Reciprocal peer tutoring: An embedded assessment technique to improve student learning and achievement


Book: 
Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA, Chicago, Il)
Authors: 
Mickelson, W. T. Yetter, G. Lemberger, M., Hovater, S., & Ayers, R.
Category: 
Year: 
2003
Abstract: 

The importance of facilitating study and practice materials that are consistent with graded assessments and instructional objectives is well known, if not commonly used , in educaitonal practice. Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (RPT) is a collaborative approach that embeds assessment in a formalized learning process to facilitate student involvement with course content and improve achievement. Students engaging in RPT activity, each student of a dyad is independently responsible for synthesizing course content and constructing practice multiple-choice test questions, complete with answers, based on the course curriculum. Each dyad then administers practice tests to each other prior to formal class examinations. Upon completion of the practice exams, partners score each other's work and alternate roles as tutors, and tutees to assess each other's performance, give feedback on missed items, and discuss individual questions and course content. In this dual role as tutor and tutee, students benefit through the preparation and instruction in which tutors engage, as well as from the instruction that tutees receive. This study examines the impact of reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) on student achievement over six sections of an introductory statistics course. A comparison of RPT treatment relative to a control accounting for instructor, showed an effect of RPT treatment at the time of the last examination of the semester. This finding is tempered by additional analyses into the effectiveness fo the RPT treatment. Student achievement relative to increasing levels of cognitive complexity of exam items showed mixed results. Furthermore, a comprehensive analysis of the student work within RPT treatment revelaed students having difficulties implementing the intervention.

The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education