Peer and Cross-Age Tutoring. ERIC Digest, Number 79.

One-to-one tutoring programs, such as peer and cross-age tutoring, can result in emotional and learning benefits for the tutor and the tutee. Peer tutoring involves two students of the same age. In cross-age tutoring, the tutor is older than the tutee. The Willamette High School Peer Tutoring Program in Eugene, Oregon; the Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program in San Antonio, Texas; and the Companion Reading Program (Salt Lake City, Utah) are examples of peer and cross-age tutoring programs. Advantages of these programs are that tutors are better than adults in relating to their tutees on a cognitive, emotional, and social level. Also, cross-age tutoring offers the tutor the higher status of being older but still being close in age. Tutors can benefit from cross-age and peer tutoring because it allows them to review material and to improve thinking and communication skills. For a program to succeed, tutors should be trained and should understand the material tutees will be learning. Problems in cross-age tutoring can include tutees' resisting the program and conflicts with scheduling. (Contains nine references.) (JPT)