Psych Educ, Document ID: PEMJ0, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.

6728235, ISSN 2822-4353

Research Article

Reciprocal Peer-Tutoring on Secondary Students’ Achievement in Physics

Vincent A. Luminoque*
For affiliations and correspondence, see the last page.

Abstract
This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of the interactive engagement methods, which is peer –
tutoring to investigate students’ learning outcomes towards Physics. In this study two types of
teaching method were used; Peer–tutoring and Traditional teaching. Pretest and Posttest were used to
assess students’ achievement towards Heat and Thermodynamics. Moreover, the study aimed to find
out whether or not certain demographic characteristics of the students influence their performance
and achievement towards physics. To meet the objectives, quasi – experimental research design was
employed. Two sections of four high schools’ students of Kabankalan Catholic College, with 25
sample students cooperated and involved in this study. Results of the study shows that there is a
significant increase between the control and experimental group using conventional and peer tutoring
method. The peer tutoring mean difference is higher than the mean difference of the traditional
teaching. The mean of peer teaching which 14.20 is greater than the traditional teaching which is
11.12. The data obtained from the administration of pretest and posttest were analyzed by statistical
technique of T–test for correlated samples was used. As to the extent of influence of reciprocal peer
tutoring results shows a significant difference between the academic achievement in the pretest and
posttest of students taught with reciprocal peer tutoring method of teaching.

Keywords: Peer Tutoring, Achievement, Learning, Pre-test, Post-test

Introduction experience intended to lead to a change in the learner’s

Teaching has always been more of a vocation than a
profession. It takes a special skill to impart knowledge
to another person, be it a child or an adult. That is what
makes teaching an art – knowing what level your
learners are at, and presenting the material to them in
way they will not only grasp and remember, but be
able to make a practical use.
To achieve the realization of education, adequate
teaching methods must be put in place so that optimum
achievement can be guaranteed. Reciprocal
Peer–tutoring is one of such methods of instruction
used in teaching.
Reciprocal Peer-tutoring is a teaching method in which
students of the same class and of the same age bracket
undertake the teaching of themselves through a
process whereby one student among the group teaches
other students. It is a procedure that enables each
member in a group to participate in the group as a
tutor. According to Griffin & Griffin (1997), students
function equally as both tutor and tutee in a reciprocal
peer tutoring system of teaching.
Since Reciprocal Peer-tutoring is a teaching method
that consists of recurrent instructional processes
applicable to various types of subject matter and
usable by more than one teacher. It is a pattern of
interaction between the tutor and the tutee, with the
Vincent Luminoque
behavior, otherwise known as learning outcomes.
Interaction here implies the verbal and non-verbal
communication, which forms the basis of any teaching
method.
In this study, the researcher uses Reciprocal Peer-
tutoring in the learning and understanding of concepts,
principles, and problem-solving on the topic of Heat
and Thermodynamics which most the students to be
one of the most difficult areas in physics.
The general purpose of this study is to determine the
extent of the influence of reciprocal Peer-tutoring on
students’ learning outcomes. Specifically, this research
work answers the following questions:
1. What is the extent of students’ response on the
use of reciprocal peer– tutoring as one of the
teaching strategies when they are grouped
according to selected demographic variables?
2. What is the extent of the influence of peer
teaching on students’ learning outcomes in
physics after the intervention?
3. Is there a significant increase in the test scores
of the control group and experimental group
prior to and after the intervention?
4. Is there a significant difference in the pre-test
and post-test scores of the students?
5. Is there a significant relationship between peer
teaching and students’ learning outcomes?
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Research Article
Methodology
This study employs the descriptive quasi-experimental
method utilizing the quantitative and qualitative
approaches to data gathering. Self-made survey
instruments will be used to measure students’
responses to the use of peer teaching as a teaching
strategy, and students’ learning outcomes in physics.
This study also aims to identify which of the two
methods of teaching is effective in facilitating a more
positive result in students’ learning outcomes.
Moreover, a pre-test was given to all fourth-year
students after which based on the result of the test
scores the researcher classifies them into high
achievers and low achievers. Only students who were
identified as low achievers in both sections were
utilized as respondents of the study with the help of
high achievers as a little professor. They were
distributed to the control group and experimental
group. The control group was exposed to conventional
teaching while the experimental group to peer
teaching. After an appropriate interval of time, they
were given the same set of test as of the pre-test. Test
scores were computed and tabulated for data treatment.
Whatever the outcome of the test results was the basis
of discussion on whether peer teaching has influence
on students’ learning outcomes and that a better
strategy than the conventional.
The responses to the items in the questionnaires were
collected, tallied, tabulated, and subjected to statistical
processes.
To determine the extent of students’ response
to the use of peer teaching as one of the
teaching strategies when they are grouped
according to selected demographic variables
the mean was used.
To determine the extent of the effect of peer
teaching on students’ learning outcomes in
physics the mean was used.
To determine whether there is a significant
increase in the test scores of the pre-test and
post-test of the control group and experimental
group the mean was used.
To determine the significant difference
between the pre-test and post-test, T-test for
correlated samples was used.
To determine significant relationship between
peer teaching and learning outcomes pearson r
was used.
Vincent Luminoque
Results and Discussion
As to the extent of students’ response on the use of
peer tutoring when they are grouped with respect to
gender, finding shows that male respondents agree that
peer tutoring establishes positive outcomes between
teachers and students and likewise, male respondents
agrees that peer tutoring increases their interest in
learning and gaining more knowledge about physics
with a weighted mean of 4.18 on both items number 9
and 15, followed by the two items with the same mean
scores of 4.09 such as peer tutoring increases their
sense of control and responsibility for their academic
achievement and helps them learn more in physics and
the least was on item number 1 with a weighted mean
of 3.73.
On the other hand, female respondents agree that peer
tutoring helps them learn more in physics, contributes
to harmonious relationship among students and
cultivates social and behavioral aspect as a person as
reflected on item numbers 6, 8, and 11 respectively
with the same weighted mean of 4.43, and the least
was on item number 1 with a weighted mean of 3.57.
Extent of the Influence of Peer Tutoring on
Students’ Learning Outcomes
Table 2A shows that there is a significant increase on
the extent of the influence of peer tutoring on students’
learning on the areas of heat and thermodynamics.
Heat having a mean difference of 9.32 and
thermodynamics having the mean difference of 5.80 it
further implies that the topic of heat has a higher mean
compared with the thermodynamics.
Results of the study confirm to the finding of Eryilmaz
(2004) that there was a positive significant correlation
between the pretest and post-test about Newton's Laws
of motion. Similarly positive significant correlation
was found between the PREPAT and POPAT toward
Newton's laws of motion. Whereas on the study the
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Research Article
topic tested was on the Heat and Thermodynamics that
revealed there was a significant increase on the pretest
and post after the intervention.
Table 3A shows the significant increase in the test
scores of the control group and experimental group
prior to and after the intervention.
Table 3A. Significant Increase in the Pre-test and
Post-test of the Control and Experimental Groups
Table 3A shows that there is a significant increase
between the control and experimental group using
conventional and peer teaching methods. The peer
teaching means difference is higher than the mean
difference of traditional teaching. The mean of peer
teaching which 14.20 is greater than the traditional
teaching which is 11.12
Findings of the study agrees to the findings of
Eryilmaz (2004) that students instructed by peer
teaching gained more physics achievement than
students instructed by traditional instruction. Although
experimental group students gained more achievement,
control group students gained little achievement
scores.
Table 3B presents the significant increase in the pre-
test and post-test scores of the control group when they
are grouped and compared according to gender and
learning styles.
Vincent Luminoque
Table 3B. Significant Increase in the Pre-test and Post-
test of the Control Group When Grouped According
to the Selected Demographic Variables
It is reflected in this table that the mean differences of
11.73 for the male group and 10.20 for the female
group, implies that there is a significant increase in the
scores of pretest and posttest since the computed p-
values of .000 for the male group and .000 for female
group respectively were less than .01 and .05 levels of
significance.
Moreover, since posttests mean scores of 23.13 and
22.10 for both male and female groups were greater
than their pretest’s mean scores of 11.40 and 11.90
respectively, it implies then that traditional teaching is
effective to some extent. Furthermore, it can be seen
from the result in the table that it is the male group that
garnered the higher mean difference of 11.73
compared to females who got 10.20.
In addition, the mean differences of 11.86 for the
auditory group and 10.50 for the visual group, implies
that there is a significant increase in the mean pretest
and post-test scores since the computed p-values of
.000 for the auditory group and .000 for the visual
group were less than .01 level of significance. This
result implies that there is a significant increase
between the pretest and post-test mean scores of those
belonging to auditory and visual groups.
Table 3C presents the significant increase in the pre-
test and post-test scores of the experimental group
when they are grouped and compared according to
gender and learning styles.
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Research Article
Table 3C. Significant Increase in the Pre-test and
Post-test of the Experimental Group When Grouped
According to the Selected Demographic Variables
It is reflected in this table that the mean differences of
18.30 for the male group and 3.88 for the female
group, implies that there is a significant increase in the
scores of pretest and posttest, since the computed p-
values of .000 for the male group and .012 for the
female group respectively were less than .01 and .05
levels of significance.
Moreover, since post-test mean scores of 30.90 and
26.20 for both male and female groups were greater
than their pretest’s mean scores of 12.60 and 22.72
respectively it implies then that peer teaching is
effective to some extent. Furthermore, it can be seen
from the result in the table that it is the male group that
garnered the higher mean difference of 18.30
compared to females who got 3.88. It is important to
note that based on the result the male group was
greatly influenced when peer teaching was employed
this is very evident as it is reflected in their pretest and
post-test results that from a mean pretest score of
12.60, after the intervention, they garnered a mean
posttest score of 30.90.
In addition, the mean differences of 13.70 for the
auditory group and 14.07 for the visual group, implies
that there is a significant increase in the mean pretest
and post-test scores, since the computed p-values of
.000 for auditory group and .000 for visual group were
less than .01 level of significance. Generally, it is the
male and visual groups who were greatly influenced
by peer teaching compared to female and auditory
groups. And the result implies that the intervention
program which is peer teaching is found to be effective
regardless of whether they belonged to male or female,
auditory or visual groups. This result further implies of
the unique and peculiar characteristics or attributes of
peer teaching as a teaching strategy that it goes well
with such heterogeneous type of groupings.
Table 4A presents the significant difference in the
pretest scores of the control group and experimental
group after the intervention had been employed.
Vincent Luminoque
Table 4A. Difference in the Pre-test of the Control and
Experimental Groups
Table 4A shows that there is a no significant
difference in the pretest scores of the control group
and experimental group since the p– value of .064 is
greater than .05 level of significance. This result
implies that both students in the control and
experimental groups are equally the same though there
is a mean difference of .800 in terms of their scores,
but nevertheless, this difference statistically is not
significant. Moreover, this data is very interesting to
note since prior to the intervention, students’ content-
knowledge on the aforementioned area or subject in
physics are equally the same as reflected in their
respective mean scores in the above table.
Table 4B presents the significant difference in the
posttest scores of the control group and experimental
group after the intervention had been employed.
Table 4B. Difference in the Post-test of the Control
and Experimental Groups
Table 4B shows that there is a significant difference
between the posttest of the control group and the post-
test of the experimental group when the p-value of
.12 is lesser than the .05 level of significance. The
traditional teaching has a lesser mean of 22.75 than the
peer teaching which is 26.60, thus there is a mean
difference of 3.88.
The findings of the study confirmed the findings of
Varsay (2010) that there is a significant difference
between the pretest and post-test mean scores of the
experimental group after the intervention. There was
also a significant increase in the pretest and post-test
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Research Article
mean scores of the control group.
Table 4C presents the significant difference in the
pretest scores of the control group and experimental
group according to gender and learning styles.
Table 4C. Difference in the Pre-test of the Control
Group and Experimental Group with respect to the
Selected Demographic Variables
The data shows the differences in the pretest in both
the control and experimental group. With regards to
the gender, female respondents in the control group
garnered 11.90 total mean score as compared to male
which is only 11.40 resulting to a .5000 mean
difference. On the other hand, visual learners got the
highest total mean with 11.90 as compared to the
auditory learners with 11.29, which results to a mean
difference of .6125.
On the other hand, females on the experimental group
has the highest mean score as compared to male which
results to a mean difference of .3333 and based on the
learning style, auditory learners which has a mean
score of 12.50 made a mean difference of .07143 to the
visual learners that a mean score of 12.42.
Table 4D presents the difference in the post-test scores
of the control group when grouped and compared
according to gender and learning styles.
Vincent Luminoque
Table 4D. Difference in the Post-test of the Control
Group and Experimental Group with Respect to the
Selected Demographic Variables
Results show the mean differences between the control
and experimental group in post test results. The data
above reveals in the control group male respondents
has a mean score of 23.13 and the female with a mean
score of a 22.10 which results to a mean difference of
1.0333. The results show that male respondents in the
control group perform well during post-test. As to the
basis of their learning style means the difference of
.074286 between auditory learners which a mean score
of 23.14 and visual learners with a 22.40 mean score
during the post-test.
Whereas male respondents in the experimental group
has to mean score of 12.90 in the post-test after the
intervention process which has a mean difference of
.75714 in the female respondents which a mean score
of 12.14. On the other hand, as the experimental group
where identified to as their learning styles, auditory
learners garnered a mean score of 12.50 while the
visual learners got only 12.42 after the intervention
which makes a mean difference of .07143.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of the study, reciprocal peer
tutoring is an effective strategy in learning physics.
Results show that there is a significant increase in the
learning outcomes and achievement of the students in
physics after the intervention. It helps improve the
understanding of students in difficult concepts,
likewise, it accommodates diverse students within
classroom and develops sense of responsibility for
their academic achievement.
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Research Article
In the reciprocal peer tutoring method, students no
longer had to sit in straight rows and do individual
work throughout the entire period, but the method
allowed students to be mobile and work as a teacher
and later as a student on various assignments.
Recommendations
Based on the findings and conclusions, the proponent
of this study had advanced the f ol lowing
r ecom m endations:
1. Teachers can make use of reciprocal peer
tutoring to help their students in improving
their performance in the acquisition of
knowledge and in developing their moral
values by sharing their ideas with their fellow
students;
2. Reciprocal peer tutoring can be used in all
academic subjects to help students in their
studies;
3. Future research could investigate the effects of
peer tutoring on improving students'
achievement and attitude in different physics
topics, different science subject,s and in
different grade levels;
4. A sample size of further research could be
increased to obtain more accurate results;
5. Future studies could examine the effect of the
peer tutoring on students' physics achievement
and attitudes toward physics in other private
high schools and public high schools; and
6. Future research could investigate the effect of
teaching methods on students' physics
achievement and attitudes towards physics by
controlling different variables such as gender,
learning style, section and economic status.
Vincent Luminoque
References
Burke, M. Et. Al. 2008. Classroom Peer Effects And Student
Achivement. Published Thesis, National Center For Analysis Of
Longitudinal Data In Education Research, Urban University.
Hulya, E. 2004. The Effects Of Peer Instruction On High School
Students Achievement And Attitudes Towards Physics. Published
Doctorates’ Dissertation, Middle East Technical University.
Lam, C. 2009. Estimating Various Kinds Of Peer Effects On
Academic Performance. Published Masters’ Thesis, University Of
Chicago, Chicago, Usa.
Nguyen, M. 2013. Peer Teaching As A Strategy To Promote
Academic Success. Published Thesis, Duke University, North
Carolina.
Oludipe, B. Impact Of Reciprocal Peer–Tutoring On Secondary
School Student’s Achievement In large physics classes. Ubiquitous
Learning: An International Journal.
Vardartottir, A. 2012. Peer Effects And Academic Achievement:
Regression Discontinuity Approach. Published Thesis, Stockholm
School Of Economics, Se – 113 83, Stockholm, Sweden.
Vasay, E. 2010. The Effects Of Peer Teaching In The Performance
Of The Students In Mathematics. E-International Scientific Research
Journal, Issn: 2094-1749 Volume. Published Thesis, Institute Of
Computer Science, Agoo, La Union, Philippines.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researcher wishes to express his grateful
appreciation to the following persons who, in one way
or the other, had extended their assistance in the
completion of this study.
Dr. Kerwin F. Tantaido, the researcher’s Adviser,
whose expertise, encouragement and unceasing
support had made the accomplishment of this
study possible;
Mrs. Kathleen Tabucon, Principal of the KCC High
School Department, for allowing the researcher to
conduct his study in the said department;
The fourth-year high school students for their
cooperation and actively participating during the entire
study;
To those whom the researcher had failed to mention
but had also contributed to the accomplishment of this
study, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
Affiliations and Corresponding Informations
Corresponding: Vincent Luminoque
Affiliation: Northern Negros State College
of Science and Technology – Philippines
Email: vincentluminoque@gmail.com
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