Peer Tutors in History Classes

[smccormack]

A shout out this week to peer tutors!

Last spring I was part of a pilot embedded peer tutor program at my college. My seven-week intensive US History II section had a student tutor employed by the college, chosen by me, at each class meeting. The tutor would participate in group activities, be present for lecture, and available for one on one appointments with students at the college’s Tutoring Center. In contrast to previous semesters when I often found students reluctant to seek help at the Tutoring Center, their willingness to work with our embedded tutor was far more positive. 

This fall I’ve welcomed another fabulous peer tutor into my classroom. Here are some strategies I’ve adopted to help the students connect with our tutor:

Introductions 

I’ve blogged before about my love of table tents (folded index cards with a student’s preferred name and pronouns). On the first day of class I bring markers, cards, and stickers. After going over the course syllabus and answering questions, I use the remaining class time for my tutor to introduce herself before we make our table tents as a group. This exercise allows the students to have a relaxed first interaction with both myself and the tutor. We have light conversation as we create our tents, the goal being to create a comfortable classroom environment from day one.

Encourage Engagement

When I introduce the embedded tutor I ask her to say a few words about the courses she has taken with me, her experience as a student at our college, and her goals for the future. I want the students to recognize their own lives in her experiences. In past semesters students have been surprised to arrive at the Tutoring Center and find that they would be working with a student, which is less intimidating for some than the idea of one-on-one time with their professor. Having an embedded tutor takes away the feeling of uncertainty students may have before their first visit to the Tutoring Center: they know who they are meeting with and that first meeting feeling of apprehension is alleviated by their classroom interaction. At each meeting throughout the semester I include our class tutor in my pre-class announcements. I remind the students of her availability and give them the opportunity to ask her scheduling questions before we get started. 

Ask for Feedback

I meet with my peer tutor at least once a week.  She provides me with valuable feedback from her experiences working with my students, much of which is general – for example, if there is a common thread to the questions that students are asking at tutoring sessions I know that I need to review material that might not have made sense to students the first time through. Often, the kinds of questions students have for the tutor are specific to her previous experience in my classes. My peer tutor has successfully completed two introductory-level research papers under my instruction. She has the experience to answer students’ questions and to help them with drafts in a way that I’ve found even more effective than our college writing tutors. If my tutor tells a student that their research project needs the help of a librarian they take her advice! 

Have you had a positive experience with peer tutoring? Please share!