The History Of Peer Tutoring
From the writer: I wrote this paper for Bobbi Kirby-Werner's Peer Consulting Practicum. The history and psychology of peer tutoring interested me because all the way through the class, I had wondered "Where did this method of learning/instruction emerge from?" The answer was of course, England. I also liked the idea that you didn't have to be a "professional" to be a peer consultant: that, in fact, the point was that you WEREN'T a professional, and because of this, it was in some instances much easier for students to relate to peer consultants. Which in turn helped them with writing.
From the teacher: Brendan's text fulfilled part of the WRT 331 requirement to prepare a paper as well as a 15-minute presentation about some aspect of his experience as a peer writing consultant. In his proposal for this project, Brendan noted that his status as a peer in many cases enabled him to relate better to his clients and to have more productive sessions than he might have otherwise. This experience prompted his investigation of the history of peer consulting. The insights Brendan shared in his paper and presentation were valuable additions to the class.
From the editors: The author takes you on a historical road trip into the evolution of peer tutoring. What its roots are and how far the peer tutoring system has developed in the past three hundred years are explained while the writer gives insight into a little known facet of the S.U. Writing Program: the peer consultants.
History
The textbook definition of peer tutoring is "a system of instruction in which learners help each other and learn (themselves) by teaching," (Goodlad and Hirst 13). Key to this definition is the word peer, meaning someone with the same or a nearly equal status as the person being tutored, who, as such, is not a professional instructor. Peer tutoring has played an important part in education and has probably existed in some incarnation since the beginning of civilization. But the first recorded use of an organized, systematic peer tutorial learning project in the Western World didn't come about until the late 1700's.
Arising from school budget woes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, peer tutoring became an effective way of giving underprivileged (at this time, sadly, only male) children a reasonable shot at an education. The first systematic approach to peer tutoring is credited to Andrew Bell, who was the superintendent of the Military Male Asylum at Egmore, in England (Goodlad et.
In my 1109 class our task for eight weeks was to observe a tutor and writer working together during fifty minute sessions. This took place at the Writer’s Studio here on Newark’s OSU campus. The tutor I observed was Wyatt Bowman and the student was Adam Bielby. Ad...
A Training Guide for College Tutors and Peer Educators by Sally Lipsky defines the role and importance of peer tutors’ on college campuses, the importance of promoting active learning, how to incorporate critical thinking and questioning skills, assessing students’ learning, collaborative learning and group work. Furthermore, this book defines tutoring as a proactive process, the value of diversity and students, online assistance, and a summary of effective peer lead sessions. One of the major strengths of this book is the learning activities throughout to assist peer tutors with their tutees. For example, the activity in Chapter 2 (Promoting Active Learning) has what the tutor may potentially hear
From the first Colonial settlements to the Civil War, a great many changes took place within American society. Increasing industrialization in the North and an increase in large-scale farming coupled with reliance on slave labor in the South led to very different values and socially accepted lifestyles than were commonplace in the early colonies. In both of these societies, there was a shift from a community subsistence existence to one of markets and wages. These changes are reflected nowhere more distinctly and thoroughly than in the individual “microcosms of society:” the American family.
The movie “Schindler’s list” is a compelling, real-life depiction of the events that occurred during the 1940’s. It illustrates the persecution and horrific killings of the Jewish people. It also exemplifies the hope and will of the Jewish people, which undoubtedly is a factor in the survival of their race. The most important factor however is because of the willingness of one man, Oskar Schindler, to stand out and make a difference.
Orientalism is never far from what Denys Hay ahs called the idea of Europe, a collective notion identifying ‘us’ Europeans as against all ‘those’ non-Europeans, and indeed it precisely what made that culture hegemonic both in and outside Europe: the idea of European identity as superior one in comparison with ass the non-European peoples and cultures (7).
Smith, M. K. (1997, 2004). Carl Rogers and Informal Education. In The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-rogers.htm
My experiences with tutoring others has taught me that it satisfies me to help others understand and learn. As you teach others you learn about the different ways you handle situations and solve issues as well. I’ve always been the person that my classmates come up to for help, but it wasn’t till grade 10 until I officially started tutoring math, mainly Pre-Calculus 12. In grade 11, I continued tutoring, but this time I focused on a single individual, and that brought up challenges of creating a suitable relationship, that becomes the foundation for effective learning. This year, I took on a challenge, my teacher asked me to be a mentor towards a student with learning disabilities who was struggling with school. I
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Tenth edition. Edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Longman Publishers, pp. 371-377, 2008.
For the entirety of my undergraduate career I had the distinct ability to successfully write research papers, critical essays and journal entries. On the whole I feel that my writing was successful due to the fact that I received excellent grades as well as glowing comments of support from my professors. Please understand that I am not boasting about my grade point average, class rank or even attempting to claim that I am a good writer. However, I do feel confident in my abilities to write papers that speak directly to the question at hand while simultaneously addressing, although not necessarily adhering to, the professor’s point of interest. I must credit much of my success as an undergraduate to Mr. M of the High School English Department. My outlook on academic writing was drastically altered during the fall of 1997 with the help of Mr. M and a writing course entitled College Prep II.
Smith, M. K. (2005) 'Bruce W. Tuckman - forming, storming, norming and performing in groups, the encyclopaedia of informal education. Retrieved July 12, 2005 from www.infed.org/thinkers/tuckman.htm.
Helping people, whether it is through difficult times or to just achieve a goal, is one of the most rewarding of human experiences. However, with it being so rewarding, there is significant difficulty behind successfully helping someone. Luckily there are people that specialize in helping such as peer counsellors. Although helping does come naturally for some, certain things can be learnt to make one a better helper.
According to the researchers, “conceptualizing this transition as a social/cognitive act of entering a discourse emphasizes both the problem-solving effort of a student learning to negotiate a new situation and the role the situation will play in what is learned” (p. 222). The view that writing is typically a socially situated, communicative act is later incorporated into Flower’s (1994) socio-cognitive theory of writing. In the social cognitive curriculum students are taught as apprentices in negotiating an academic community, and in the process develop strategic knowledge. Writing skills are acquired and used through negotiated interaction with real audience expectations, such as in peer group responses. Instruction should, then, afford students the opportunity to participate in transactions with their own texts and the texts of others (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996). By guiding students toward a conscious awareness of how an audience will interpret their work, learners then learn to write with a “readerly” sensitivity (Kern,
"The history of adult education has been a history of voluntary activity and voluntary association" (Ilsley 1989, p. 100).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, a family is "a group of two or more people who reside together and who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.” (Eutk). In the beginning, family was considered to be all of the individuals who contributed to the household as far as bringing in money; including servants and non-parental adults, who are also considered part of the family if they play a large role in the upbringing or care-taking of children other than their own. But in fact, over the last few centuries until present day, the institution of the family has completely changed. In the late-18th Century, marriage was considered just a union based on love, but as time passed, there were other financial, social, and political shifts in the United States and in other countries. Throughout our course readings in Gender Studies, we see the ideas of continuity and change in regards to the American family unit. There were multiple factors that influenced the institution of the family unit, including the argument that marriage was seen as a contract of survival, the privatization of marriage, as well as the idea that traditional families never existed.