Peer tutoring is well known for its comparatively outstanding positive educational impact. In the past 16 months, the online voluntary peer tutoring club I started at my school has served over 500 tutoring requests. However, a productive online system requires certain key elements, such as contextualization and organization, that maximize the potential for on-demand peer tutoring. In this article, we’ll discuss these elements and how I’ve implemented them into my own successful online on-demand peer tutoring system.
In any tutoring setting, tutors must know the material in relation to the tutee, including the curricula, level of difficulty, and other factors. This context can range from, for example, a knowledge of the general Common Core curriculum to the specific progress of a certain teacher’s class. However, the more individualized the tutoring experience is, the more limited the number of tutors can be. So, I strove for the optimal compromise between these conflicting objectives. Initially, I considered building a district-wide tutoring system, but I ultimately narrowed the scope to a school-wide level, which ensured tutoring compatibility while still allowing for an adequate number of tutors.
An online tutoring platform must cater to the needs of both the tutors and tutees. From my experience, to maximize tutoring productivity, the most important features are simple navigation, text- and voice-based modalities, and automation. This automation may include tutoring session logging, a ticketing system, transcript generation, automatic pinging, and more (see Fig. 1–3). Most importantly, such a system must be scalable. For example, I used Discord as the tutoring platform, which has no limits on concurrent tutoring requests, members, and other features.
A self-sustainable online tutoring platform needs moderation to ensure quality. First, the scope of the platform needs to be adequately maintained. For example, a school-wide online tutoring service should accept tutors from that school only. Second, officers or moderators need to address suspicious, non-tutoring-related activities. Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, tutors and members should agree to a set of rules designated for their roles.
In an online tutoring setting, we can capitalize on the availability of privacy integrations. From what I’ve seen, many students are hesitant to initially ask for help. Guaranteeing privacy can make the tutee more comfortable reaching out. In my system, subject-specific tutors and admins are normally the only individuals who can see currently active tutoring sessions. If a ticket is marked as closed or inactive, a transcript is logged, and it becomes invisible to everyone except admins.
Often, tutoring platforms have minimum GPA requirements, or other broad metrics for determining tutor eligibility. However, this method has a disadvantage: tutors who excel in a particular subject but need improvement in another may be disqualified from tutoring in the subject they excel in. A more efficient method for selecting tutors could be subject-based. For example, a Spanish tutor applicant could be accepted based solely on their Spanish grades. This creates an environment where the tutors do not “dominate” the tutees, and the notion of a peer tutor is upheld. Tutors can also be tutees for different subjects, and vice versa. This system is more inclusive while still maintaining quality. Of course, standard application materials are still relevant, which might include essays, tutor guideline acknowledgments, contact information, short interviews, etc. Please refer to my club’s tutor application form for more details.
Online on-demand tutoring is usually spontaneous. The tutoring sessions can last anywhere from a minute to an hour and can occur at any time of day. The questions can range from simple inquiries, such as "Any recommendations for extra AP Lang writing exercises?" to complex ones, such as "Can someone explain this diagram of the divergence theorem?" This spontaneity makes tracking volunteer hours infeasible, but other incentives, such as prizes and ‘Tutor of the Month’ awards, can help with recruitment. In my club, even without many extrinsic incentives, it's remarkable to see so many enthusiastic volunteer tutors—ironically, perhaps the best incentive is no incentive at all.
To help as many students as possible, a "representative" officer from each grade level can be assigned to address their general needs and also promote the platform.
The demand for tutoring can also vary over time. Below is a graph of the tutoring requests for my club since the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
Starting relatively small, my peer tutoring system scaled and supported the needs of more than 100 students at my school. By incorporating all the elements discussed above, each tutoring session met the needs of both the tutor and the tutee, hopefully bringing a positive educational impact for years to come. I encourage other communities to do the same.
Advaith, a rising senior at Leigh High School in San Jose, is the founder and president of the peer tutoring club at his school. He is also a tutor at Learntobe.org, where he received the Presidential Volunteer Service Award for his dedication and commitment to providing 1-on-1 online tutoring to kids from underserved communities.
