Paper Info
Title
Paradoxical effects of feedback in international online reciprocal peer tutoring.
Abstract
This paper reports an online reciprocal peer tutoring project for improving language competence in Spanish and English. Students aged 9-12 years from Scotland and Catalonia were matched to act as tutors in their own language and as tutees in a modern foreign language. Students were intended to improve both their first language (through helping the tutee) and a modern language (with their tutor's help). The methodology combined a quasi-experimental design and a qualitative analysis of texts. For Catalan students, pre-post test results indicated statistically significant improvements in reading comprehension (while acting as tutors) and writing (while acting as tutees). Scottish students improved only their writing (acting as tutees). Analysis of the texts showed that when more support was given, the tutor had more learning opportunities, but then there were fewer opportunities for the tutee, and vice versa. Thus the tutee learned more with less elaborated feedback, leading to fewer opportunities for tutor improvement. This paradox could be resolved by adjusting the scaffolding support given by tutors, to create a balanced interactive learning context for both members of the pair.
Year
DOI
Venue
2013
10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.002
Computers & Education
Keywords
DocType
Volume
modern language,balanced interactive learning context,paradoxical effect,modern foreign language,qualitative analysis,international online reciprocal,language competence,scaffolding support,learning opportunity,tutor improvement,own language,fewer opportunity,writing,foreign language,english,peer tutoring,primary,support,spanish,feedback,reciprocal,information and communication technology
Journal
61
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
0360-1315
4
0.41
References 
Authors
2
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
K. J. Topping140.75
R. Dehkinet240.41
S. Blanch3101.07
M. Corcelles440.41
D. Duran540.41