College professors aren’t the only ones students can learn from. Instead, they can learn from each other through peer tutoring.
While peer tutoring typically involves one academically advanced student tutoring another, the process can help both parties improve their grades and overall performance in college.
Read this article to learn how peer tutoring differs from other forms of academic support and how you can benefit from it regardless of whether you’re the tutor or the tutee.
Peer Tutoring vs. Group Study: What’s The Difference?
Peer tutoring and group study might seem the same at first glance. However, each one offers a unique way to get the academic support you need to excel in college.
Here’s the main difference:
A study group typically consists of several peers from the same cohort learning a new subject matter together. Each member shares their understanding and perspective of the topic, helping each other grasp what is being learned.
Peer tutoring, however, is a more one-on-one form of academic support akin to mentorship. Both are students, but one is academically advanced (e.g. a senior) and teaching the material to someone who isn’t there yet (e.g. a junior).
Peer tutoring is just one of the many strategies you can use, alongside attending office hours, getting mentorship from Equity Metrics, and more.
However, a notable benefit here is that both the tutor and tutee can improve their academic performance by participating in this process.
How Getting Tutoring Helps
The benefits of peer tutoring have long been understood. Research as far back as 1996 by Topping showed the many reasons why this form of academic support was so effective.
Some of those reasons included:
- Peer tutors were less authoritarian, unlike the teaching staff.
- Peer tutors had a better understanding of tutees’ challenges.
- Peer tutors were more focused on assessments despite the above.
On top of that, the same research also points out that tutors took a greater interest in their tutees’ lives and personalities as peers.
With such a high level of engagement from tutors, it should be no surprise that peer tutoring is an effective tool in teaching and learning.
How Giving Tutoring Helps
Interestingly enough, peer tutoring also serves as a way for the tutor to improve their own academic performance. In other words, tutees aren’t the only ones who benefit from the peer tutoring process.
Here’s why:
Providing peers with support through tutoring enables the student to identify gaps in their knowledge. On top of that, it also challenges them to present the information in different ways so tutees can understand them clearly.
On a more general note, guiding tutees also causes tutors to develop a strong sense of confidence in themselves and the topics being discussed.
Overall, that added confidence and strengthened knowledge contribute to the tutor’s pursuit of academic excellence in college.
Final Thoughts
No matter which side of the equation you’re on, participating in peer tutoring effectively improves your grades and overall performance in college.
Of course, this approach works even better when combined with other academic support strategies like meeting with professors and seeking professional mentorship from Equity Metrics.
References
Topping, K.J. The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: A typology and review of the literature. High Educ 32, 321–345 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00138870