Cross-age tutoring in chapter 1 reading

This project is an investigation into the effects of cross-age tutoring on fifth grade tutors. The literature supports the use of cross-age tutoring as an effective school technique. Tutoring provides the teacher with added resources; it multiplies his/her effectiveness. Tutoring gives one-on-one attention to students, with benefits to both the tutor and tutee. The Role-Model Theory and Gestalt Theory are used as a framework for this cross-age tutoring project. This study asks: What happens when fifth grade students, eligible for Chapter 1 Reading, are placed in a cross-age tutoring situation with third grade Chapter 1 Reading students? six fifth grade tutors were selected and trained, and spent ten weeks tutoring six third grade tutees four times a week for thirty minutes per session. The tutors developed insights into the teaching and learning process, and found meaningful uses for what they had learned. This qualitative inquiry found cross-age tutoring to be a positive and useful learning technique for tutors and tutees