The goal of the "Reading PLUS" Peer Tutoring Program is to enlist student tutors at the intermediate level who are weak readers themselves and to pair them with primary students who are also experiencing reading difficulties. The intended outcome is to improve reading skills and self-esteem of both students.
The most common interpretation of peer tutoring suggests that its purpose is to provide remedial assistance to students who need skills practice in a particular academic area by pairing them with students who have already mastered those skills. It was not until quite recently that research began to document that the skills of the student doing the tutoring can also improve significantly, often to a greater extent than those of the student being tutored. It is through this phenomenon of "learning through teaching," combined with one-on-one assistance, that "Reading PLUS" hopes to help both students in the tutoring process.
