Effects of Peer Tutoring Program for Underachievers in College : Focused on Academic Performance and Learning Competencies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of peer tutoring program on academic performance and learning competencies for underachievers in college. The risk management system for underachievers had come in to operate and eventually twenty-four students participated in peer subject tutoring program through the second semester in 2017. Total 96 undergraduates were recruited and has volunteered, and three comparison groups were set up for comparisons with results. The whole program for underachievers in C college was systemized in three steps. The first step was a self-evaluating assessment for college students’ competence. The second step was consisted of feedback for results and brief consulting by a learning expert. The final step was a peer tutoring program(20 hours) for one subject which the underachiever asked. A mixed design of 4 (learning groups) X 2 (time) were introduced and repeated measures ANOVA were conducted. The group of underachieving students included ones that never had exceeded the point of 2.9 GPA. To compare the results with academic performance levels, the group of excellent students who had the point of 4.0 GPA on average were included. To compare the results with type of programs, the group of students who participated in learning community were included as comparison groups. The methodology for analysis was to compare the change of both students’ competencies and GPAs between pretest and posttest across learning groups. Results revealed that academic performance and learning competencies of underachiever in tutoring program had significantly enhanced with relative to other comparison groups. The outcome had not observed in excellent student groups as well as underachievers in learning community. This study and result of it suggests one direction to the configuration and operation of extra curricular learning program for underachievers in college. Also, it has indicated that the function of peer tutoring program as an extra curriculum for college students and the sustainability of its effect.