The Advantages of Class Wide Peer Tutoring in an Urban Eighth Grade Inclusion Science Class

Abstract

Class Wide Peer Tutoring (CWP) is an instructional strategy which utilizes students who are academically strong in one area, in this case science. These students have favorable behavioral characteristics which allow them to successfully tutor their peers. One eighth grade inclusion science class of 23 students from an urban middle school were divided into five groups of four students and one group of three students. Each group was assigned a student peer tutor. This tutor would assist other students in the group with the designated science activity. Weekly observations of the effects of the CWPT; student, tutor and educator surveys on their opinions of CWPT in the classroom; and the comparison of student grades for two marking periods before and after CWPT implementation were used to gauge the level of program success. Fewer students earned failing grades for the marking period following CWPT than in previous marking periods where CWPT was absent. Positive classroom behavior and student engagement also increased during learning activities once CWPT had been implemented.