Deborah Allen

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Peer Tutors A Solution for Large Classes
Deborah Allen Hal White
The peer tutoring program at UD is supported in
part by a grant from the U.S. Dept. of
Educations Fund for the Improvement of
Postsecondary Education, and from the Howard
Hughes Medical Institutes Undergraduate Biol.
Educ. Program
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What Are (Near-) Peer Tutors?
Upperclass undergraduates who guide student
groups in the PBL classroom, working alongside
the faculty instructor
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PBL Environments in Which Peer Tutors Are Used

• Small and large classes
• Majors and non-majors
• Introductory and advanced subjects
• Basic and applied sciences humanities social
  sciences

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Additional Peer Tutoring Models

• Roving versus dedicated
• Experienced versus new PBLer
• Peer versus near-peer

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What Tutors Do Well Create a positive
learning environment Respond to student
needs/ concerns Set reasonable
standards Serve as allies of students and
instructors
What Tutors Need Help With When to intervene in
group discussions How/when to ask leading
questions Prioritizing learning issues
identifying appropriate resources Conflict
resolution/ observational skills
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Characteristics of a Functional Tutor

• Active member of the group (friendly, interested)
• Involves all students in the process
• Questions/probes the thinking and reasoning
  process
• Provides information when appropriate
• Promotes the use of appropriate resources
• Guides/directs/intervenes to keep the group on
  track
• Flexibility
• Sets high standards for the group
• Supports good interpersonal relationships
• Serves as a model for giving and receiving
  feedback

From, University of New Mexico Primary Care
Curriculum, A Guide to Quality Tutorials
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Tutorial Methods of Instruction
A 2-credit course that provides in-service
supervision and support for peer tutors in PBL
courses

• Group dynamics and group process
• Dealing with conflict
• Techniques of questioning for deeper levels of
  understanding
• Intellectual development of undergraduates
• Learning styles
• Peer, self and group assessment
• Reflective processing of the experience
• Ethical issues

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A Tutorial Methods Class Session

• Structured discussion of readings
• Interactive exercises
• pencil and paper
• posed questions
• Fish bowl tutoring, followed by reflective
• processing
• Reflections on the tutoring experience
• Teaching case studies

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Reflecting on the Tutoring Experience

• Group Situations that Tutors May Encounter
• Likeable, talkative student who is unaware that
  he/she
• frequently interrupts others and dominates the
  discussion.
• Student who thinks that PBL isnt a good way to
  learn and
• deliberately or unconsciously disrupts the
  process
• Quiet student who has good thoughts to contribute
  but never
• seems to get the attention of other members of
  the group
• Group in which a disparity in the abilities of
  members makes
• communication of concepts difficult
• Group that seems unable to susta

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Teaching Case Studies
Hear no Evil - See No Evil the PBL resistant
student Handling Conflicting Personalities and
Learning Styles a student who wants to learn
from the professor, not the group A Division
Among the Classes what happens when a senior
joins a group of freshmen The Group That Got
Along Too Well how friendly should a tutor be
with his group?
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End of Course Ratings from Biology
Overall rating of the peer tutor 1.3
0.04 1-excellent ---gt 5-poor
1-strongly agree ---gt 5-strongly
disagree Working with a peer tutor has been
1.3 0.04 beneficial to my learning of
biology If given the choice, I would take
1.5 0.07 another class designed like this one
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What Students Say
I have become more comfortable talking in a
group and presenting my information confidently.
I can talk easily with everyone in my group and
look forward to coming to class because of the
environment ____ has created.
_____ always provides a comfortable atmosphere
where I feel as if I can contribute ideas and
opinions and not be looked upon as dumb or wrong.
My tutor has helped me have confidence in my
group and want to help and teach my group issues
about the problem. I feel much more comfortable
asking questions in the group
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What Students Say (cont.)
____ gives many ways to look at one process or
idea so that everyone can learn in a way that
is productive for them.
____ prompts me to think instead of just giving
me the answers.
____ has taught me that only when you can
explain something do you truly understand it.
I can now use the library to find the work I
need. If ____ told me where to go to get this
then I wouldnt have learned. However, when I
get really stuck ____ does give me a hint where
I can find things!
____ never lets us take the easy way out of
solving a problem.
This is a very good atmosphere, most susceptible
for learning. Im quite sure that PBL is best for
me, and ____ has helped to get us accustomed to
the format of the class.
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What Tutors Say
I would like to be a tutor for several reasons.
I really enjoyed the class last semester when I
took it, and I particularly liked the format of
it. Also, I thought the peer tutors were very
helpful and I would like the chance to help out
the people taking the class next semester.
Besides giving me a chance to use all of what I
have learned in biochemistry, being a tutor will
let me see if teaching might be something I want
to do later on. I hope that I will be able to
take advantage of this opportunity!
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The Tutoring Experience
1-strongly agree ----gt 5-strongly disagree
I feel that I have benefited from the process
of 1.3 ? 0.1 being a tutor. I think that
understanding of my major field of 2.1 ? 0.2
study has improved as the result of being a
tutor I think that my interest in incorporating
teaching 1.9 ? 0.1 into some aspect of my
professional career has been enhanced by this
experience. I think that the tutoring experience
has helped me 1.2 ? 0.1 to better understand the
way I and other people think and learn. I
would recommend the tutoring experience to 1.4
? 0.1 others.
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Why Use Peer Tutors?
A Multilayered Learning Community With Benefits
To

• Students
• help with passive----gt active transition
• view to path ahead

• Tutors
• final overview of
• discipline
• view to path ahead
• mentoring by
• instructor

• Instructors
• managing multiple groups
• use of complex problems
• foster positive group process
• provide feedback

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Introducing the Experts.
James Alesi - Science Education (grad.) Sharon
Falk - Biological Sciences Marijka Grey -
Biological Sciences Amanda Simons - Biochemistry