DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT OF A PEER-TUTORING PROGRAM FOR BASIC SKILLS DEVELOPMENT February 19, 2010

Here’s a sample of the problem: % of students who erroneously identified concepts essential to critical thinking in Geography Methodology of spatial analysis52% Relationship of Geography to other sciences 50% Composition of Earth’s crust60% Location of the International Date Line59% Longitude of the Prime Meridian55% data from early quiz results, fall 2009

Learning Connection (PATH) Instructor Successful geography students Tutored student outcomes Untutored Student outcomes Tutoring participants Untutored student group Final eval. of essential concepts Initial eval. of essential concepts Compilation of initial results Eval. of interested students criteria Interested students Concepts assessment formatting Quizzes/ exercises assessment methods Essentialconcepts Midterm /final exams assessment methods concept assessment Current geography students student responses evaluation data Potential tutoring group Geography Tutors (PATH) Interview and sel. of candidates Hired tutors Recruit tutoring participant Instructor incentives enrolled participant Compilation of final results evaluation data Tutoredresponses concept assessment untutored responses problematic concepts findings tutoring activiity tutoring methods concept questions repeated problematic concepts PROCESS DIAGRAM: PEER TUTORING - GEOGRAPHY candidate tutors

 Recruit peer tutors for introductory physical geography from population of recently successful students  Identify essential concepts with high frequencies of misunderstanding early in the course  Assess understanding of basic concepts before and after tutoring, for each student and for the two populations: tutored and untutored student groups

 Evaluate early assessment results to identify basic concepts not easily grasped in early stages of the course  Begin tutoring sessions only after 4-5 weeks of assessment by the instructor and by the students themselves  Encourage participation through stories offered by the tutors, and through extra credit points

 Students less inhibited to ask questions and admit deficiencies in study skills  Adds regularly scheduled periods to focus on the textbook and/or other learning resources  Peer tutors have recent empathy for students’ particular problems interfacing with the instructor  Encourages active learning

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Problems encountered Recruitment & motivation – Voluntary process  some mismatch between those in need and participants Communication among instructors and tutors – Regular meetings for feedback & strategies would be helpful: scheduling issues – Different tactics among instructors and tutors toward improving students’ study skills PATH Center restricted hours & student schedules Persistence of all involved

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