Abstract:

Objective To investigate the effects of peer tutoring on students’ performance in the course of Midwifery Technology in a higher vocational college. Methods One hundred year 2 midwifery students in a higher vocational college were chosen by convenience sampling. Fifty students were assigned to the experimental group,and another 50 students were assigned to the control group. Peer tutoring method was used in the experimental group. Students were divided into small cooperative teams according to their advantages. The top ten students were appointed as team leaders. Before class,the teacher gave them learning materials and assigned the learning tasks to them. The team leaders guided discussion among the students and students helped each other to complete the learning tasks. In class,students presented their learning results and teachers gave their feedback,comments and summary. After class,the team leaders pushed the members to complete their homework. Students in the control group were taught by conventional teaching method. Teachers provided learning resources and tasks before class and students completed them independently. In class,teachers taught theoretical knowledge and demonstrated the skills. Students practiced in groups after the demonstration. After class,the students did their homework by themselves and the teacher corrected it. The learning effects were evaluated through examination and questionnaire survey. Results The theoretical examination scores and skill scores of students in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group（P<0.05）. Meanwhile,students’ scores of interpersonal communication,organizational coordination,team cooperation,self-regulated learning and learning efficiency in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group（P<0.05）. Conclusion Peer tutoring method effectively promotes the teaching quality of the Midwifery Technology course for students in the higher vocational colleges.

Key words: Midwifery, Peer Group, Peer tutoring