Adapting Peer Tutoring for Learners Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a classwide peer tutoring (CWPT) model successfully implemented with children who are deaf. Classwide peer tutoring is relatively easy to implement and is both teacher- and student-friendly. A large and growing body of professional literature documents the effectiveness of systematic peer tutoring models. Systematically implemented peer tutoring systems increase academic engagement and, in most cases, increase students' acquisition, maintenance, and generalization of skills across a variety of academic content areas. The innovative use of CWPT in classrooms for students who are deaf is based on adaptations made during the dissertation research of the first author. Specifically, adaptations will be described for the process of tutor training, the creation of tutoring materials, and the implementation and monitoring of a program for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Suggestions for how these adaptations can be implemented with other special needs populations are presented.