Classwide Peer Tutoring

Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) is an instructional strategy focused on increasing active responding, improving academic achievement, and enhancing interpersonal relationships in the classroom. Research suggests that CWPT is an effective form of tutoring, especially with diverse populations, including students who have learning difficulties (i.e., learning disabilities, mental retardation), have limited English proficiency, or are economically disadvantaged. The core components of CWPT include content development, weekly assessments, training teachers and students, peer pairing (pairing of students), individual and group contingencies (rewards provided to an individual student or group of students for their work effort), and structured tutoring sessions.

In CWPT, the teacher organizes materials for classroom instruction into daily and weekly units based on the current curriculum. The amount of material assigned should be set so that each student can practice all of the material twice. While the focus of CWPT is on curriculum for the entire classroom, material can be individualized for students who have varying needs. Careful organization of materials ensures that a match between student ability and instructional material is created.

Teachers are trained to develop pretests and posttests to monitor the difficulty level of the materials, as well as student progress on those materials. Pretests can be used to confirm that the material is at an appropriate level of difficulty for next week's tutoring sessions. If the class mean or average is higher than 40% correct on the pretest, it is likely that the material is too easy, and the teacher is advised to replace the easy with more difficult material. The posttest data are used to assess the mastery of the material tutored that week; an 80% accuracy rate demonstrates mastery.

Because CWPT requires structure and careful selection of materials, teachers and students should be trained. Teachers can use a manual that describes CWPT procedures, such as how to pair students, how to organize materials, and how to use pretests and posttests to make decisions. Because students play more directive roles in CWPT, they are also trained in the procedures. This training typically consists of modeling by the teacher, student practice, and student feedback.

In CWPT, the teacher sorts class members into pairs, either randomly or by ability level, depending on the instructional goals and the subjects being tutored. Partner pairs should be changed weekly. In subjects like math, spelling, and vocabulary, random assignment is appropriate because answers are provided. In subjects where correct answers may not be available, pairing by ability should be used. In situations where students who have limited English proficiency are tutored, it may be useful to pair a student who is less proficient with a student who speaks the same language as the student, but who is more proficient in English. Students who participate in CWPT receive individual contingencies (i.e., students are rewarded for their own efforts) and group contingencies (i.e., rewards are given to groups for their performance). Each pair of students is randomly placed on one of two competing teams. This game-like format encourages students to perform roles appropriately and to work collaboratively with their partners to learn the material. The cooperative and competitive aspects of CWPT also help keep students motivated and on task. In carrying out their roles, students earn points for their team. Tutors earn points for keeping tutees engaged, correcting errors, and giving feedback and reinforcement. Tutees earn points for answering questions accurately and correcting wrong answers. Teams earning the most points are identified daily and weekly. The team that earns the most points at the [Page 94]end of the week is applauded and receives social reinforcement (e.g., praise) plus a certificate of achievement or a special privilege in the classroom. The team with fewer points is also applauded for their hard work and sportsmanship and receives encouragement for continued work effort.

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