Students ‘Get a Little Help From Their Friends’
The only learning intervention that has ever shown a two-standard deviation improvement in learning is one-on-one tutoring. Let’s repeat: The only learning intervention that has ever shown a two-standard deviation improvement in learning is one-on-one tutoring. If you want students to learn more, tutor them, says Shane Brown, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Yet, according to the National Academy of Engineering, personalized learning is one of the greatest engineering challenges in the next century. Take a class of 80 students who begin working on one of those highly-effective, active learning exercises, for instance. Having one professor to answer questions from 80 engaged students at the same time can quickly become problematic. The tendency, then, is to stick with lecturing. Hoping to increase the opportunity for personalized learning, Shane Brown, assistant professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and his colleagues have recently received a National Science Foundation grant to allow students to tutor other students – within the classroom setting. “A multitude of studies show that any active learning is good,’’ says Brown. “Lots of studies show that tutoring is very helpful in improving learning, self-efficacy, and interest and engagement in the discipline.’’ Putting the two ideas together, he says, “has the potential for changing how engineering education is conducted.’’ Brown was inspired to pursue the help of more experienced students in engineering classrooms when an education researcher came to campus a few years ago. She told the group that universities need to find an institutional way for upperclassmen to help younger students. According to research, students actually learn very well from other slightly more experienced students because the younger students have a closer frame of reference with the student than they do with a faculty member, says Brown. They often feel freer to ask questions from another student. Furthermore, while it’s virtually impossible to have a 1:1 faculty to student ratio that would allow for optimal learning, it is very possible to have a 1:1 student to student ratio. “We are missing a huge resource and we need to utilize it,’’ said Brown. Because the grant offers tutoring within classes, students will not have the additional challenge of pursuing help outside of class. Having the tutors in the classroom once a week changes the social dynamic and makes students more comfortable with the idea of tutoring, says Brown. With support of the grant, Brown will offer peer tutoring in two engineering courses at WSU and one class at Oregon State University. The researchers are starting their efforts in a statics and a mechanics of materials class. Eventually, they hope to expand the program to other challenging classes where first- year students often stumble, including pre-calculus, calculus, and physics, so that “every engineering student will have the opportunity to have some tutoring in class,’’ says Brown. The program has been assessed during the last two years and more than 85% of students either agree or strongly agree with the statement, “I wish I had peer tutors in my other courses. National Science Foundation funding will be used to determine the impact of in-class peer tutoring on learning, social capital, and self-efficacy. Brown and his colleagues will be carefully assessing success and retention rates of students who participate in the peer tutoring program. |
