Training Tutoring Skills with Preschool Children with Disabilities in a Classroom Setting

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the practice of reciprocal peer tutoring could be used with preschool-aged children with disabilities in a structured setting. The ages of the pupils ranged from 2 years 3 months to 5 years 8 months. A class-wide peer tutoring model was evaluated using a multiple baseline approach across instructional units. The following steps were specifically trained: (1) discriminative stimulus (S^D) presentation; (2) praise; (3) stamp delivery; and (4) corrective feedback. Each child was given opportunities to be both tutor and tutee. Data were collected in two experimental settings. The first setting was in a public school which provided services for preschool children with disabilities. The second setting was a private organization which served children with special needs from birth to three years. The results indicate that peer tutoring skills can be successfully taught and used in the classroom with children as young as 27 months of age. Furthermore, there is some evidence to suggest that peers as tutors could enhance the skill acquisition of tutees.