Peer Tutoring Can Help Everyone Involved

Peer tutoring is when students tutor each other. The tutor is usually a little older and has already studied the material that he tutors on. It is an excellent system that can provide some really good results and be beneficial to all those involved. Those who do the tutoring benefit at least as much, if not more, than those doing the tutoring. Even the teachers benefit by not having to spend as much time with individual students and being able to spend more time teaching the class as a whole.

Those students doing the tutoring can benefit from it in several ways. They can help their own understanding of the material. They must go over the material to prepare for the tutoring and then again as they are helping the other student understand it. In doing this they may better master the material and come to a deeper understanding of it than they would have if they had only been exposed to it when it was originally taught to them by the teacher.

The tutors benefit also by increasing their communication and social skills. They must be able to communicate the meaning of the material clearly in order to make it understood and in doing so get to practice the skills necessary to interact with other people. These skills also carry over socially as it is much easier, especially for shy children, to interact on on one with someone than to interact with a large group as in a classroom. It is common for the tutor and his student to become friends.

The tutor is able to develop leadership skills, confidence, and a sense of responsibility. Even though the tutor is being supervised in his actions, it is still his responsibility to accomplish the goals of teaching the material to someone else. Success in this aspiration brings with it not only confidence but a much better understanding of the teacher's role and in turn can make the tutor a better student.

Those being tutored can also benefit greatly from peer tutoring. Someone who is having trouble with the material and is in need of help is going to feel much more comfortable around someone close to their own age and will be able to concentrate better. This will allow them to ask more questions without fear of ridicule and in the end to come to a better understanding of the material.

As someone who has recently mastered the material, the tutor may be able to pass on little tips and tricks that helped him understand the material better and will be better able to explain the material in a language that the student can understand. There is no pressure to impress as there usually is when an adult is involved in the tutoring.

Peer tutoring is a process that works for all involved. The student is better able to learn the material from someone that he can relate to. The tutor learns to improve skills that he will need later in life. And the teacher is freed up to spend more time with those students who need her direct attention. It is a winning situation for everyone.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6307912

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