The role of student leaders in supplemental instruction

Abstract

Senior university students who tutor more junior students accumulate a wealth of experience and expertise. These insights are indispensable in evaluating peer tutoring programmes. This case study reports the responses of seven final-year law students to an open-ended questionnaire, providing narrative feedback on the experiences, insights and challenges of working as leaders in the Supplemental Instruction (SI) programme in the Bachelor of Laws degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. Qualitative analysis of their comments supported both Role Model and Gestalt theories of peer tutoring. The leaders reported increased understanding of, and interest in, teaching and learning and reflected thoughtfully on the processes, successes and shortcomings of the programme, making valuable suggestions for its improvement. SI leaders also reported personal growth in confidence and self-fulfilment.


South African Journal of Higher Education Vol.16(3) 2002: 225-231