Set up peer tutoring stations with audio prompting as a low-cost supplement to teacher-led instruction¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 4 claims (4 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 4 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The authors recommend that "peer tutoring can supplement teacher-led instruction and provide students with repeated practice on new content" by setting up peer tutoring stations students work at while not in whole-class or small-group instruction. An audio prompting device lets "tutors to give immediate and accurate feedback to tutees even if the tutors are naïve to the material," while the tutor's presence ensures the tutee responds to each task rather than passively skipping through materials. The procedure worked within typical classroom constraints such as no additional personnel and minimal budget.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Prerecorded audio prompts and feedback must be embedded into the materials in advance
• The tutor's presence is still necessary to ensure tutee responses

Constraints¶

• The VoicePod is most beneficial where computer access is limited or pairs must work outside the classroom; effectiveness across other technologies and student populations needs further research

Target Learners¶

• struggling readers in inclusive elementary classrooms

Target Learning Goals¶

• repeated practice and mastery of new vocabulary and content

Claims¶

• Adding reciprocal peer tutoring with audio prompting to incidental exposure produced stronger vocabulary gains than incidental exposure alone for fourth-grade struggling readers [+W]
• Lesson-probe data paths showed clear separation favoring the peer tutoring condition for most probes across all eight participants [+W]
• Students rated peer tutoring with the VoicePod as acceptable and helpful for learning vocabulary [+W]
• Tutoring sessions were implemented with high procedural fidelity (mean 93.4%) [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Audio + Structured Activity
• Station Rotation

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Mackiewicz, S. M., Wood, C. L., Cooke, N. L., & Mazzotti, V. L. (2011). Effects of Peer Tutoring With Audio Prompting on Vocabulary Acquisition for Struggling Readers. Remedial and Special Education, 32(4), 345–354. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932510362507