Reciprocal peer tutoring can be an effective supplement to teacher-led instruction, but students need to have the tutoring skills necessary to teach their peers successfully. Previous studies have addressed the challenge of providing essential information to a naïve tutor, allowing for correct modeling and feedback. The present study compared incidental learning of vocabulary words through classroom reading instruction to a combination of incidental learning supplemented with peer tutoring. Eight fourth-grade students were trained to tutor each other using a digital recording and playback device that provides audio prompts to naïve tutors. Results indicated that students made modest gains from incidental learning and much stronger gains from peer tutoring with audio prompting. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Peer tutoring is an evidence-based strategy used across a wide range of age groups and settings. Teachers may find it challenging to successfully pair students for tutoring because the tutor must be able to evaluate the tutee's response as correct or incorrect. This article describes four examples of electronic devices that prompt tutors to provide accurate feedback during tutoring as well as the steps for preparing materials and using these devices for tutoring.

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