What are the Benefits of Peer Tutoring
A popular academic support program in schools for students as young as primary school age is peer tutoring. Under this, students can mentor or teach their fellow students. Nonetheless, it is more prevalent in higher education because it is explicitly acknowledged as a merit in a student’s portfolio, particularly for those who want to become tutors or educators.
Due to Singapore’s relatively large class sizes, it is very hard for teachers to provide each student with their undivided attention. Additionally, there are instances of timid and introverted students who would rather be alone themselves and typically find it difficult to voice their concerns in front of the class. Furthermore, not every student learns best with a single teaching approach, therefore there may be times when a different approach helps them comprehend the material. The purpose of peer tutoring in schools is to allow students to review what they are learning while working with their friends and classmates.
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What are the types of peer tutoring?
There are different types of peer tutoring that students can use depending on which one suits them best. The most common ones are uni-directional, bi-directional, and group.
• Uni-directional tutoring
In this kind of peer tutoring, a student with higher academic standing serves as the mentor for other students or those who are having difficulty with the material. They act as their peers’ little teachers in a way. They are the ones responsible for instructing their peers on a subject or topic they already know well in a group situation.
• Bi-directional tutoring
Bi-directional tutoring is a buddy system where two students can assist one another in many areas, as opposed to uni-directional tutoring when students rely on the knowledge and experience of one student. One student, for instance, finds it difficult to comprehend subject-verb agreement yet excels in solving algebraic formulas. After that, they are matched with a student who excels in English but struggles in Math. The students share their knowledge and talents during this kind of tutoring.
• Group tutoring
When a few students come together and work with a tutor to study a single subject in a small group setting that is called group tuition. Group tuition classes can take place almost anywhere that the students can agree upon, such as a student’s house, a café, a community center, a mall, or a roof deck. It may provide schedules for when tutors can teach a certain subject. It is also available at tuition centers. Because the group can split the cost of the tuition, it lowers tuition rates. Additionally, because there are other students in the group in addition to the tutor, it’s more interactive than just the tutor and the student.
What are the benefits of peer tutoring?
Now that we have tackled the different and common types of peer tuition, let’s talk about the benefits that students can get from it.
1. It helps strengthen understanding
Aside from the tutee benefitting from the tuition sessions and academic coaching, the tutor also gets their benefit. Though they are usually already proficient in the topic already, there are some things they can still improve.
It is common knowledge that when you educate someone, you are also evaluating your understanding and reinforcing the ideas you are presenting. When you are teaching someone else, all of your prior knowledge will come back to you as a refresher. You can also pick up new information on the subject or supplement what you already know. When your tutee poses a question that you are unable to respond to, it will draw attention to any knowledge gaps you may have on the subject, which you and your tutee can then fill in.
2. It helps establish relationships and connections
Expanding one’s network is always beneficial for students, particularly those who may be considering tutoring as a career. Whether you work with an established group of tutees or simply one student, building relationships is always advantageous when it comes to peer tutoring. It also shouldn’t matter what level or stage of schooling someone is at. Other students can teach you just as much as you can teach them.
Who knows? A student that you have tutored may be able to help you with their own contacts as well. They can refer you to their friends or other classmates who are also looking to engage in a dependable tutor. Having a tutee refer you to others is a great way to expand your network and also does good for your credibility as a tutor. Additionally, if you are looking or planning to be a home tutor in the future, your tutee can also refer students to you as they already have a sense of how you will be as a tutor.
Networking is important since it might lead to opportunities that you may not have even considered. Sometimes you can believe that you are merely helping a fellow student and deepening your own understanding by spending time with them, but it can also affect your opportunities and help you attract new tutees. Of course, experience and qualifications play a role as well, but you don’t have to depend just on them to achieve your goals; making the right connections with the right people can help you achieve your goals.
3. It provides great experience for aspiring educators
Being a teacher or tutor at home has gained a lot of popularity lately. This is mostly due to its deeper goal of educating the future generation of people, but it’s also a result of its personal fulfillment. If you’re one of those people who wants to work as a tutor or teacher, then starting small will help you achieve your goal.
You can obtain experience teaching someone else by starting humbly, such as offering to assist fellow students in the classroom without collecting a charge. It also benefits you since you may experiment with various teaching philosophies to determine how well they suit you and how you can use them without turning the entire lesson into a teacher-centered one. It assists you in determining what would be beneficial to you and what you might need to improve upon for your next career. When you do get your first official student, you’ll be more capable, experienced, and prepared because of this.
Conclusion
It is beneficial to all participants, so if you have the chance, you should definitely take advantage of the peer tutoring program. You will have the opportunity to not only try teaching another student but also to expand your knowledge and make any necessary revisions to any material you may have missed. As you would feel more at ease conversing with a peer, this is also an opportunity for you as a student in need of assistance and tutoring to ask more questions and get all of your concerns answered.
Carelle
Carelle is a teacher who has been through the ups and downs of the teacher and learner life. She wishes for every learner to gain educational satisfaction that will help embody the people they want to be in the future.
