ClassWide Peer Tutoring Learning Management System

Abstract

For the past 18 years, we have engaged in a program of research designed to improve the literacy of poor culturally and linguistically diverse students and English language learners (ELL) in urban elementary schools. Intervention research has addressed the issue of what works best, how it can be applied and sustained schoolwide, and how computer and information management technology can improve quality and reduce teachers' work loads. The net product of this research is the ClassWide Peer Tutoring Learning Management System (CWPT-LMS). In this article, we report on use of the CWPT-LMS in the literacy instruction of elementary-level ELL. Five ELL teachers and 117 students in a multiracial/multiethnic urban elementary school, including students with disabilities, participated in the study. Results indicated that ELL made considerable progress in mastering the curriculum over periods ranging from 15 to 21 weeks of school across teachers, teachers implemented CWPT to high standards of fidelity, students' and teachers' satisfaction with the CWPT program was high, and consultation improved program implementation and student outcomes of all but one classroom. Implications of these findings are discussed.