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Foreword
Introduction
Making the
Distinctions
Benefits
The Northwest
Sampler
Implementing
Training Tutors
Potential Pitfalls
Everyday Stuff
Conclusions and
Regional Contacts
References
About This Issue
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Making the Distinctions
It is important to note the differences between three types of tutoring. They are peer tutoring, cross-age tutoring, and parent/adult volunteer tutoring. Peer tutoring can be defined as a one-on-one teaching process in which the tutor is of the same general age, grade, or academic status as the tutee (Gaustad, 1992). When the tutor is an older student, cross-age tutoring is the appropriate term to use. (It is important to note that some publications make no distinctions between peer and cross-age tutoring. Instead, they use peer tutoring as an umbrella term encompassing both.) The third type of tutoring is parent/volunteer tutoring, where adults outside the school tutor students.
Each type of tutoring has attributes specific to it. These include:
Peer Tutoring
- Avoids disruptions in schedules that other forms cannot avoid. It is contained within one class with one group of children (Rekrut, 1994).
- Provides tutors and tutees with a similar language. They are closer in knowledge and status than are students and teachers. Generally both children feel freer to express their opinions and take risks (Kalkowski, 1995; Gaustad, 1992).
- Is cost effective.
Cross-Age Tutoring
- Takes advantage of the higher status inherent in the age difference, while still retaining many of the benefits of peer tutoring (Gaustad, 1992).
- Can increase tutee's self-esteem as a result of having an older, higher-status friend (Topping, 1988).
- Prevents feelings of inferiority that children may experience if they are the tutee of a same-age peer (Gaustad, 1992).
Parent/Volunteer Tutoring
- Puts parents and other community members in touch with the school.
- Creates advocates for the school and the tutoring process in general.
- Reduces distractions—adult-student pairs generally do not get as distracted as student-student pairs, thus creating less of a need for teacher supervision.
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