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The Benefits of Peer Tutoring

Dzenita Hamzabegovic

Sport and Medical Sciences Academy

Senior Seminar

Mrs. Boutilier

March 17, 2023

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The Benefits of Peer Tutoring

Many students are not getting the one-on-one time they need with a teacher. In the United

States of America the average student to teacher ratio is 15.6:1 (National Center for Education

Statistics, 2018). This can lead to a student struggling or falling behind in a course. Fortunately,

students can resort to peer-tutoring programs in their school. Tutoring is the act of teaching or

helping someone on a particular subject or problem. Tutoring is extremely beneficial for students

that need that extra guided practice and if the sessions are successful the tutee can see the tutor as

a role model. A role model can motivate a tutee into performing and behaving better in school.

However, there are several different purposes for tutoring which can not only benefit the person

being tutored but as well as the tutor.

Tutoring is not accessible to every student in need of support, but to those students who

are able to get tutored by a teacher or even a fellow student, can see very good results. According

to the Department of Education, a student can see academic progress if they attend frequent and

regular tutoring sessions, with each session between 10 and 60 minutes daily. The more sessions

a week result in greater progress (Department of Education, 2001). It is important to stay

consistent with tutoring due to the fact that progress can only be made with patience, one

tutoring session may strengthen the understanding of a certain topic but not a whole course.

Research conducted in Houston, Texas in 2021, found that the students that took part in the

tutoring program for more than eight weeks, improved their math test scores by 53% (Stapleton,

2022). Therefore, long term tutoring can be very impactful on students and their grades. Getting

support outside the classroom can also improve motivation and confidence in students who

struggle with academics. In a 2010 study done on peer tutoring, students revealed that tutoring
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helped them identify what was confusing them on certain topics and motivated them to relearn

and understand the material (McIntrye, n.d.). Tutoring support can help students who are

struggling, find ways to comprehend the material and improve their confidence which might’ve

been negatively affected by falling behind in class. There are several reasons as to why students

should get tutored instead of struggling alone and falling behind. However, the students getting

tutored are not the only people that benefit from tutoring sessions.

Students in need of help are not the only ones that can benefit from tutoring, the tutorers

themselves can benefit from these sessions. These benefits range from a variety of things which

depend on the tutorers experiences with their tutees. Similarly, to the tutees peer tutors can see

improvement in their academics through consistent sessions. A study done, reported about 80%

of the students that tutored saw improvement in their grades (Al Kharusi, 2016). During these

sessions, tutors are refreshing their knowledge on certain material which can inform them what

subject material they should review (Kaur, 2020). A tutor can identify their academic weaknesses

when helping another student. Consistent sessions can allow the tutor to work on these

weaknesses through extra practice. Academic achievement is not the only positive outcome from

tutoring, so is gaining social advantages. A tutor must adapt and learn how to help every type of

student due to the fact that not every person learns the same (Stapleton, 2022). This results in

tutores improving their communication, listening, and problem solving skills (Al Kharusi, 2016).

These skills will be used throughout their entire education and life. Many tutors also reported

tutoring as an incentive to do well in school due to the fact they are positively contributing to

their school community (AL Kharusi, 2016). Being able to offer assistance to students in need of

an extra source of instruction gave them fulfillment in being a role model for some peers.
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Many students need an extra source of motivation when it comes to school. If a tutor tries

to make an effort to build a relationship and trust between themself and the tutee during the

consistent session it can lead to fulfilling experiences (Kaur, 2020). A fulfilling experience

would mean the student would improve their knowledge on the subject matter but also have the

motivation to keep trying. A company called Learning Together that conducted an experiment in

2012 found that more than 54% of students being tutored reported that tutoring helped them

enjoy learning new things, 51% reported that they behave more respectfully toward teachers, and

57% reported that they want to help others (Capp et al., 2018). Based on these results it can be

inferred that students that have a connection with their tutor(s) can see them as a source of

motivation and help. According to a study done by Dhafra Al Kharusi, most peer tutors regarded

themselves as role models for their tutees and 72% of the tutors reported that they were able to

form a friendship with their tutees (Al Kharusi, 2016). In order for tutors to make a positive

impact on their tutee’s life and be seen as a role model or mentor for them they must make the

effort to build trust between them. In order for this trust to be built they must meet for consistent

and productive sessions.

A peer tutor and a tutee all gain advantages when engaging in consistent sessions; these

gains differ from tutor and tutee due to personal experiences. However, if a tutor and tutee try to

build trust between one another and incorporate positive reinforcement during the sessions then

both the tutor and tutee can improve their grades and social skills. According to the Department

of Education, peer tutors and tutees show improvement in reading and math skills, they also

express higher self-esteem and confidence in school (Department of Education, 2001). This

confidence and motivation comes from the tutoring they receive due to the fact that tutors see
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themselves as role models for their tutees and the tutees have someone to look up to and go to for

help when they need it. That’s why it is important that schools implement peer tutoring in their

school community. There is a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that the participating students

feel. This fulfillment will motivate them to do well in school and help others.
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References

Al Kharusi, D. (2016). What positive impacts does peer tutoring have upon the peer tutors at

SQU?. Journal of Education and Practice.

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1115801.pdf

Capp, G., Benbenishty, R., Astor, R., & Pineda, D. (2018, July). Learning together:

Implementation of a peer-tutoring intervention targeting academic and social-emotional

needs. Research Gate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327686603_Learning_together_Implementation

_of_a_peer-tutoring_intervention_targeting_academic_and_social-emotional_needs

Department of Education. (2001). Evidence that tutoring works.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/ERIC-ED464343/pdf/ERIC-ED464343.pdf

Kaur, N. (2020). The value and rewarding position of being a tutor: why you should begin

tutoring students. General Intelligence.

https://generalintelligences.org/2020/08/13/the-value-and-rewarding-position-of-being-a-t

utor-why-you-should-begin-tutoring-students/

McIntrye, M. (n.d.). How peer tutoring can transform high school academics. Great Schools.

https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/how-peer-tutoring-can-transform-high-school-ac

ademics/

National Center for Education Statistics, (2018). Average class size in public schools, by class

type and state: 2017-18.

https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/tables/ntps1718_fltable06_t1s.asp

Stapleton, M. (2022). Why is tutoring so effective?. Educate Radiate Elevate.

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https://www.educateradiateelevate.org/2022/02/why-is-tutoring-effective/