Peer e-tutoring: effects on students' participation and interaction style in online courses

In this paper, we describe a procedure to promote active participation in online courses by supporting students in performing the role of an e-Tutor during group activities. A case study, conducted to explore the procedural effects both on students’ interactions and on their perceptions about the role, is discussed. Eighteen university students (67% female, mean Age = 23 years) took part in online collaborative learning activities as part of a 15-week blended learning course. Twelve participants took turns in covering the role of e-Tutor. Findings were based on a mixed methods analysis of 7105 contributions posted online by the 18 students. An analysis of e-Tutor self-assessment forms was also considered. Results indicated that utilising peer-based e-Tutors promoted substantial active participation in online discussions. Moreover, students performing the role of e-Tutor adopted a supportive, collaborative and educational style, which was maintained even after their turn as e-Tutor had ended

Peer Tutoring and Scaffolding Principle for Inclusive Teaching

This paper aims to investigate the theoretical references that the literature offers with respect to the principle of scaffolding and to the methodology of Peer Tutoring from an inclusive perspective. The principle of scaffolding, in fact, has its roots in the first definitions by Vygotskij (1978a) who defines it as the social support provided to the student during the completion of a learning task to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Subsequently, this principle has been declined in an inclusive perspective with respect to classroom management and with respect to new transmedia learning environments. The reference literature was reviewed to highlight the learning outcomes related to the principle of cognitive, metacognitive and emotional scaffolding. In addition, from the point of view of classroom management from an inclusive perspective, a declination that is effective refers to Peer Tutoring. This methodology aims to promote mutual interactions mediated by peers in order to optimize individual functioning and promote the holistic development of the parties involved. Therefore, the Peer Tutoring methodology was highlighted with reference to both the theoretical and practical components of the studies investigated

A STUDY OF THE IMPACT OF A CROWD WISDOM ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY PLATFORM ON STUDENT LEARNING

The use of collective intelligence applications in educational settings has been reported in the literature for almost two decades. These collective intelligence applications aggregate individual knowledge via different synchronous and asynchronous mode of communications and Web 2.0 applications which support learning, communication and collaboration activities, and create “Wisdom of the Crowds”. Crowdsourcing further extends these collective intelligence processes in a distributed and crossorganizational way. This paper evaluates the effects and impacts of crowd wisdom applications on a peer assisted learning support service titled Peer-Assisted Learning scheme using Supplemental Instruction (PALSI) in a higher education institution in Hong Kong. Adopting the Design Science approach, an Online Learning Community (OLC) platform was developed tap on the Wisdom of Crowds and its effectiveness on student learning was evaluated. The OLC platform is not designed to replace existing face-to-face PALSI learning sessions and activities. Rather it helps to provide an additional online platform for supplementing and facilitating interaction between student mentors and mentees and among student mentees as well. The OLC platform is designed in a way that supports indexed and search functions who join the PALSI scheme, and it can also be archived as a repository for future reference by similar courses. Empirical analysis was carried out to evaluate the relationship between user participation and assessment results. Statistics show that students who made use of the OLC platform obtained better grades

Peer-Assisted Learning Online: Peer Leader Motivations and Experiences

This research explores the different types of motivation that inspired students to engage in an online peer-assisted learning (PAL) leader role. An interdisciplinary online PAL pilot programme at a university in the United Kingdom was reviewed to investigate the experience and perceptions of voluntary online PAL leaders. The purpose of the study was to address a paucity in knowledge about the motivations for this role, specifically from an online perspective, and to guide future online PAL leader recruitment. A thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews was used to determine emerging and relevant themes. Three research questions guided the interviews, and findings are presented in response to these questions. Findings indicate that different types of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were key reasons for engaging in the online PAL leader role. The participants expressed an altruistic and empathic approach towards volunteering. Potential personal benefits motivated their participation, including improved study skills, transferable skills, and the possibility of an award. These motivations fell into two significant themes: the awareness of personal gain and the emergence of a desired version of self. Recommendations are made for the recruitment and training of online PAL leaders and the logistics of the scheme to ensure it is well advertised, accessible, endorsed by academic staff, and combines synchronous and asynchronous modes. It is hoped that this research will be valuable given the shift to online study and blended learning in response to and as an outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic and the value placed on interactive virtual spaces to minimise isolation

El podcast de vídeo: la motivación como elemento de interactuación entre alumnado universitario de los grados de ciencias y comunicación audiovisual [Video podcast: motivation as an element of interaction between undergraduate students in science and audiovisual communication]

Los podcast son una de las herramientas de la web 2.0 que mayores potencialidades ofrecen en el ámbito de la educación superior. Sobre la base del Aprendizaje Basado en Retos se presenta un proyecto que trabaja de forma colaborativa y por medio del podcast los contenidos curriculares de varias asignaturas de Educación Primaria, y desde la visión de alumnado universitario de diferentes áreas de conocimiento. En esta primera fase, se presentan los resultados centrados en la valoración de la motivación del alumnado durante la realización de este proyecto. Los datos describen una mayor motivación extrínseca de los estudiantes, ya que la posibilidad de que el alumnado de Educación Primaria pueda beneficiarse de este proyecto ha sido un importante factor de motivación. [Podcasting is one of the web 2.0 tools that offer the greatest potential in the field of higher education. Based on the challenge-based learning, a project is presented that works in a collaborative way and through the podcast the curricular contents of several subjects of Primary Education, from the vision of university students of different areas of knowledge. In this first phase, the results are presented focused on the assessment of student motivation during the execution of this project. The data describe a greater extrinsic motivation of the students, since the possibility that the students of Primary Education can benefit from this project has been an important motivating factor.

Improvement of Chemistry Learning Outcomes of Class XI Students High School Through Peer Tutors on Colloid Material

This research was conducted to find out whether there was an increase in student chemistry learning outcomes that were taught using the peer tutoring method, research was conducted on high school students in class XI with colloidal properties. This research is a quantitative study with statistical data processing using SPSS 21 for windows with paired t test. The results showed that there were chemistry learning outcomes of class XI high school students who were taught using peer tutors, where based on the results of data analysis using paired t test it was found that the t count of 13,010 was greater than t table with the number of samples 29 at the significance level of 0.05 namely 2.045, thus t count is greater than t table which means there is a significant increase in the chemistry learning outcomes of class XI high school students with an improvement category based on the results of N gain of 51% in the medium categor

Peer tutoring: its effects on subject mastery and Mathematics anxiety among elementary education teaching interns

Teachers’ subject mastery and anxiety towards mathematics affect their performance in teaching the subject. This quasi-experimental study aimed to determine the effects of peer tutoring on mathematics subject mastery and mathematics anxiety among teaching interns. Intact groups of 35 Bachelor of Elementary Education (BEEd) students participated as tutees and 32 Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) students with specialization in Mathematics participated as tutors in this study. Quantitative data were analysed using inferential statistics. Results revealed that peer tutoring was effective in increasing mathematics subject mastery; however, it had not been effective in reducing mathematics anxiety. Moreover, albeit insignificantly, as the participants’ subject mastery increases, their anxiety decreases, and that mathematics anxiety is an insignificant predictor of subject mastery. The findings implicate that a peer tutoring program can be beneficial in equipping general education prospective teachers with sufficient content knowledge and confidence to teach mathematics; hence, further research on a functional peer tutoring process is recommended. Moreover, it is also suggested that future research be conducted on peer tutoring for other subject areas and prolonged period of peer tutoring sessions

Cooperative learning and peer tutoring in virtual university environments . Aprendizagem cooperativa e tutoria entre pares em ambientes virtuais universitários

RESUMEN: La enseñanza universitaria tiende a crear más espacios virtuales de aprendizaje y a impulsar metodologías para mejorar el proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Este trabajo pretende demostrar la potencialidad de la tutoría entre iguales, las herramientas 2.0 y el aprendizaje cooperativo para desarrollar conocimiento y competencias socioprofesionales en estudiantes universitarios en entornos virtuales, en diferentes titulaciones de la Universidad de Cantabria. Los objetivos son conocer en profundidad el alcance del proceso de innovación educativa propuesto, y saber cómo valoran los estudiantes la utilidad de las herramientas 2.0, el aprendizaje colaborativo y la tutoría entre iguales. La metodología cualitativa aplicada consiste en implementar un trabajo cooperativo virtual y evaluar resultados con un Focus Group. Los resultados revelan que el alumnado comprende los conceptos metodológicos y teóricos propuestos, y desarrolla competencias socioprofesionales relacionadas con la autorregulación, el pensamiento reflexivo y crítico, el saber, saber hacer y saber estar. Se identifican categorías clave tras la experimentación.ABSTRACT: University education tends to create more virtual learning spaces and promotes methodologies to enhance the teaching-learning process. This work aims to demonstrate the potentials of peer tutoring, web 2.0 tools, and cooperative learning to develop knowledge and skills in college students of socio virtual environments, in different degrees of the University of Cantabria. The objectives are to learn in depth the scope of the educational innovation process proposed and to know what is the value given by students to 2.0 tools, collaborative learning, and peer tutoring. A qualitative methodology is applied to implement a virtual collaborative work and evaluate results in a Focus Group. The results show that students understand the methodological and theoretical concepts proposed and developed skills related to socio-professional self-regulation, reflective and critical thinking, knowledge, expertise and know how to be. Key categories are identified after the experiment

Open Educational Resources und Open Access - neue Lernformen aus Sicht von Studierenden

Open Educational Resources(OER) und Open Access (OA) kommen in der Diskussion um Innovationen in der Hochschullehre eine große Bedeutung zu. Hochschulen stehen hier vor der Herausforderung, solche Angebote didaktisch sinnvoll und technisch gut aufbereitet zur Verfügung zu stellen. Wie Studierende neuere Angebote bewerten, wird im Rahmen einer Befragung an 1.400 Studierenden der Universität zu Köln untersucht. Es zeigt sich, dass die Befragten neueren Formen von OER noch skeptisch gegenüberstehen, sich diese aber durchaus ergänzend zu bisherigen Lernformaten zur Flexibilisierung ihres Studiums wünschen. 04.11.2013 | Christian Rietz, Sarah Franke & Simone van Koll (Köln