Journeying Through the Birth and Development of the Peer Tutoring Scheme (PTS) @ CUHK

From Dr. Lai: This reflective piece should ideally be read in conjunction with my previous piece of writing published in 2021 titled “Intangible and Interactive Writing Center – Peer Tutoring Scheme @ The Chinese University of Hong Kong”. While the former publication details the implementation of PTS, the current piece shares the (hi)story and exigency of its inception, development and some lessons gained.

It all started by the heart rather than by the mind … addressing the perceived needs …

The academic year of 2012–2013 marked a new milestone for the landscape of higher education in Hong Kong. A territory-wide education reform known as “3-3-4 Scheme” (three years of junior secondary, three years of senior secondary, and four years of university education) was launched to replace the British 3-2-2-3 system (three years of junior secondary school, two years of senior secondary school, two years of matriculation course and three years of university education). Since then, the duration of secondary schooling has been reduced from seven to six years. After completing Secondary 6, students would then be admitted to universities based on the unified examination, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE). These changes brought about uncertainties and anxieties for teachers and students in the transition cohorts. Frankly speaking, most language educators in Hong Kong language centers or units were quite at a loss as we did not know what exactly to expect when we were entrusted by our respective universities to design a new English language curriculum for the new cohorts then. We only knew for sure that the new batch(es) of HKDSE students would have one year less of advanced English language education, and hence, less prepared for tertiary education.

Our hearts go out to these newbies …

Alongside the educational reform in academic structure, all government-funded universities in Hong Kong had to adopt the outcomes-based approach (OBA) for curriculum design. This curriculum design prioritizes the intended learning outcomes (actor- and action-oriented) rather than learning contents (teacher- and teaching topics-oriented). The curriculum is designed so that every unit, course, and program are aligned to clearly articulated learning outcomes. Unlike the traditional model that often centered on input (what is taught), the outcomes-based approach emphasizes output (what students should know or be able to do). This shifted focus from the traditional classroom education on “what is taught” (teacher-centred) to “what can be demonstrated” (learner-centred) arguably calls for a greater accountability on the part of the learner.  As the only comprehensive research university in Hong Kong that upholds bilingualism in both Chinese and English, my colleagues at the English Language Teaching Unit (ELTU) of CUHK immediately thought of the need for non-formal provisions to supporting our learners in their English use. As far as I can recall, the university’s expectation of its graduates to possess a high level of bilingual proficiency in Chinese and English has appeared explicitly in the University’s Strategic Plan since 2005 to date – this mandate in our blood, so to speak. 

Knowing that our 3-3-4 cohorts were offered a year less of advanced English language training, we predicted this could spell trouble for our freshmen then. Unfortunately, we were right. The new cohorts were relatively under-prepared for tertiary education and the range of English language proficiency was wider than expected among them. Something must be done to alleviate their academic pressure. As much as our hearts went out to these students, we were struggling with the need to design a new English language curriculum. The key challenge lay with our uncertainty about what standard to pitch at when designing courses and assessments. That explained why we had to offer two levels of foundation English course, pitching at different levels of proficiency, just to be sure that we could accommodate the varying levels of English language proficiency. 

Turning desires into reality …

After we have completed running a full cycle of offering our 3-year ELTU curriculum in 2015 (we offer courses to all undergraduates across the first three years of their normative study period unless they are exempted), and being well-informed by the rich data obtained through our rigorous quality assurance (QA) mechanism and processes, we were determined to give Peer Tutoring a try. Based on the QA data, it was evident that students needed additional support in their writing and speaking endeavors in particular. Encouraged by a couple of colleagues, I applied for funding to test the water. My two worries were: a) Would there be enough competent peer tutors to support the initiative? b) Would there be peer tutees willing to come forward for help? Worries aside, driven by passion and a prolonged desire to support students in achieving the desired learning outcomes, I ventured out to apply for funding designated for the 2016–2019 triennium with courage, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. In the funding proposal, I made it clear that it would be a learner-centred project to provide additional support to both undergraduate and postgraduate students in need of personalized assistance in their academic literacy, especially in speaking and writing domains. It would also be a platform for internationalization to happen at home due to the diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds of our tutors.

The birth of a positive and supportive platform for CUHK students …

The leap of faith paid off beyond our imagination. We experienced showers of blessings on all fronts. The Peer Tutoring Scheme (PTS) was officially launched in 2016 with a handsome fund for three years. Unbelievable but true – we started off with 21 peer tutors with international profiles from six academic faculties (Arts, Education, Engineering, Law, Science and Social Science) and eight places of origin (Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, Mainland China, Malaysia, Poland, Taiwan, and USA). They had altogether supported 145 tutees in this first round of trial run.  In the second year, we were able to recruit 36 peer tutors from all eight academic faculties (also including Business and Medicine) from 12 places of origin (also including Indonesia, Japan, Korea, and Russia). These tutors supported 162 tutees from across all disciplines in the second year. In the third year, we had 49 peer tutors supporting 220 students. All tutoring sessions received extremely positive evaluation with a mean range score of 5.51 to 5.69 on a 6-point scale, with most turn-up rate well over 95%.

As shared in my 2021 publication, it is perhaps worth reiterating that these peer-tutoring sessions are conducted by a fleet of peer tutors that are not only linguistically strong but also culturally sensitive and open-minded. To make these one-hour sessions supportive and learner-centered, tutees are free to identify suitable peer tutors based on their short video introductions (posted online) showcasing their stellar abilities and passion for the service. Tutees can also choose their preferred style of personalized support, face-to-face, Zoom and online feedback (without direct interaction). 

PTS in its third triennium: successes and challenges …

Due to the success of this initiative, we were granted recurrent funding for the second (2019–2022) and third triennium (2022–2025) on competitive grounds. 

Our first worry about not having enough peer tutors was dispelled with the increasing number of interested students per year. We had at one stage recruited 77 peer tutors in 2022 and had to screen for eligible tutors more stringently. What a luxurious problem! I believe the attraction of this service opportunity lies with the tutors’ experiential growth. Through focus-group interviews and written feedback obtained from post-tutoring surveys, it became clear that the impact on peer tutors has been profound and subtle. These service providers have gained significant personal growth, enhanced confidence and communication skills, and learned to be human. 

Our second worry was not a huge concern in the past as the number of tutees shot up from 527 (first triennium) to 823 (second triennium). However, we seem to be experiencing a slight drop in figure for the current triennium. We are slightly more than halfway through our third triennium and have only supported about 400 tutees to date. We speculate that this might have been impacted by the advent of Generative AI. Let’s hope that this is transitional, and tutees will come to their senses that language learning through human interactions is sublime. In the post tutoring surveys, tutees often compliment on the tutors’ preparedness and clarity of explanation, and the sessions help them improve their writing and/or speaking skills for general, professional and disciplinary purposes. They also feel empowered in their independent learning with useful materials and suggestions provided during the session. 

At this juncture, I can’t help crediting my teaching colleagues for their focused training of these tutors in different areas, especially peer tutoring pedagogy and how to provide feedback on academic writing, which is by far the most sought-after academic skills throughout these years. Equally important is the full support of our project staff who are instrumental in implementing all necessary logistics, from recruitment to scheduling to data collection. I also feel indebted to our external advisors, Professor Terry Zawacki and Professor Susan Lawrence from George Mason University, for their review of PTS and recommendations for improving our practice. We were convinced of the importance of monitoring the feedback strategies of our peer tutors, making sure that PTS is not a proofreading service but a learner-centred and learning-centered platform.

Key factors in determining success… a summing up

Besides the good work my team has put in, I believe the success of PTS also stems from the following facts:

1. Creation of a learner-centered, stress-free collaborative learning community: Tutoring sessions are initiated by peer tutees who specify their needs and requests when making appointments to facilitate the peer tutors’ preparation. They can opt for either mode of delivery: in person, via Zoom, or online feedback. This learner-centered approach allows students to seek personalized language support from the trained peer tutors, speaking to their heart and mind.

2. Purposeful recruitment and training of peer tutors: As one of the key challenges lies in the recruitment of a wide range of suitable peer tutors with different backgrounds to provide the desired service, the project team made good use of the networks of Office of Students Affairs (OSA), Office of Academic Links (OAL), ELTU class teachers, and different Faculty Deans/Associate Deans to identify prospective candidates. Since the first inception of PTS in 2016, ~300 peer tutors from about 20 different countries/regions have been recruited and trained on important topics such as peer-tutoring pedagogy, written feedback strategies, and intercultural communication skills. To ensure quality service, regular monitoring of tutors’ performance by our teachers is built in.

3. Possession of a clear vision and alignment of University goals: Having a clear vision by identifying educational needs is an important point of departure for launching any meaningful initiative. PTS started with a conviction to help our ill-prepared students for academic success. Incidentally, the vision of PTS aligns well with our university’s goals of bilingualism, internationalization-at-home and service-learning as it provides an informal and welcoming platform for meaningful interactions between local and non-local students.  On reflection, we trust that such a beautiful alignment has put us in a better position when funding is considered. 

To close, I would like to underscore that PTS, an “intangible writing center” without walls, can provide an effective learning space to help students master and develop their cognitive skills through social and purposeful interactions. The benefits definitely go beyond linguistic attainment for the tutees to embrace autonomous learning, and for the tutors to grow personally and professionally with enhanced communication skills. We are hopeful that PTS will be regularized in due course.

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