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Peer Assisted Learning Strategies- The Research Project
The Problem:
Several Students were struggling with mastery and fluency in the areas of letter names, letter sounds, and sight word recognition.
Research Question:
How does peer assisted learning or reciprocal teaching effect letter/sound fluency and sight word recognition?
In kindergarten, much of our focus is placed on sound knowledge/fluency and sight word recognition. By the end of kindergarten, the students need to be able look at each letter and produce its sound within three seconds as well as recognize 41 high frequency sight words, each within three seconds. This is a big job for small children, and since children all learn differently, many strategies are required. The current research in peer tutoring and peer assisted learning shows that students who participate will show growth in the academic areas they study using this strategy.
The problem defined: Students are expected to learn letters, sounds and words at a rapid pace. Some children pick it up quickly, while others take a great deal of time to master these skills. Peer assisted learning is an area that shows great promise in studies, and appears to be a strategy that works with kids.
The problem is significant because: Mill Creek is using a peer assisted learning program this school year and I would like to know if it truly is an effective way to help students learn letter names, sounds, and high frequency words more easily. If peer coaching works for literacy, I could utilize it elsewhere in the curriculum, but if it does not, we need to reevaluate what we are doing to help kids become fluent in these areas.
Goal:
My desired goal is for students in the peer-tutoring group to increase fluency scores by at least 25%.The main focus of this project is to determine the effect on student achievement in the areas of letter/sound fluency and sight word recognition when using peer assisted learning strategies/ peer coaching/ reciprocal teaching daily. I will individually assess students in a pre-test and a post-test to determine the success of this strategy. I will also make anecdotal notes during the peer coaching sessions as needed.
Letter names and sounds will be reported: Number correct/26
Sight words will be reported: Number correct/41
**NOTE: To get credit for the letter, sound or word, students will have to recognize it within 3 seconds. (This supports the fluency piece of this project.)
Professional Outcomes:
a. If peer assisted learning shows an increase in student knowledge, I will begin using this strategy in other content areas and share my study in professional development groups with other teaching professionals.
b. If peer assisted learning shows an increase in student knowledge, I will know that peer teaching is a successful way to help students become more fluent in letter names, letter sounds, and sight words, and I will continue to use this strategy.
Learner Outcomes:
a. Learners will work in teacher assigned high/medium and medium/low pairs to practice letter sound fluency daily, and based on the research, their knowledge will increase.
b. Learners will work in teacher assigned high/medium and medium/low pairs to practice sight word recognition daily, and based on the research, their knowledge will increase.
Rationale and Research Support:
This problem is valid because many of the students lag behind in letter and sound fluency as well as in high frequency word fluency. The research shows that students who begin working in peer tutoring groups display significant academic growth, which is very encouraging for my students’ needs.
I will provide students with the necessary materials, procedures, and support to be productive peer coaching pairs. I will do a baseline assessment to determine the pairing of children. High students will be paired with medium students and medium students will be paired with lower students. I will circulate and give feedback to students as well as listen in on their coaching sessions and take notes. I feel that children who achieve at a higher level in classroom curriculum will be more engaged in learning activities each day, and in turn, will become more confident learners in the classroom and more fluent in their letter names, sounds and sight words.
A report by Laurel D. Puchner emphasizes the academic impact of students teaching other students in the classroom. She states, “placing [children] in appropriately structured peer tutoring and/or cooperative learning situations in the classroom is likely to increase academic achievement” (2003, p. 13). She also discusses the need for procedure instruction/training by the teacher beforehand to ensure the maximum effectiveness of peer tutoring for both students in each pair. This training should include helping, explaining and questioning skills or at least the ability to know when to ask for help from the teacher guide.
According to a study by Michael A. Valaro, “Peer-tutoring has many benefits for both tutees and tutors. Some of these benefits include teamwork, increases in student achievement, enhancements of self-esteem, improvements of social skills and positive affects on thinking skills” (2003, p. 25-26). This study shows that peer-tutoring is a strategy that can be very successful and that it gives students a sense of responsibility for their own work and learning
In a study, Preparing Preservice Teachers to Implement Class Wide Peer Tutoring, authors Maheady, Harper, Mallette, and Karnes examine class wide peer tutoring (CWPT) and then discuss how they prepared pre-service teachers to utilize peer tutoring with primary students grades 2-4 for a research study. They cite that CWPT has been found in at least 25 studies to be “superior to conventional forms of teacher-led instruction in improving pupils’ academic outcomes.” The results of the study show that ALL 10 of the teachers’ classroom averages showed a significant gain in academic scores from the pretest to the posttest.
In her article, Through the Looking Glass: One School’s Reflections on Differentiation, author Carol Tieso presents information from real classroom teachers who used peer tutoring for an entire year. She reports that these teachers were able to complete research and implement a peer tutoring strategy ideal for differentiation in the classroom that was a success. One of the major components of peer coaching, was students working together to meet each other’s needs. Tieso believes and shows through this article and study that this type of teaching can bring about change for the better in students and their academic achievement.
Results:
The students made significant gains as a class after using the peer tutoring strategy each day over a 3 week time period. Students improved by 32% in capital letter naming fluency, 43% in lower case letter naming fluency, 69% in letter sound fluency, and 44% in sight word recognition fluency! These results show that the strategy is effective and helped students achieve gains even greater than the projected goal.
Several Students were struggling with mastery and fluency in the areas of letter names, letter sounds, and sight word recognition.
Research Question:
How does peer assisted learning or reciprocal teaching effect letter/sound fluency and sight word recognition?
In kindergarten, much of our focus is placed on sound knowledge/fluency and sight word recognition. By the end of kindergarten, the students need to be able look at each letter and produce its sound within three seconds as well as recognize 41 high frequency sight words, each within three seconds. This is a big job for small children, and since children all learn differently, many strategies are required. The current research in peer tutoring and peer assisted learning shows that students who participate will show growth in the academic areas they study using this strategy.
The problem defined: Students are expected to learn letters, sounds and words at a rapid pace. Some children pick it up quickly, while others take a great deal of time to master these skills. Peer assisted learning is an area that shows great promise in studies, and appears to be a strategy that works with kids.
The problem is significant because: Mill Creek is using a peer assisted learning program this school year and I would like to know if it truly is an effective way to help students learn letter names, sounds, and high frequency words more easily. If peer coaching works for literacy, I could utilize it elsewhere in the curriculum, but if it does not, we need to reevaluate what we are doing to help kids become fluent in these areas.
Goal:
My desired goal is for students in the peer-tutoring group to increase fluency scores by at least 25%.The main focus of this project is to determine the effect on student achievement in the areas of letter/sound fluency and sight word recognition when using peer assisted learning strategies/ peer coaching/ reciprocal teaching daily. I will individually assess students in a pre-test and a post-test to determine the success of this strategy. I will also make anecdotal notes during the peer coaching sessions as needed.
Letter names and sounds will be reported: Number correct/26
Sight words will be reported: Number correct/41
**NOTE: To get credit for the letter, sound or word, students will have to recognize it within 3 seconds. (This supports the fluency piece of this project.)
Professional Outcomes:
a. If peer assisted learning shows an increase in student knowledge, I will begin using this strategy in other content areas and share my study in professional development groups with other teaching professionals.
b. If peer assisted learning shows an increase in student knowledge, I will know that peer teaching is a successful way to help students become more fluent in letter names, letter sounds, and sight words, and I will continue to use this strategy.
Learner Outcomes:
a. Learners will work in teacher assigned high/medium and medium/low pairs to practice letter sound fluency daily, and based on the research, their knowledge will increase.
b. Learners will work in teacher assigned high/medium and medium/low pairs to practice sight word recognition daily, and based on the research, their knowledge will increase.
Rationale and Research Support:
This problem is valid because many of the students lag behind in letter and sound fluency as well as in high frequency word fluency. The research shows that students who begin working in peer tutoring groups display significant academic growth, which is very encouraging for my students’ needs.
I will provide students with the necessary materials, procedures, and support to be productive peer coaching pairs. I will do a baseline assessment to determine the pairing of children. High students will be paired with medium students and medium students will be paired with lower students. I will circulate and give feedback to students as well as listen in on their coaching sessions and take notes. I feel that children who achieve at a higher level in classroom curriculum will be more engaged in learning activities each day, and in turn, will become more confident learners in the classroom and more fluent in their letter names, sounds and sight words.
A report by Laurel D. Puchner emphasizes the academic impact of students teaching other students in the classroom. She states, “placing [children] in appropriately structured peer tutoring and/or cooperative learning situations in the classroom is likely to increase academic achievement” (2003, p. 13). She also discusses the need for procedure instruction/training by the teacher beforehand to ensure the maximum effectiveness of peer tutoring for both students in each pair. This training should include helping, explaining and questioning skills or at least the ability to know when to ask for help from the teacher guide.
According to a study by Michael A. Valaro, “Peer-tutoring has many benefits for both tutees and tutors. Some of these benefits include teamwork, increases in student achievement, enhancements of self-esteem, improvements of social skills and positive affects on thinking skills” (2003, p. 25-26). This study shows that peer-tutoring is a strategy that can be very successful and that it gives students a sense of responsibility for their own work and learning
In a study, Preparing Preservice Teachers to Implement Class Wide Peer Tutoring, authors Maheady, Harper, Mallette, and Karnes examine class wide peer tutoring (CWPT) and then discuss how they prepared pre-service teachers to utilize peer tutoring with primary students grades 2-4 for a research study. They cite that CWPT has been found in at least 25 studies to be “superior to conventional forms of teacher-led instruction in improving pupils’ academic outcomes.” The results of the study show that ALL 10 of the teachers’ classroom averages showed a significant gain in academic scores from the pretest to the posttest.
In her article, Through the Looking Glass: One School’s Reflections on Differentiation, author Carol Tieso presents information from real classroom teachers who used peer tutoring for an entire year. She reports that these teachers were able to complete research and implement a peer tutoring strategy ideal for differentiation in the classroom that was a success. One of the major components of peer coaching, was students working together to meet each other’s needs. Tieso believes and shows through this article and study that this type of teaching can bring about change for the better in students and their academic achievement.
Results:
The students made significant gains as a class after using the peer tutoring strategy each day over a 3 week time period. Students improved by 32% in capital letter naming fluency, 43% in lower case letter naming fluency, 69% in letter sound fluency, and 44% in sight word recognition fluency! These results show that the strategy is effective and helped students achieve gains even greater than the projected goal.
Click Below To Download Supporting Documents
Classroom Observation | |
File Size: | 25 kb |
File Type: | doc |
Student Baseline Data | |
File Size: | |
doc |
Student Post Test Data | |
File Type: | doc |