Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
Peer Tutoring: Creating a Learning Community
Sally S. Blowers, RN, PhD, Department of Adult Nursing, Department of Adult Nursing, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
| Learning Objective #1: Describe how peer tutors meet critical learning needs of nursing students |
| Learning Objective #2: Contrast the faculty role with the peer tutor role |
Purpose/Objective: To understand the learning community that developed during the implementation of a peer tutoring program. Design: Descriptive Qualitative Case Study. Participants: Thirty-three peer tutors who provided tutoring for less advanced nursing students. Subjects tutored included nursing and required pre-nursing theory courses. Methods: Qualitative data included surveys completed by participants during their final semester in the nursing program, focus group interviews, and audio tapes of group tutoring sessions. Data were analyzed initially for the scope of tutoring experiences and then for themes related to peer tutors' contributions to the academic success of their tutorees (The word tutoree was chosen at the outset of the program to indicate the one receiving tutoring, rather than the word "tutee.") Findings: Tutors' contributions centered on five major themes: Interpreting the teacher, Building confidence, Explaining the process, Recognizing the important, and Easing the burden. The themes encompass emotional and cognitive concerns of tutorees as well as intellectual understanding. Conclusions: Even though peer tutors and faculty both deal with subject matter, there are significant differences in the scope of their activities. Peer tutors acknowledge learners' needs more holistically and act directly to promote a learning community. Faculty may be aware of learners' emotional and cognitive concerns, but are often able to intervene only tangentially and to promote learning community indirectly. Implications: The intensity and scope of nursing courses create significant distress for today's nursing student. A learning community eases the stresses and promotes academic success. Learning communities are the products of deliberate, affirmative student interactions such as those that occur among peer tutors and their tutorees.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004