Use of reciprocal peer tutoring technique in an environmental control systems course at an undergraduate level

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) on student performance in one of the Environmental Control Systems courses offered by the Department of Construction Science, Texas A&M University. Reciprocal peer tutoring has been used extensively at school level for developing academic skills of the students. It has also been used at college level for different disciplines. In this technique, students occasionally function equally as both tutor and tutee in a classroom situation. It enables the students to gain both from the preparation and instruction in which the tutors engage, and from the instructions that the tutees receive. The study population consisted of the students who attended the course in Summer terms of 1998 and 2000, and Spring semester of 2000. Sample size of the study was 156 students. Relevant data was collected from the Student Information Management System database of the university. Chi-square tests were performed to ascertain the relationship between student performance and RPT. The findings generated from the analysis of the data indicated that RPT has a statistically significant effect on student performance in this particular Environmental Control Systems course