Instructional Strategy

Using the Instructional Strategy: Class Wide Peer Tutoring

to Effect Student Achievement
Angela M. Boudreaux
American College of Education

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Purpose:

Special Educations primary goal is to provide individualized services to students who

qualify under the Bulletin 1508. Special Education can encompass a multitude of disabilities
within one classroom environment. Special consideration is necessary to provide specific
targeted instructional strategies that allow the students to be successful and to promote the general
education curriculum.
As a special educator, I have to research instructional strategies and implement with the
intention to improve the students quality of education and achievement. Our school has seen an
increase in the number of students that have dyslexia. This case study has been conducted to
answer these questions: Focusing on special education students, can the selected instructional
strategy, class wide peer tutoring, impact the students achievement in spelling?
Literature Review:
Class Wide Peer Tutoring is a research based practice involving peers as the teachers of
the material that was first introduced in Charter 1 schools. Greenwood (1989) conducted a study
involving six Title I schools and three non-Title I schools. The experimental group involved in
Class Wide Peer Tutoring approached or exceeded the national mean on the Metropolitan
Achievement Test (MAT). The experimental group also exceeded the control group's scores.
(CWPT-LMS MANUAL)
Several researchers found that class wide peer tutoring to be effective with specific
sub-groups within a school. In 1991, Madrid found that Class Wide Peer Tutoring was more
effective than teacher led instruction for African American and Hispanic, bilingual students with
academic delays. Greenwood and Delquandri (1995) quoted studies conducted in 1993 and 1994

Instructional Strategy

found that Class Wide Peer Tutoring was very effective with secondary students with mild
disabilities and children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism). Michelle
Burks (2004) analyzed the effects Class Wide Peer Tutoring had on students with learning
disabilities in reading and writing. She looked at the data concerning the intervention being
used in the area of spelling. The study compared fifteen weeks of spelling test scores of three
students with learning disabilities using traditional instructional methods and CWPT in a resource
setting. The students increased their mean scores between the baseline data collections and the
implementation of the intervention by approximately 10 or more points. After the intervention was
removed, the students had decreases in their spelling accuracy scores although one student did
maintain his scores due to practice time at home.
Research conducted by Burks, DuPaul (1998), Chun (1999), and Greenwood (2001)
illustrated that Class Wide Peer tutoring (CWPT) is effective in increasing students' performance
in spelling. It is chosen because it is easy to implement and very few materials are needed.
Methodology:
Information was gathered about the framework of educational services of the school by
reviewing the Pupil Progression Plan and the state standards. A parent interview, teacher interview,
and a review of records was performed to gather information on the student. Finally, the student
was administered the instructional intervention and monitored for several weeks.

School Background Information:

The charter school was established in 1999. It is Type II charter school within St. Mary

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Parish. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education granted permission for the
establishment of the school after the measure was denied by the local school district. The school
services the communities of Glencoe, Four Corners, Soirrel, Cypremont Point, Jeanerette,
Baldwin, and Franklin. The focus of the instruction is child-centered, with curricula designed to
meet the educational, social, physical, and emotional needs of each learner. The instructional plan
allows for integration between and within subjects. The state approved standards and teacher guides
are the driving force of the material presented in the classrooms. The textbooks adopted by the
school have been chosen as they align best to the state's expectations of performance.
For Tier 1, regular classroom teachers' instruction revolves around programs such as
Eureka Math (grades kindergarten through eighth) and anchor text novel units supplemented with
additional readings from appropriate sources. In Science and Social Studies, hands-on activities
promote learning such as lab work, role-playing, field trips, and movies. Students are assessed by
teacher made test that correlate to the instructional material, alternative assessments such as internet
research projects, and state and national achievement test such as PARCC and IOWA.
For Tier 2, the school offers tutoring in reading and math. In the reading lab for elementary students,
the primary instructional tools are the classroom programs and Project Read. For the
middle school side, reading lab has small groups of about six students that focus on test preparation,
reading fluency, and comprehension using previously released standardized test materials and
supplemental resources. Math labs are small group instruction using Common Core math program,
Eureka Math.
For Tier 3, the school also encompasses a Special Education Department to meet the individual,
diverse needs of students. The Special Education teachers give guided instruction on individual
and small group levels. Programs are the same as classroom teachers but may be on lower

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reading or performance levels that have been identified in the student's evaluation. Speech
uses Project Read and expressive and receptive language materials to address the student's
individual needs.
General Student Information:
For the purposes of this case study, the student is being referred to as Student K. Student
K is a female seventh grade student at a public charter school in St. Mary Parish. Student K is a
thirteen-year-old Caucasian that resides in Iberia Parish. Her parents are divorced. Student K has
two brothers. The mother is remarried, and the children reside with them. The mother has
provided information that notes a family history of dyslexia and learning problems. She had
problems with school and has some characteristics of dyslexia. The father was in special education
and continues to have difficulty spelling.
In a parent interview, the mother gave medical history on her daughter. Student K was born
as a result of a high risk pregnancy. Her mother had previous caesarean section and a history of
high pressure. At the age of three weeks old, Student K was hospitalized with a kidney and bladder
infections and dramatic fever. At the age of five years old, Student K was diagnosed with Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and was placed on medications: Adderrall XR for the ADHD and on
Clonidine for insomnia. Adderrall XR is a stimulant medication used to improve attention span,
concentration, and emotional control, and reduce restless or overactive behavior. However, Adderrall
has some side effects such as anxiety, mood changes, headaches, stomach aches, increased pressure,
loss of appetite, and more. Clonidine is normally used to treat hypertension. Side effects are very
similar to the Adderrall. Currently at the age of twelve, Student K is being slowly removed from the
Adderrall at her parents' discretion.

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Student K began her education as a preschooler at local elementary school in Jeanerette,

Louisiana. The following academic year, Student K was assessed as Speech Impaired with
problems in articulation and received Speech services. Student K then was transferred to a
different local elementary in the first grade. The disability was reaffirmed during the annual
reevaluations. Curriculum Based Assessments completed when she was at the end of her third
grade year indicated that she was functioning at 3.0 grade level in math with 73 % accuracy and
the 2.9 grade level in reading with 79 % accuracy. That report noted that she was a motivated,
well-behaved student who was having difficulties writing words and sentences, sounding out
unfamiliar words, and required more time on written tasks.
After completing the fourth grade at that elementary, Student K transferred schools to the
charter school located in St. Mary Parish in the fifth grade. During her sixth grade year, concerns
arose over her reading fluency and comprehension. Student K was functioning below grade level
with specific problems in the areas of word attack skills, decoding, phonological, and basic reading.
Curriculum Based Assessment results showed that she was reading at 82%-word accuracy at ninetyfive words per minute, and 50 % accuracy at reading comprehension. The school psychologist identified
the student as qualifying for special education services under the classification of Specific Learning
Disabled in Reading.
A review of her past Individual Education Plans show that Student K was receiving speech/
language therapy for thirty minutes, twice per week with the accommodations of visual/verbal
cues and extended time until she began school at the charter school. At that time, small group
instruction/ testing and tests read aloud were added. Two years later, speech/language therapy was
dismissed after the student completed all of her goals. Ky was evaluated and identified as Specific
Learning Disabled in Reading.

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Student Ks current Individual Education Plan includes the accommodations of small

group instruction/ testing, Test Read Aloud, repeat directions, and extra time on written tasks
and test. Ky attends small group remediation in the Special Education/Resource classroom
for sixty minutes daily, five days per week.
A review of her educational history indicates that she has not been retained and her attendance
is good. Student K did not pass the LEAP exam in her fourth grade year. Her 5th grade I-LEAP
scores showed Unsatisfactory in Language Arts and Math; Approaching Basic in Social Studies
and Basic in Science. On the 6th grade I-LEAP tests, Student K scored Unsatisfactory in Language Arts,
Math, Science, and Social Studies. In the seventh grade, her first semester grades were as
follows: English C; Math C; Reading C; Social Studies D; Science D; and PE- A. Her fourth six weeks
grades were English F; Math D; Reading D; Social Studies D; Science D; and PE A.
Currently, Student K is in danger of failing the seventh grade.
Student K is diagnosed as Specific Learning Disabled in Reading comprehension. She is in
the regular classroom setting for more than 80 % of the instructional day. The school's instructional
day is 390 minutes long. Student K attends small group instruction in the Resource classroom along
with one other seventh grader for sixty minutes daily, approximately three hundred minutes per week.
Her educational plan focuses on improving her reading comprehension skills in all content areas and
her language skills especially spelling and writing compositions.
Student K's weakness is vocabulary development which affects her writing and comprehension
skills. After consultation with the regular classroom teacher, a specific aspect was determined as the
target academic skill: correctly spelling the eight assigned words per week. A review of her third six
weeks grades for weekly spelling words revealed the following scores: 6%; 69%; 63%; 31%; 44%;
and 31%. Her mean score was 41%.

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Intervention Protocols:
On three consecutive class periods, AIMS web probes were administered. Spelling
words were appropriate for the seventh grade. The probes measured the correct words spelled
and the correct letters in sequence within a two-minute time period. On the baseline screening,
Student K spelled one word out of seventeen correct and had seventy-seven correct letters in
sequence. An adjustment was made to the next two probes as the total number of words was
reduced as the student was unable to complete seventeen words in a two-minute time frame as
required. On the second day of baseline testing, Student K was able to spell one word out of the
twelve correctly. She also had fifty-eight correct letters in sequence. By the last day of baseline
testing, Student K was able to spell three out of the twelve words correctly and achieved sixty-two
correct letters in sequence. Her mean for correct words spelled was 1.7. The mean for correct letters
in sequence was 65.7. The class mean was 4.8 words spelled correctly and 86 correct letters in
sequence. In the next six weeks, Student K will achieve accuracy of 10 words out of the seventeen
spelled correctly and 120 correct letters in sequence from the seventh grade spelling words. Also,
in the regular classroom, seventh grade has eight spelling words per week. The goal is to spell
seven words correctly per week. Correct letter sequence varies weekly; therefore, her goal is to
achieve 80 % accuracy of that particular week's correct letters in sequence. Baseline data is
illustrated in graph 1.

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Class Wide Peer Tutoring was first introduced to the two seventh grade resource students
with a verbal description and a handout designed by the Center for Effective Collaboration and
Practice. The teacher explained the process the students are participating in for at least the next six
weeks. CWPT is a peer mediation, instructional process that needs to be conducted for at least twenty
minutes per day, three days per week to be effective. Pre-assessment is conducted on the first day.
Teacher-led instruction follows. The two students are assigned roles of tutor and tutee. The tutor is
the person responsible for being the teacher in calling out the words, monitoring the tutee's responses
verbally and written, and awarding points. The tutee is the person practicing the skill, in this case,
spelling the words correctly. Students complete one cycle of a ten-minute tutoring session. Roles are
then reversed and another ten-minute tutoring session takes place. After three or more tutoring
sessions, a post assessment is conducted. Then, the resource teacher modeled and monitored closely
the process of being a tutor and a tutee to the students for the next two days.

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The resource teacher secured the weekly spelling lists from the regular classroom teacher. The
spelling words were then inputted into a Microsoft Word document where the font was increased fro
Time Roman 12 pt to 22 pt. The words were printed on bright color card stock. A folder was created to
hold the team's materials. In the clear green pocket folder, the team had their point sheets, tutoring
worksheets, pre and post tests, weekly words, Help card, and a handout on Bonus Points.
On the classroom wall, a gold Point Chart was posted to record the weekly points of each student
and a blue reminder of the possible rewards for points earned.
The students developed their own award system for earning 100 and 400 point levels.
When a student reaches a weekly score of 100 points, he or she can choose either a Little Debbie's
cupcake or a soda. When a student reaches 400 points in the six-week intervention period, the
student can have an ice cream sundae or root beer float. The teacher also can give Bonus gifts such as
a 150 piece puzzle.
CWPT began being used daily in the resource classroom as of mid February. Progress
monitoring of the students' spelling scores and points are being recorded in the CWPT-LMS
software's Progress Monitoring component daily and on AIMS web on Mondays and Thursdays
of every week.
On Mondays, students were given the pre-test on the weekly spelling words from their
regular Language Arts classroom. After the pre-test, results were shown to the students.
Instruction was then given by the teacher. The whole words were said, and then broken down by letters.
The teacher then prompted students to say the words. Then, the students spelled the words
to the rhythm of the teacher's claps. The students were then given at least three minutes to study the
words independently. Students then moved to their pair groups. The timer was set for ten minutes
and the first session of tutoring began. The teacher monitored the group's progress and assisted

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in the point process. At the buzzer, the roles changed and time began for the next ten minutes. Tutoring
sessions were held on Monday through Thursday, four days of the week. Post test was
given on Thursday after the last tutoring session. The weekly word lists are available in
During the six-week intervention, the process was completed with fidelity with three notable
exceptions. First, during the week of February 11th, the seventh grade group was unable to meet
on the Wednesday and Thursday for tutoring sessions. The second exception is that no Class Wide
Peer Tutoring took place during the week of March 10th as state wide testing was given and the
resource teacher was providing testing accommodations. Finally, during the week of March 31st,
the resource teacher was out of school due to illness.
In order to establish a classroom using the Class Wide Peer Tutoring software, four students
were needed. However, the seventh grade group only consisted of two students. Therefore, two
fictitious students were placed on the class roster, but no scores or points were entered for them. They
are listed as absent as to not skew the class averages.
Results:
Once the intervention was used with fidelity and consistency, the students showed progress
in spelling the eight words correctly. She went from 0 % accuracy on her pretest to approximately
16 % accuracy rate after three weeks of faithful utilization of class wide peer tutoring. Additionally, she
was scoring an average of 95.8% accuracy on her post-test. AIMS web probes also showed
progress by the student. Once the intervention was started, the student began at 0 words out of 17
spelled correctly.
After three weeks into the intervention, the student was averaging 3.6 words spelled correctly
out of 17 total words. See the graph below. Student K was moving towards her target
goal of 10 out of 17 words spelled correctly on the seventh grade curriculum based probes. Her

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correct letters in sequence mean went from 65.7 to 80.4, on track to meet her goal of 120.
In the regular classroom, the student began to see improvements in her weekly spelling test
grades. She was surpassing her goal of spelling 7 out of the 8 weekly words correctly. Copies of
the student's work are part of the Appendix.

The class appeared to respond well to the Class Wide Peer Tutoring intervention. The mean
on the class' pretest scores was 4 out of the 8 words spelled correctly or 50 % accuracy. At the
midpoint of the intervention period, students post test scores had increased to 8 out of the
8 words spelled correctly or 100 % accuracy.
However, Student K still struggled on the section that had the student use the words'
meaning to accurately complete sentences. So, at the midpoint of the time frame for the intervention,
the use of assistive technology was added as an intervention. Devices were considered. However,
Student K is an English speaking student with the ability to communicate well. Therefore, higher
technology was determined as best for her needs. After the tutoring sessions, she went onto the
classroom computer and typed the words and their definitions using the Microsoft Word program.
For additional practice or if her partner was absent, she was able to use the spellingcity.com

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website. She also had the options of creating her own sentences with the words and acronyms to
remember the meanings of the words.

Between the third and sixth weeks, Student K continued to improve in pretest and post test
scores using the seventh grade spelling words from the regular classroom. Class Wide Peer Tutoring
sessions took place for twenty minutes daily with an average of three days per week. her pretest
score went from 0 % accuracy to 25% accuracy. Her post-test scores were at 100 % accuracy. On
the AIMS web probes, the mean had increased to 106. 2 correct letters in sequence and 8 words
spelled correctly. A copy of a scored probe was included in the Appendix section.
In the regular classroom, Student K scored 62%, 56.25%, 81.25%, 50%, and 50 % on the
weekly spelling test. Her regular classroom's mean on weekly spelling test increased to 60 %. She
increased 19 % since the implementation of Class Wide Peer Tutoring.
Students earned points daily during the tutoring sessions. The total regular points earned by
the entire class were 2510. The classs daily average was 71.7 points. Total bonus points earned by
the class were 213. The daily bonus point average of the class was 6 points. The students daily
average of regular points was 83. Her bonus point average was 6 points. Student K scored above
the class mean in regular points and at the mean for bonus points.

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Summary

Class Wide Peer Tutoring is a research based instructional intervention that can be used
n regular and special education environments in any of academic content areas. The intervention
was identified as a possible tool for the resource classroom environment to address deficits in
spelling displayed by a specific seventh grader. The other seventh grade resource student was
included to determine the effectiveness of the intervention with other disability types.
The intervention time frame was projected as six weeks. The findings show that the
intervention was successful. The class has responded well and improved test scores. In the resource
classroom environment, Student K has gone from 0% to 25 % accuracy on her pre-tests. Also, she is
achieving 100% accuracy on the post-tests. With the AIMS web probes, Student K was near her goal
line with the shown an increase of 19% in her accuracy on weekly spelling test. Therefore, the student
has shown progress in meeting her goals with the targeted academic skill.
Implications for the Student, Class, and Teaching:
Recommendations for this seventh grade resource class include the continuation of the
intervention beyond the six weeks. Data collection should continue to measure growth and promote
accuracy. Reflection may be needed to adjust goals and rewards to meet the needs of the students.
Goals may need increasing as students are not having any difficulty in surpassing them. Rewards
need to be tailored to objects the students hold as having most value. Also, the intervention needs
to be shared with colleagues to have consistency among teaching techniques. Other students may
benefit from Class Wide Peer Tutoring. Finally, Class Wide Peer Tutoring should be utilized with
more academic subject areas beyond spelling such as math fact fluency.

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Furthermore, Student K continues to be at risk of failure of the seventh grade. Observations,

probes, and charts need to be shared with the committee. The discussions need to address the
environmental factors to decrease distractions, monitoring attendance and behavior to give input
to the parent and doctor with regards to medication, additional interventions, and to determine
if the student warrants a change in her services to a more restrictive environment.

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References:

Burks, M. (2004). Effects of class wide peer tutoring on the number of words spelled
correctly by students with LD. Intervention in School & Clinic, 39(5), 301-384.

Cheung, C. C., & Winter, S. (1999). Class wide peer tutoring with or without reinforcement:
Effects on academic responding, content coverage, achievement, intrinsic interest and
reported project experiences. Educational Psychology, 19(2), 191-205. Retrieved from
http://ezproxy.ace.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/208801908?
accountid=31683

DuPaul, G., Ervin, R., & Hook, C. (1998). Peer tutoring for children with attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder: Effects on classroom behavior and academic performance.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 31, 579592.

Greenwood, C. R. (2001). Class Wide Peer Tutoring Learning Management System. Remedial &
Special Education, 22(1), 34

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Greenwood, C. R., & Delquadri J. (1995). Class wide peer tutoring and the prevention of
school failure. Preventing School Failure, 39(4), 2125.

Madrid, L. D., Canas, M., & Ortega-Medina, M. (2007). Effects of team competition
versus team cooperation in Class Wide Peer Tutoring. Journal of Educational
Research, 100(3), 155160.

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Appendix 1: Wall Poster

CLASS WIDE PEER TUTORING

GRADE SEVEN

GOALS
100 Points per week = cupcake/ soft drink

400 points six weeks = sundae/ root beer floats

Possible BONUS prizes too!

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Appendix 2: Spelling Lists

Week 1
Segregate

Week 2
Distinct

Week 3
Rural

Supreme

Graze

Sanctuary Jeopardy

Triumph

Hectic

Splendor

Flammable Stifle

Emerge

Vacate

Horde

Squalor

Moor

Posture

Minute

Verdict

Humid

Terrain

Hover

Diligent

Sheathe

Violate

Incredible

Aloft

Plummet

Evolve

Function

Abundant

Inhabit

Attain

Inflate

Innate

Motion

arid

peninsula

buffet

pollute

shroud

inhibit

Appendix 3: Student Work Sample

Week 4
Elude

Week 5
Inscribe

Week 6
Hatch

Eclipse

Fiber

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