Peer tutoring with the aid of the Internet

Abstract

While the positive effects of peer tutoring in a face-to-face classroom are well documented, studies of computer-aided peer tutoring are less common. However, such exercises have the potential to introduce additional student-student interaction in distance, online and blended courses. Additionally, technology can provide both students and instructors with unprecedented amounts of information related to tutor competency and methods. With these ideas in mind, we have developed a web-based peer-tutoring system called Opal (Online Peer-Assisted Learning) for use in problem-based undergraduate courses. Tutoring interactions on Opal use problems as both contexts for discussion and enforcers of tutor competency-that is, each interaction is based on a single problem, and students must demonstrate competency by answering the problem correctly on a computer before they become eligible to teach it. Based on social network analysis methods and a student assessment of learning gains survey, the introduction of this method of peer tutoring has had a positive effect on student-student interaction and student learning in our course and may have broad implications for peer tutoring in courses that involve digital problem solving as a key component.

Technological utopia, dystopia and ambivalence: Teaching with social media at aSouthAfrican university

“…Rather, the context of interaction, the knowledge base and social agency of individual interactants are reciprocally intertwined with productive deployment of social media. Evans and Moore () reiterate that (intellectually driven) reciprocal activities like peer mentoring need to take cognisance of significantly unequal relations of academic actors involved and must incorporate mechanisms for matching educators and students to ensure authentic knowledge exchange. Such critical theoretical views take cognisance of the intricate interplay of asymmetrical power, hegemonic ideological influences and values in collective intellectual engagement.…”

Peer e-tutoring: Effects on students’ participation and interaction style in online courses

“…Research has suggested, however, that adopting peer-tutorship, an educational framework in which senior and expert students support their peers in performing requested activities, has the capacity to promote the distribution of responsibility for learning (Topping, 2008) and provide academic benefits in both classrooms (Bowman-Perrott, Davis, Vannest & Williams, 2013) and virtual environments (Evans & Moore, 2013). Furthermore, peer tutoring can itself be considered a useful and empowering learning activity for the peer e-Tutors' (Topping, 2008).…”

Student Perceptions of Online Tutoring Videos

“…More recently, collaborative viewing of tutoring dialogues has been suggested as a viable and scalable alternative to one‐on‐one tutoring for university‐level students with better‐developed metacognitive skills (Muldner, Lam, & Chi, ). Another model of e‐tutoring identifies students with knowledge about specific content to become peer tutors for other students, encouraging student‐to‐student interactions and a sense of community for course participants (Evans & Moore, ).…”