Reciprocal peer tutoring effect on high frequency sight word learning, retention, and generalization of first- and second-grade urban elementary school students
Year: 2003
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring as a supplemental teaching method to the more traditional teaching method that teachers are using in classrooms to teach high frequency sight words to urban elementary school students.Peer tutoring has been demonstrated to be successful in promoting the academic and social skills of general education and special education students (Nazzal, 2002).Peer tutoring is an instructional strategy that actively engages students in learning and promotes mastery, accuracy, and fluency in content learning.However, few empirical research examined the effects of peer tutoring on the generalization of sight words learned to untrained learning materials with students who are considered at-risk for academic failure.Ten first-and second-grade students from an urban elementary school participated in this study.All students were typically developing children designated by their teachers as academically at-risk.A reciprocal peer tutoring model was used allowing each student to be both tutor and tutee.A multiple baseline design across students was used to analyze the effects of peer tutoring on sight words learned, maintained, and generalized.During baseline all participants were instructed by their teacher on a set of five weekly words selected by the teachers.During peer tutoring all students were instructed on two sets of words, the teacher five weekly words and five unknown words selected by the iii experimenter.A weekly individual pretest was administered throughout the study on the weekly sight words.Data was collected on the weekly pretests, number of words learned, number of words maintained from the previous week, and number of words generalized where students were asked to read sentences that included the words learned.Finally, student, teacher, and parent satisfaction concerning the use of peer tutoring was obtained in a questionnaire.Results showed that participants learned, maintained, and generalized more words during the peer tutoring condition.First grade students made greater gains than did second grade students.During baseline first and second graders learned 57.4% and 92% respectively of the teacher five weekly words while during peer tutoring first and second graders learned 97.7% and 100% respectively of the same set of words.The results also showed that during peer tutoring all participants were able to learn, maintain, and generalize additional weekly sets of unknown sight words.
Author: Suha M. Al‐Hassan
Institution: The Ohio State University
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2278499215