Record Details
An assessment of the reciprocal effect of high school senior low achievers tutoring freshman low achievers in English classes
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | An assessment of the reciprocal effect of high school senior low achievers tutoring freshman low achievers in English classes |
| Names |
Werth, Trostel Gifford
(creator) Hall, J. V. (advisor) |
| Date Issued | 1968-04-18 (iso8601) |
| Note | Graduation date: 1968 |
| Abstract | The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of a tutoring program and a traditional program in improving achievement for students registered in low achiever English classes in reading comprehension, language usage skills and spelling as well as student interest in the study of English. For this study 128 first-semester students from Gresham and Centennial High Schools, Gresham, Oregon were used. Thirty-two seniors were used to tutor thirty-two freshmen which gave an experimental group of sixty-four. The control group, which did not participate in any tutoring activities, also had sixty-four members, thirty-two freshmen and thirty-two seniors. All students who participated in this study were given the Diagnostic Reading Tests-Survey Section and California Survey of Language Achievement as a pretest and posttest. Also each student was given a pre-rating and post-rating of poor, fair, good, or excellent on his interest in English. Language Achievement as a pretest and posttest. Also each student was given a pre-rating and post-rating of poor, fair, good, or excellent on his interest in English. Findings The freshmen who were tutored showed a statistically significant improvement in reading comprehension and interest in the subject of English when compared to the freshmen in the traditional program. Seniors who acted as tutors also showed a significant improvement in interest in the subject of English when compared to the seniors in the traditional program. These findings demonstrated that high school seniors who have been identified as low achievers can provide significant assistance in reading instruction to low achievers in lower grades. The findings further demonstrated that students involved in the tutoring program found it to be a more interesting approach to the study of English than a traditional program. The analysis of variance failed to show any significant difference between the seniors who acted as tutors and the seniors in the traditional English program in the improvement of reading comprehension, language usage, and spelling skills. Neither was any significant difference found between freshmen who were tutored and the freshmen in the traditional program in improvement in language usage and spelling skills. It would appear from this study that some of the reciprocal benefits of tutoring which have been reported in other studies are more difficult to produce in high school senior low achievers than in younger students. Recommendations In view of the findings of this study the writer offers the following recommendations to schools of education and to public schools concerned with the education of the low achiever. 1. Tutoring studies utilizing statistical treatment should be conducted with low achievers in other subject areas in addition to English. 2. Experimentation should be encouraged in the development of materials to be used in tutoring sessions with low achievers. 3. Institutions involved in preparing teachers should explore methods for helping teachers learn to effectively direct tutorial activities. 4. Further study is needed on the effect acting as a tutor has on self-image for low achieving students. 5. Research in developing standardized tests for the low achieving student should be encouraged. |
| Genre | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Topic | English language -- Remedial teaching |
| Identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/1957/47436 |
