The Effectiveness of Peer Coaching as Amendatory Strategy in Enhancing Academically-Challenged Students

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Learning is fun but it can also be a struggle for some students who find it difficult to cope up with varied topics and lessons inside the classroom. There are students who have great ideas but prefer not to share it in class discussions because of low self-esteem. They eventually pass all the subjects at the end of the school year. There are also students who lack self-confidence, timid and below average in class because they are left behind and cannot grasp the lessons no matter how hard they try. This alarming situation must be prevented, and peer coaching must be one of the solutions. Peer coaching can fuel and hopefully ignite the diminishing interest of students who slowly failing and believing that he/she is the weakest link inside the classroom of more than 60 students by personalized coaching. This action research sought to understand how a peer coach may influence students' understandings and abilities to facilitate differentiated lessons for high-ability students. Specifically, it sought to answer the following queries: what are the challenges faced by students in their English class; why do the students fail in English subject and is peer coaching an effective strategy in enhancing academically challenged students.

METHODS

This study utilized the descriptive method of research in determining the effectiveness of peer coaching in enhancing academically challenged students. The identified students having difficulty in English Subject was interviewed the reason why they are performing low in order to design the intervention. The grade in the first and second quarter was analyzed using T-test.

RESULTS

After the peer coaching, the calculated average grade was 72.16% during the first grading and 78.89% during the 2nd grading period. The computed value of the T-test of 6.640 was larger than that of the tabular value of the T-Test of 2.028 therefore; there is a significant difference between the 1st and 2nd grading of the students. It was found out that the lack of reading and practice was the reason why students fail.

DISCUSSIONS

On the challenges faced by students in their English class, the students were poor in grammar as well as in the slang and colloquialism. On the reasons why do the students fail, the students were lazy and don't have reading habit and practice. Since there was a significant difference between the 1st and 2nd grading of the students, it can be concluded that peer coaching can help the students to uplift their academic performance in the English subject.