Peer Tutoring

Concise Guide to Peer Tutoring

Peer Tutoring partners peer tutors and tutees to work together for a specific period of time (usually 6-12 weeks) usually 2-4 times per week for 20-30 minutes each time, focusing on improving the academic performance of the tutee in a specific area of the curriculum, eg reading, maths, public speaking etc.

There are many other worthwhile roles that learners undertake to help each other, eg Sports Ambassadors, buddy systems, peer mentors, More Knowledgeable Others (MKOs) etc, but these are not peer tutors.

To achieve the significant gains for peer tutees and tutors alike that the evidence suggests is achievable, particularly for those from disadvantage, the specific and required components of peer tutoring are as follows:

• Through your self-evaluation and monitoring processes, identify groups of learners (particularly those from disadvantage) whose literacy/numeracy skills are underdeveloped. 

• Establish learning goals from the baseline for the progress expected over the time frame of the peer tutoring cycle.

• Arrange dates/venues/staffing for peer tutor training, peer tutor sessions (1-4 times per week for however many weeks you feel is needed to achieve the learning goals you have decided, usually 6-12 weeks), and peer tutor supervision sessions (usually once per week).

• Advertise the opportunity to apply to be peer tutors, usually two years older than the tutees.  (sample job descriptions and application forms available). 

• Ensure families of both tutors and tutees are aware of this approach.

• Select the peer tutors with the specific tutees in mind – always consider training more peer tutors than you need so that you have a wider workforce to draw upon to adapt to circumstances.  This is an excellent leadership opportunity for learners from disadvantage and/or who have faced other challenges.

• Train, match and introduce peer tutor-tutee pairings.  Training is a maximum of 2 days, depending upon how much of the content of the training is already part of the school’s core curriculum.  (all resources available for use/editing to meet your learners needs)

• Peer tutors plan and deliver sessions, monitor and evaluate progress being made during and between sessions to discuss in supervision sessions.  Tutees’ teachers should also have an input into this monitoring to ensure a full picture is understood to inform next steps.  Peer tutors are supported with use of digital tools where useful, eg Eedi.com for maths, Reading Progress in Teams if working on reading fluency, etc.  Important to ensure tutors do not introduce new content; they reinforce prior learning that was not well understood/retained.

• Consider which cameos of positive progress made would be good to share more widely and which lessons can be learned and built upon where challenges have been faced.  How will you celebrate the achievements of the peer tutors and tutees?

We have trialled different ways of delivering the peer tutor training; two consecutive days gives the best results as pupils really ebenfit from sleeping between the two sessions to process the content, especially if it is unfamiliar to them.  If they have followed the LML programme they can cope with one day.  An example of a one day programme for year 8 pupils is below, with the pupil handbook used to support their thinking and reflection after the session.

Here is a link to summary Peer Tutor training videos.  

There is also a MS Team full of a wide range of Peer Tutoring resources.