To close the gap between reading research and the reality of instruction, the authors developed a reading comprehension approach for elementary school, aiming at explicit instruction and practice of reading comprehension strategies. Their approach encompasses two complementary cornerstones: explicit instruction in reading strategies and creating…

This prospective mixed methods longitudinal study examined the connection between mentor-mentee relationship quality and school adjustment amongst students participating in the Chapel Buddy programme, a developmental mentoring programme. Thirty-one sixth graders were paired with 29 kindergarteners for the duration of the school year. Sixth-grade…

This qualitative study describes the experience of a cross-age tutoring intervention for three PreKindergarten/Kindergarten-aged students with autism and their fourth grade general education tutors. Data were collected in an inclusive environment; the school library. Three fourth grade general education cross-age tutors were trained to use a…

The positive effect of early intervention upon the reading abilities of struggling students has been well documented by research. Unfortunately, the current economic situation has eliminated the positions of many interventionists serving in school districts across the country. Cross-age tutoring has been implemented in many places as a replacement…

This article reports on a major action research program that experimented with the use of cross-age peer teaching in schools to assist teachers to manage conflict issues in their classrooms, and to re-engage disaffected students in learning. The research, which was conducted in a range of elementary and secondary schools in Australia, was part of…

Mentoring in classrooms allows teachers the opportunity to be motivational tools in the lives of students while operating as role models. The current research shows that mentoring in the art classroom provides stimulation and the momentum to students who are less motivated with creative assignments. The first part of this study looks at the…

Many school districts are seeing a need to introduce technology education to students at the elementary level. Pennsylvania's Penn Manor School District is one of them. Pennsylvania has updated science and technology standards for grades 3-8, and after several conversations the author had with elementary principals and the assistant superintendent…

The Ethiopian government has called for educational improvement, emphasizing the employment of active, student-centered pedagogy. One way of maximizing an interactive learning approach involves blending a cross-age reading buddies program with high-quality, culturally relevant children's literature. Employing descriptive, mixed-method research,…

Background: Large-scale randomised controlled trials (RCT) are relatively rare in education. The present study was an attempt to scale up previous small peer tutoring projects, while investing only modestly in continuing professional development for teachers. Purpose: A two-year RCT of peer tutoring in mathematics was undertaken in one local…

Background: Paired reading (PR) is an application of peer tutoring. It has been extensively researched, and its efficacy across a range of outcomes has been established. Benefits include improvements in key reading skills, and also in affective aspects of learning. Several studies have shown gains in self-esteem, although measurement methods have…

Stonier, a second grade inclusion teacher, wanted to instill a love of writing in all 25 of the children in his class while offering a challenging curriculum for everyone. He made the children's writing meaningful by setting up a writing exchange with high school students. The project, beginning with the second-graders offering critiques of the…

A mixed methodological approach was used to examine the effect of a cross-age tutoring writing program among second- and fourth-grade students in a rural elementary school in Delaware. Pre-test and post-test writing prompts were administered and evaluated using the 6+1 traits writing assessment rubric. Students were assessed qualitatively through…

Background: Large-scale randomised controlled trials are relatively rare in education. The present study approximates to, but is not exactly, a randomised controlled trial. It was an attempt to scale up previous small peer tutoring projects, while investing only modestly in continuing professional development for teachers. Purpose: A two-year…

Cross-age peer mentoring programs, in which teenagers mentor younger children, have proliferated in recent years, yet there is disagreement about the effectiveness of such programs. This study tested whether teen mentors' attitudes about children interact with their mentees' characteristics to moderate outcomes of cross-age peer mentoring. The…

The present study explores the impact of an experimental reading intervention focusing on explicit reading strategy instruction and cross-age peer tutoring on third and sixth graders' reading strategy awareness, cognitive and metacognitive reading strategy use, and reading comprehension achievement. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design was…