Written by Calista Leistekow
Lutheran school educators need an effective instructional strategy to meet the needs of every student, including those with special needs. When the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” and the “No Child Left Behind Act” were enacted in the early 2000s, the inclusion of students with disabilities in the classroom became a requirement and not an exception. This requirement has its rewards. However, the lack of funds, teacher training, and manpower cause many challenges. In WELS schools these challenges are especially prevalent. Our schools may turn students away because we do not have the resources to help them achieve their best. In short, we are losing evangelism opportunities.
Peer mentoring has been proven to help special needs students. Peer mentoring is defined as “people from similar social groupings, who are not professional teachers, helping each other to learn, and learning themselves by teaching” (Tsuei, 2013). Traditionally, peer mentoring was used to help students who struggled in math and reading. In recent years peer mentoring has expanded to aid students who struggle in all subjects. Peer mentoring has also helped exceptional students learn important social behaviors and benefited educators and the classroom learning environment (Miller, 2005).
Peer mentoring has proven successful in teaching various social skills to students with disabilities. Character education programs teach skills like responsibility, self-control, cooperation, teamwork, respect, and communication. Students can then use these skills with others. In a study of one character education program called “Service-Learning Opportunities (SO) Prepared for Citizenship,” data was collected after completion of the program from 19 students with disabilities (which included serious emotional disturbance, learning disabilities, speech and language impairments, and attention deficit disorder). Researchers found that the students effectively cooperated with students of different ages, solved problems, and expressed personal responsibility when confronted with test answers. The researchers pointed out that students’ enjoyment in the program was the main motivator for character education programs (Muscott, O’Brien, 1996).
In a meta-analytic review of 26 single-case research experiments, researchers found that peer mentoring is an effective teaching method to improve academic achievement regardless of the amount of peer mentoring, grade level, or disability. The 26 research experiments tested a total of 938 students in grades 1-12. Researchers noted that vocabulary yielded the largest effect, followed by math, then reading with a large to moderate effect, spelling, and social studies the smallest effect. Of the 26 single-case research experiments, most of them reported on students with special needs. This meta-analytic review contained data that supported the use of peer mentoring in all grade levels, levels of ability, and most—if not all—subjects.
When implemented correctly, peer mentoring does more than help one student achieve; it benefits the educator and the classroom as a whole. Teacher benefits of peer mentoring include increased opportunity for individualized instruction, increased facilitation of inclusion/mainstreaming, opportunity to monitor student performance individually, and opportunities to reduce inappropriate behaviors (Miller, 2005). Peer mentoring helps create a positive and inclusive classroom environment by providing better teacher-student ratios, increasing student engagement (15%-35% with teacher only to 46%-75% with peer mentor), providing more opportunities for students to respond socially and academically, providing the opportunity for immediate feedback and error correction, increasing opportunities for collaboration, and improving the level of assistance and support for all students (Miller, 2005). Peer mentoring benefits more than the student with disabilities, it spreads to benefit teachers and the classroom environment.
Thus far, peer mentoring has shown to be a benefit to students with disabilities, “normal” students, educators, and classroom learning. However, if a peer mentoring program is implemented incorrectly, complications can emerge. Disadvantages to peer mentoring, especially with students who have emotional and behavioral disabilities, are an “increase in verbal/physical aggression in response to behavior reporting and decrease in positive social interactions due to mistrust of fear that reporting inappropriate behaviors will result in retaliation from the student being observed” (Miller, 2005). These problems arise when an environment of love and caring for others is not fostered. WELS schools can apply Christ’s love as a motivator to help students treat each other fairly.
Educators face many challenges in the classroom, and these challenges become more complicated when students with special needs are involved. With the assistance of peer mentoring, teachers can help exceptional children achieve academically and socially. Not only will special needs students feel included and thrive in the classroom, but peer mentoring eases the job of the teacher and benefits the classroom environment by teaching students teamwork, collaboration, and love for all of God’s children.
Calista Leistekow (MLC ’13) is currently supporting her husband as he serves as a vicar in Michigan. Calista is also studying for her master’s in education with a special education emphasis.
References
Bowman-Perrott, L., Davis, H., Vannest, K., Williams, L., Greenwood, C., & Parker, R. (2013). Academic Benefits of Peer Tutoring: A Meta-Analytic Review of Single-Case Research. School Psychology Review, 42(1), 39.
Miller, M. A. (2005). Using Peer Tutoring in the Classroom: Applications for Students with Emotional/Behavioral Disorders. Beyond Behavior, 15(1), 25-30.
Muscott, H. S., & O’Brien, S. T. (1999, August). Teaching Character Education to Students with Behavioral and Learning Disabilities through Mentoring Relationships. Education and Treatment of Children, 22(3), 373-390.
Tsuei, M. (2013). Mathematics Synchronous Peer Tutoring System for Students with Learning Disabilities. Educational Technology & Society, 17(1), 115-217.
Great insights, Calista! We for one need some answers on how to work with difficult classroom dynamics. I have a question. Some of my own children had been tagged to do some peer mentoring in the past, and they didn’t want to do it because of the time stress it puts on them. How do you alleviate the stress of the peer mentor?
This is an excellent question! Understanding that each peer mentoring situation should be taken on a case by case basis, I will try to answer your question to the best of my ability. I would say that much of the responsibility for time management in the classroom is the teacher’s. Much of my research stated how important tutor training is to the success of a peer mentoring program. During training, the teacher should make observations and take notes on what each of his/her students can handle and plan accordingly. Perhaps, some students can give more one-on-one tutoring than others. This is where pairing students who are compatible is important.
Calista, appreciate you offering a practical solution to a situation that needs attention in our WELS schools. It is practical because we can identify leaders in our classes and train them to serve others, and it can be done in a cost effective manner. Finally, this can be done with other students who have needs–international students, dorm students, or those just needing a Christian friend at a critical time in their life.
God bless your continued studies!