Literacy news
Pupils can help each other to read and do maths
14 Sep 2011
Research led by Professor Peter Tymms, head of Durham University's School of Education has shown that children as young as seven can help teach each other to read and do maths.
The two-year study of 7,000 pupils in 129 primary schools in Scotland suggests pupils benefit from tutoring each other in regular, short sessions.
These involve two pupils of different academic ability and sometimes different ages.
Professor Tymms said:
If you get one child to try to teach another child they learn by doing that teaching.
Some seven-year-olds can ready pretty well and some cannot but they understand the mechanics of it and the older children understand the mistakes that are made.
Gillian Hepburn, a teacher at Burntisland Primary School in Fife, which took part in the study, said her pupils enjoyed reading more and did so more frequently at home as a result.
See the BBC article for further information
