Peer Literacy Tutoring

9111

Course in

Peer Literacy Tutoring

Published and produced by

TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre

PO Box 357

Granville NSW 2142

Ph:(02) 9846 8101

Fax:(02) 9846 8195

© 2002 TAFE NSW Access Division

© 2007 TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre (updated)

Copyright in this material is reserved to TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre. Reproduction or transmittal in whole or in part, other than for the purposes and subject to the provision of the Copyright Act 1968, as amended, is prohibited without the written authority of TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre.

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©2007 TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre

Acknowledgements

Project ManagerOksana Hull (1st edition)

Kerry Jess (2nd edition)

Project OfficersJennifer Horne/Claire Wright (1st edition)

Thank you to the many teachers who contributed to this resource:

Louise Adam

Irene Calligeris
Jeanette Carter

Jan Condell

Robin D’arcy

Janette Dickson

Judy Fittes

Noreen Fleming

Gail Heinrich

Jennifer Horne

Adele Hopkins

Bernadette Kennedy

Sandra Kessler

Leonie Lagana

Maryanne Meehan

Julie Montgomery

Cathy Robinson

Lisa Rushton

Fran Sanders

Michelle Waddell

Kerry Windsor

Bernadette Wood

Claire Wright

Foreword

This teaching resource is for TAFE NSW staff delivering 9111 Course in Peer Literacy Tutoring.

The resource complements the material in the DET Peer tutor training and program manual by providing additional teaching/learning material to assist TAFE NSW staff in course delivery.

The resource contains two parts. Part A provides teaching/learning resources which have been adapted from Section 5 of the Access Division resource Literacy Volunteer Tutoring (Schools) Coordinators Resource Kit. Part B provides assessment information and two methods of recording assessment to assist TAFE NSW staff to meet 2007 Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) requirements.

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©2007 TAFE NSW Access & General Education Curriculum Centre

Contents

Part A Teaching and Learning Resources

Introduction / 7
1.Assessment procedures: additional information on unitoutcomes; keeping a journal; accurate record keeping / 8
2.Why the need for tutors? Research; roles and responsibilities / 20
3.Why do some people need extra support in literacy? What are the consequences of having low literacy skills? / 28
4.What is reading? / 36
5.Learning: a positive learning environment; rapport building;learning styles / 45
6.Effective communications: non-verbal communications;active listening / 53
7. Characteristics/strategies of good and poor readers / 61
8. “Before, During and After” strategies / 68
9.Authentic texts / Textbook difficulties / 85
10. Text types/genres: narrative; report; recount; exposition;procedure; discussion / 92
11. Pause, Prompt, Praise: Why are we using this reading
support method? When and how to prompt / 118
12. Checking understanding: questioning techniques / 125
13. Reading strategies: the main idea; previewing; skim reading;
scanning; reading between and beyond the lines / 131
14. Focusing on numeracy / 146
15.Tutor assessment questions / course evaluation / 151
Part B Assessment

1. Introduction

/ 159

1. Assessment Booklet v1

/ 160

1. Assessment Booklet v2

/ 165

Part A

Teaching

and

Learning

Resources

Introduction

These resources have been found to be useful in delivering the training sessions for tutors.

The worksheets and handouts are presented in a photocopiable format for immediate use. They may also provide ideas to assist in the development of activities tailored to particular groups of tutors.

The resources are presented in 15 parts. At the beginning of each part, brief notes are provided to outline the purpose and possible use of each resource.

Because of the concentrated nature of the content of the initial training session (provided in the DET Peer tutor training and program manual), it is advisable to revise aspects of this session in early follow-up training sessions. Many of the resources in this section can be used to build on and reinforce the content of the initial session.

With the focus of the peer-reading (NSWTLTU102A Work as a tutor) being authentic classroom material, strategies to assist tutees gain understanding of classroom texts are extremely important. The resources provide activities to build tutors skills in using “before, during and after reading” strategies.

For assessment to be valid, a range of assessment activities/events is required for a student to demonstrate the integration and application of skills, knowledge and attitudes necessary to meet the unit purpose. To this end each unit contains a short revision worksheet covering the main points of the unit.

1. Assessment

Purpose

• These activities provide further materials to assist assessment of tutors.

Resources

Handout 1.1

A sheet for tutors to remind them of the unit outcomes against which they will be assessed.

Worksheet 1.2

This worksheet can be done at the start of each training session after tutors have begun the NSWTLTU102A Work as a peer tutor unit. It will encourage tutors to reflect on their learning and to have input into making improvements to the way the course is being run.

Worksheet 1.3

This checklist supplements the tutor self- assessment checklist provided in the DET Peer tutor training and program manual (Section 8, page 15)

Handout 1.4

Keeping a journal: models journal entries to assist and guide tutors who have been asked to keep a journal as part of their assessment.

Handout 1.5

Sample journal. These pages can be photocopied and produced as a booklet to provide each tutor with a journal. Alternatively, the tutors could purchase a notebook and the ‘ideas for journal entries’ page could be pasted in the front.

Handout 1.6

Provides advice for tutors on record keeping and gives sample entries.

9111 Course In Peer Literacy Tutoring

This course aims to develop in peer tutors an understanding of the main issues in literacy/language development.

The course you have enrolled in has two core or essential parts which are called units. These are:

NSWTLTU101A
Develop strategies to tutor peers (approximately 30hours) / NSWTLTU102A
Work as a peer tutor (approximately 40 hours).

You must satisfactorily complete both units in order to gain the TAFE qualification.

In order to pass or satisfactorily complete the NSWTLTU101A Develop strategies to tutor peersunit, you will need to demonstrate that you:

1. Can explain why students may need additional assistance to improve literacy skills.

2. Can demonstrate an understanding of additional skills required of tutors e.g. active listening skills; explain why non-judgmental attitudes about cultural and social diversity are necessary etc.

3. Can demonstrate knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of a volunteer literacy tutor, e.g. confidentiality; record keeping, punctuality

4. Can demonstrate an understanding of strategies used to assist students to develop literacy skills (specific to reading) e.g. identify the strategies which are used by effective readers; explain the importance of the four information systems; explain the importance of a variety of techniques for teaching reading.

5. Can discuss skills and strategies for successful tutoring, e.g. can explain the importance of positive self-esteem; recognise the importance of the student taking control of their own learning; describe the process tutors use for supporting reading - before, during and after reading.

In order to pass or satisfactorily complete the NSWTLTU102A Work as a peer tutor unit you will need to demonstrate that you:

1. Can implement effective literacy tutoring with a student needing additional support, e.g. choose appropriate strategies for use with authentic texts; provide appropriate feedback to student; give appropriate feedback to program coordinator or TAFE literacy teacher,

2. Can maintain records showing the implementation of the literacy program with the student, e.g. document each session, write a reflection on each session; ask for guidance/assistance when necessary.

3. Have developed tutoring strategies through attendance at follow up workshops, e.g. reflect on learning needs as a tutor; identify own learning needs as a tutor; share ideas with other tutors; attend/ participate in all training and follow up sessions.

Evidence that you have met the requirements to pass these units might include:

• Observations by your teachers
• Submission of your tutoring records, materials and notes
• Role plays
• Discussions with your teachers or in peer groups.

You will be assessed by your school and TAFE teachers in a range of tutoring situations and over a period of time so that you will have more than one opportunity to demonstrate your skills.

How is it going?

Brainstorm

1. Jot down any positive experiences you have had in this course

2.Think about how the course is going at your school

Are there any issues relating to:

• Tuteesattendance

motivation

skills

behaviour

• Room / Time
• Reading materials
• Support from the teacher / your peers / the school / the TAFE
• Your own skills

Briefly write the issue in the column in the table below.

As a group we will discuss these issues and try to come up with some solutions

Issue / What can we do? / Action to take

Tutor self assessment - checklist2

 / Before we start reading, we talk about the pictures, headings and diagrams on the page.
 / I ask questions to get my student thinking about the text.
 / When my student reads I follow on and show I am listening.
 / When the student replaces a word with one that means the same thing, I don’t stop or correct.
 / At the end of a section or long paragraph I ask a question to check if the student understands.
 / We reread difficult paragraphs to practice the tricky bits.
 / Sometimes I read bits aloud while my student follows on.
 / We sometimes read together silently, then I ask questions to check understanding.
 / I watch the time so that we can stop and talk about the text for a few minutes before the bell goes.
 / I ask my student to copy problem words on the record sheet.
 / We go back over the important problem words and put them in sentences.
 / I remember to give lots of praise and encouragement.

Keeping a journal

Journal

Part of the assessment for this course requires you to keep a journal.

You need to make an entry at least once a week.

In your journal, reflect on:

• your own progress as a tutor
• the way you put into practice the tutoring skills you are learning

The following statements are suggestions to help you write about your experiences as a tutor:

Things that worked well this week are ______

Things I found difficult this week are ______

Things I found interesting this week are ______

Things I learnt about myself are ______

Things I have learnt about tutoring / learning are ______

Things that I could do to help my tutee are ______

Things I could do to improve my skills / attitudes are ______

Journal reflection

The reason for these entries is for you to reflect and learn from your experiences, rather than just document what happened during the sessions with your tutee. Include both positive and negative comments.

The following entries show examples of the kinds of things you may wish to write about your tutoring experiences.

Peer

Literacy

Tutoring

Journal

Name:______

Ideas for Journal Entries

Use these prompts to trigger your thoughts:

Things that worked well this week were………..

This week/Today I discovered ………..

My tutee/student prefers ……………….

My tutee/student learns more easily when ……………………

We should spend more time ………………………………….

It would be good if ………………………………..

It is best when …………………………………

My tutee is experiencing difficulty with ……………………………

My tutee/student really likes it when ………………………………

What works really well for my tutee/student is ……………………….

I could improve my tutoring skills by …………………………………

Week ______Date: ______

Reflection

______

______

______

______

Advice for tutors on record keeping

There are 2 record sheets provided for you to keep records of the daily tutoring session.

1. The first record sheet (Peer tutor training and program manual, Section 7, page 45) looks like this and it is used when you do most of the reading for your student because they find it too difficult. Remember, you are trying to help them understand the material so use your ‘before, during and after’ strategies so the student can get the meaning of what is being read. It doesn’t matter if you read the whole book/text/article for your student.

Student Progress Sheet – Subject texts

Student name: ______Tutor name: ______

Date / Title of book/text/article / Pages read / Comment

1. The second record sheet (Peer tutor training and program manual, Section 7, page 47) looks like this and is used ONLY for independent and instructional level text – that is, material that your student can read with only about 3-5 errors in 50 words. When the material is at instructional level, you use PPP with your student.

Student Progress Sheet : Pause, Prompt, Praise

Student name:______Tutor name:______

Date / Title of book/text/article / Pages read / Word list / Date / Comment

Comments column

The comments you write should show your understanding of the reading process and appreciation of the strategies you are using to assist students.

Comments like “Good”, “Read well today” really don’t say anything about what the student is doing.

Examples of much more thoughtful, useful comments might be like these below.

2. Why tutors?

Purpose

• To provide empirical evidence of the benefits of cross-age peer tutoring.
• To help tutors understand the unique role they can play in assisting younger students who require additional support with reading.
• To make explicit to the tutors what is expected of them.

Resources

The handouts and worksheets supplement the material in the initial theory session. Refer to notes in DET Peer tutor training and program manual, Section 7.

Handout 2.1

Provides a summary of research supporting cross-age and peer tutoring.This summary is pitched at quite a highlevel and thus may not be suitable for all tutoring groups.

Handout 2.2

A 5 point summary of the benefits of cross-age peer tutoring.

Handout 2.3

Gives an example of one student’s progress over 8 months.

Handout 2.4

Explores the reasons why the tutors have been chosen for the program.

Handout 2.5

Outlines the roles and responsibilities of the tutor. The students may like to add to this list.

What does research have to say about peer and cross-age tutoring?

For many students, particularly low-achieving students, whole class or group instruction is not the most appropriate form of tuition. For many of these students one-to-one instruction is often more effective although this is not always a viable option. Peer tutoring, and in particular cross-age tutoring, (where an older, more able student tutors a younger student), has, however, been shown to meet this need.

The merits of cross-age tutoring have been well researched and cited in the literature. Generally there are three commonly cited benefits of cross-age peer tutoring: the learning and improvement of skills; the improvement and development of social behaviours and peer relationships; and improved discipline and classroom participation. The benefits to the tutees in a peer tutoring program are numerous and have been found to include one-to-one tuition, prolonged time on-task, instant feedback, immediate correction of miscues, positive reinforcement and peer relationship building. In regard to more personal benefits for tutees, research studies have found that tutees participating in cross-age tutoring programs have shown improvement in communication skills, self-confidence, self-esteem, interpersonal skills and in the ability to set short and long-term goals.

These benefits are not confined solely to the tutees as many researchers state the benefits are often greater for the tutors than the tutees. Numerous overseas studies have found that tutors participating in a cross-age tutoring program had an increased sense of responsibility, an increased feeling of self-worth, better school/university attendance and increased communication skills when compared to a control group.

An extensive evaluation of school peer tutoring programs in the USA, concluded that tutors improve academically because of an increased understanding of subject matter resulting from having to teach and explain the material to their tutees. Another study into cross-age peer tutoring found that tutors often benefit from the tutoring experience because firstly they are revising material previously learned and secondly because their thinking and communication skills are enhanced when given the opportunity to teach this material to others.

Many studies have found that junior students who were tutored by older studentsimproved significantly in reading achievement. These studies concluded that the significant gains made in reading achievement could be attributed directly to the tutoring.Cross-age tutoring also promotes the use of modelling and scaffolding which has been found to be a most effective form of instruction, particularly with under-achieving children. Positive effects such as these have been found to be stronger in well-structured programs.

Other studies have reported that low-achieving students enjoy being tutored by older, more skilled tutors and that tutees feel less inhibited when working with a peer tutor than when working with an adult. This is probably due to the reason that in a cross-age tutoring situation the tutors are closer in age to the tutees yet, being slightly older, hold the status of being senior. Being closer in knowledge and age to the tutor, the tutee in a peer relationship feels freer to express opinions, ask questions and risk untested solutions. Peer tutors seem to relate better to their tutees than adults do on three levels: cognitive, emotional and social.

Tutors who have experienced reading problems themselves, it has been found, are less critical, provide more positive reinforcement and are more patient and understanding than tutors who have not experienced any reading problems. Someone who has recently learned a concept or skill, particularly if they had experienced some level of difficulty in doing so, will recall the learning process more vividly and, as a result, may have insights into the learning process that elude the most experienced teacher. This tutor may be more aware than a trained teacher of the type of modelling and scaffolding needed by the tutee and may also have insights into how to provide such instruction.