what ifs’ … what if the peer tutor had just given the answer, the Y5 children recognised that this would not help the tutee and may even make them feel bad – they were able to relate it back to their own ‘successful learning experiences’ and the feeling words, which were still on display from the earlier activity: charting emotions before, during and after new learning experiences. We discussed the possibility of not knowing the answer – a ‘fear’, which had been mentioned in the ‘Post It’ note activity earlier and a child suggested that it was possible to learn “together.”
I explained that the language – including the body language they use is very important; that they will be role models for other learners so the way they act and what they say is very important. I encouraged them to reflect upon their leaning experiences and how it feels to be supported by a coach and, indeed, how it feels ‘if’ and ‘when’ they are not! This activity led into drawing up a list of ‘positive learning’ sentence stems they could use. In addition, I talked to the Y5s about their internal ‘self-talk’ and the way it can affect learning. I emphasised that it is possible to change the way they speak to themselves (I’m rubbish at it!… I can’t do it!… affects the way we feel.) This fitted in with recent lessons about Growth Mindset.
The children then had time to reflect on their learning so far and consider ways in which they could help others and to consider what qualities they had.
We then further explored feelings and emotions, through a short story and considered the damage that can be heaped upon a child, who experiences a succession of negative comments. I reminded them that we all have good and bad days and that they need to be very aware about what they say to each other and the way they respond to their tutees because learning can be affected by the way we feel (our emotions). The Y5 children responded positively to the exercise and all were able to share positive comments to help and support a child, who felt ‘down’.
After this powerful exercise, I revealed Henry Ford’s statement, ‘Whether you think you can, or think you can’t – you’re right!’ I let the children consider this carefully and to try to determine the meaning and relevance. This linked to their learning from the previous day – the internal self-talk and I encouraged them to consider the effect that might have happened if they had been particularly negative when ‘having a go’ at new learning, such as practising football skills. The children recognised that they would not have made progress; they would probably have given up. I explained that sometimes children – even they themselves – might have said “I’m bored; I can’t be bothered …” because it is a way of hiding one’s feelings – especially when he or she feels they may not be able to succeed with a given task. Some children admitted to having done this and, in turn, this led to further discussions about giving up, when they would not have been able to experience the joy and pride that they felt at the end of a ‘bit of learning.’ I stressed the importance of being supportive of learners, who feel stuck or scared because it is the negative comments, which affect mood and inhibit learning. The children then had further time to collaborate and to generate a ‘bank’ of positive comments that would help them to keep their learners going.
The ingredients of learning
Next, I referred the Y5s to Ravensthorpe’s Learning Ingredients: Concentrate, Imagine, Improve, Push yourself, Understand others, Work hard, Try new things and Don’t give up and we started to consider some instances e.g. what does concentrating mean? What does it look like? Why is it important that learners concentrate? I asked them to reflect on a time, when they showed good concentration and we drew out the key learning points. I explained that it was important for them to stop and reflect on their learning experiences and that they should get their tutee to do the same because, as human beings, we are designed to forget and so it’s important to reflect to make sure we remember key points for the future. Learning is all about connecting the old with the new and storing that information so we make progress and Improve.
In considering what makes a good peer tutor, we reflected on their concerns and worries from Day one. I reminded them they were part of a team; that there were others around them, who could help and support them. If they continued to be worried by something, they should check with an adult because school is likely to have a system in place for any problems or concerns they may come across. At this point, I gave them time to consider some of the common themes that had been raised and asked them what they could do; as a whole group, they offered suggestions. Their responses included: ‘Come on … you can do it!’ ‘Use what you know … what are 5 lots of 8 (or 8x5) … so what are 6 lots of 8?’ ‘Let’s have another go at the ones you find tricky’ and ‘ I’ll help you.’
There were then further opportunities for them to practise being a peer tutor through various activities (1 child acted as the Peer Tutor, 1 as the learner and 1 as the observer). We came together as a group to reflect upon the experiences and to draw out the key points. The children were very clear about the differences between telling and coaching and knew that ‘telling’ was like a quick fix but it didn’t really help anyone. They were good at using encouraging language and in giving precise feedback.
As Y5s, they knew each other and already had established a sense of trust between themselves, but they began to recognise the importance of ‘getting to know’ their tutee and of developing a relationship. I suggested that like athletes, that when they meet, they should discuss and set a learning target, something that they could aim for so that the Y3s could see that they were making progress and improving their own ‘personal bests’. Finally, I reassured them that it is OK to make mistakes - we all do, but that it is always important to reflect on one’s own performance and talk over any issues in an effort to improve.
Action Research in Action:
Having delivered the training, it was agreed that each Y5 child would be paired up with a child from Y3 to support and facilitate the learning of times tables facts in order to develop their instant recall. Both the Y5 children and the Y3 children took a timed multiplication test and then children were carefully matched, considering each child’s ability and temperament – with the highest attaining Y5 pupils being matched with the highest attaining Y3 pupils. Given the results of Durham University’s two year trial, across 129 primary schools, we settled on two sessions per week, lasting 20 minutes, where the Y3 children would meet with their peer tutors to practise their times tables in a supportive 1:1 relationship.
In preparation for their first meeting, the Y5s had been asked to create a simple questionnaire in order to ‘Get to Know’ their tutee and to start building relationships. Similarly, the Y3s had been asked to share their times table scores and to consider setting a target for themselves, which was to be discussed at the first meeting. Then the Y5 peer tutors met with their Y3 tutees for the very first time.
There was a buzz of excitement, the first meeting went well and the Y5 children were all ‘fired up.’ Many set about creating game cards, flashcards and themed game ideas to help their tutees practise their multiplication skills. A rota was soon established for the IPads and Netbooks, whereas others played ‘Snap’ and ‘Bingo’ type games.
At the end of the project, I distributed attitude surveys, with a variety of questions including those rated against a scale and those with more open-ended answers (see appendix: views of Y5 girl, views of Y5 boy, views of Y5 girl with EAL, views of Y5 girl 3) I then interviewed a small selection of children in order to discover the reasoning behind their answers.
The results!
When the results of the initial timed test were placed against the results of the second timed test after an 11 week period of peer coaching, every child’s score had improved significantly – with 90% of children more than doubling their original score in the ‘Blue’ band (mixed x2, x5, x10 facts) and 96% more than doubling their score in the ‘Green’ band (mixed x3, x4, x6 x8 facts) with some children who struggled to complete 20% of the list initially, making excellent progress and able to complete 95% and more by the final timed ‘test’ (see appendix: progress of average child, record of progress)
- When questioned, Y3 children spoke positively of peer coaching.
- (R) agreed with others that it was fun. ‘I liked playing games and winning the cards. (A) (peer tutor) challenged me’. We then discussed how this was a good thing and reflected on the improvements he had made.
- (H) said he looked forward to working with his peer tutor. He spoke of (J) (peer tutor) giving him tips and encouraging him.
- (L) said that she’d enjoyed working with her peer coach, ‘…she sets me challenges and uses the timer.’ She commented that her peer tutor had encouraged her to say the whole number sentence and answer in response to a question e.g.3x8
- (R) said that (L) had set him challenges and encouraged him to learn the inverses alongside key facts e.g. 12 x 3 = ⇑ 36 ÷ 3 =
- (K) spoke positively of her peer tutor, (A) and said that she speaks to her around school and challenges her to learn different tables – ‘sometimes she teaches me actions and it helps me learn.’
- Several commented that the Y5s wave, smile or say ‘hi’ when they see them around school, at lunch time or in the playground.
All children stated that they had got on well with their peer tutor and would really like to be involved in a subsequent project. When asked to make suggestions, they volunteered: reading, spellings and even art. (This may have been in response to a series of lessons on Growth Mindset and the use of Austin’s Butterfly in subsequent art lessons, which demonstrated what can be achieved with coaching.)
Similarly, the teachers involved in the project confirmed, through their observations and their informal discussions, what the children had expressed – that the children had all been fully engaged and enjoyed the experience of working 1:1 (and in a small minority of cases 1:2)
The responses of the Y5 children were similar with 83% feeling that their own Maths had improved as a result.
When asked why/how they felt their Maths had improved, the children stated that in teaching others, they had become ‘…more confident’ ‘…I’m better’ 78% commented that their times tables knowledge had improved because they’d had to focus on the job of learning their own times tables, ‘… I have been practising’; ‘We learnt our 8x tables together’ and ‘I was learning with them.’ (see examples in appendix: views of Y5 girl, boy, girl 3, girl with EAL)
- 79% of Y5 children rated the overall experience as between good and excellent.
- It is clear to see that the attitude of the Y5 children involved with the project was very positive.
- When asked an ‘open ended’ question, which called upon Y5 children to reflect on the ‘best bit’ of the project:
- 11% said they enjoyed ‘teaching’
- 30% said they liked ‘helping others’ to learn
- 7% stated that they liked seeing others learn … it made them feel good.
- 4% stated that they had ‘had fun’
- 22% commented that they had liked ‘getting to know them’ (tutees) and ‘meeting new people’
- 92% said that they would like to be involved in another peer coaching project.
Although Beasley (1997) conducted his study with university students in 1995, training second and third year students as peer tutors to support first year students, I also discovered, in line with other studies, that many of the children at Ravensthorpe talked about the improved knowledge they had acquired. Like Beasley, it reaffirmed the old adage … the best way of really learning (and understanding) is to try to teach someone else. In my project, some pupils also reported an increase in confidence and a sense of enjoyment, through getting to know others.
When asked to reflect on the whole experience and suggest improvements, some children stated that they would like to have made it more fun and played more games. Others suggested that they would like to have had more time because ‘…just as I was getting going, it was time to stop.’ Similarly a small number of children expressed the desire to have been able to ‘get to know my tutee better’. Other suggestions included being able to ‘make it more exciting’ so that tutees could ‘apply’ their knowledge. A few other comments mentioned were the need to be ‘stricter’ and ‘more confident’.
Conclusions
This project demonstrated that both tutee and tutor viewed the ‘Peer Tutoring’ project as a positive experience. The timed multiplication test results of children in Y3 improved significantly, given the 1:1 help and support of their tutor. (See appendix: progress of average child, record of progress Y3) Their written reflections of the whole peer tutoring experience also record their feelings and acknowledge the effort, the hard work and the practice which has led to their achievements. (See appendix: reflections from Y3 &Y5 pupils) Likewise, the tutors found it an enjoyable experience and it was clear that over 83% felt that their Maths had improved as a result. In addition, some expressed other benefits – feelings of increased confidence; the development of relationships – making connections with others by getting to know them - and a sense of achievement – in seeing others improve. UFA view the ‘humanly rewarding’ sense of peer tutoring as a vehicle for promoting social capital, which is defined as ‘… making connections with one another, and keeping them going over time, people are able to work together to achieve things that they either could not achieve by themselves, or could only achieve with great difficulty.’ (Field 2003 p1 in UFA 2008)
My research confirmed what Topping and Bamford summarised in their findings when they wrote, ‘…Peer tutoring in mathematics has been shown to yield significant achievement gains on both criterion and norm referenced mathematics tests and gains in attitudes to mathematics, self-concept and social interaction.’ (1998)
When it comes to peer tutoring, the following quotation seems particularly relevant, ‘… Telling is not teaching, and listening is not learning. The best way to learn is to become a teacher – in part because staying active makes learning attractive. Learning occurs when the learner does the work.’ (Marshall 2007 p202) He goes onto to state that ‘pairing and sharing is especially effective because working with one other person poses little threat, prevents anonymity and obtains high performance.’
Implications
As a result of my research, I have shared my findings with key members of staff and, just as importantly, the Y5 peer tutors; helping them to celebrate their achievements. I have discussed the project with other interested colleagues and have suggested planning another project focused on improving learning. (Suggestions from the Y5 children included: PE, reading, drawing and writing). There are plans to continue to employ ‘peer tutoring’ and collaborative learning strategies: they are included in the School Development Plan for the current year.
Rosalyn Mark, Contact: rjmark1066@gmail.com
Contact with the school was organised through Ann O’Hara, who is now retired but would like to see the article when published. Email her a copy at: ann.ohara@schoolimprovementservicesltd.com
Knowledge trails
1. Vertical Tutoring – A visionary Solution
http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/vertical-tutoring--a-visionary-solution
2. Some of the Best Learners Are Teachers
http://library.teachingtimes.com/articles/some-of-the-best-learners-are-teachers
Notes
http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/toolkit/peer-tutoring/
Beasley, C. (1997). Students as teachers: The benefits of peer tutoring. In Pospisil, R. and Willcoxson, L. (Eds), Learning Through Teaching, p21-30. Proceedings of the 6th Annual Teaching Learning Forum, Murdoch University, February 1997. Perth: Murdoch University. http://lsn.curtin.edu.au/tlf/tlf1997/beasley.html
Biggs (1999) in http://www.beds.ac.uk/jpd/volume-4-issue-1/peer-tutoring
Cohen, P.A., Kulik, J.A., Kulik, C.C. (1982). Educational Outcomes of Tutoring: A Meta-Analysis of Findings. American Educational Research Journal, 19.2: pp. 237-248.
Damon W and Phelps E (1989) ‘Critical Distinctions Among Three Approaches’ in Peer Interaction, Problem Solving and Cognition: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Edited by NM Webb New York: Pergamon Press
Field J (2003) Social Capital, London: Routledge
Goodlad, S. and Hirst, B. (1989) Peer Tutoring. A Guide to Learning by Teaching, New York: Nicholas Publishing ED 311 006
Hammond, J., Bithell, C., Jones, L. and Bidgood, P. (2010) ‘A First Year Experience of Student-directed Peer-assisted Learning.’ Active Learning in Higher Education 11, 201
Hattie, J. (2012) Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximising Impact on Learning: Routledge
Topping, K and Bamford, J. (1998)‘The Paired Maths handbook; Parental Involvement and Peer Tutoring in Mathematics David Fulton Publishers