Utilizing Proximity for Increasing Student Knowledge Retention: A Near-Peer Tutoring Program Needs Study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the desire and need for peer-to-peer tutoring programs at Division 1 Dell Medical School at the University of Texas. Materials and Methods. Two sets of surveys were created and sent to students at the Dell Medical School, University of Texas, USA. One survey asking about the need or desire to engage with a peer tutor was sent to first-year students, and another one asking about the desire to provide these services to underclassmen as a potential leadership course option was sent to third-year students. Results. For the first-year student survey, 52.9% of respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed of being aware of near-peer tutoring and 70.5% of respondents either agreed or strongly agreed that it would be an option utilized by students. For the third-year student survey, 75% of students either disagreed or felt neutral in being aware of near-peer tutoring as an option to serve underclassmen, whereas 65% of upperclassmen either agreed or strongly agreed that if near-peer tutoring had been offered, they would have chosen this leadership course option in the effort to teach their underclassmen peers. Conclusions. Numerous studies have demonstrated peer-to-peer tutorial options to be of high utility to students in the medical education space. This particular paper obtained results demonstrating students’ desire to engage in peer tutoring voluntarily for their own course success goals and upperclassmen’s desire to participate as near-peer tutors for the benefit of underclassmen.