Assessment of Academic Performance and Attitudes among Student Tutors Engaged in Remedial Physical Chemistry Education at the Faculty of Pharmacy

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of tutoring on the knowledge acquisition and awareness of student tutors involved in a physical chemistry course for first-year pharmacy students. We enlisted 15 student tutors (7 males, 8 females) from 2nd and 3rd-year cohorts. Supplementary courses, led by student tutors, were conducted for students identified based on their quiz scores in regular classes. Student tutors’ learning outcomes were evaluated through three test scores and questionnaire responses. Student tutors’ achievements were evaluated based on three test scores and results of the questionnaire. The scoring rate in the tests showed an improvement in the midterm (82%) and the post-test (78%) compared to the pre-test (63%). Furthermore, the results of the questionnaire indicated that 62% of the student tutors strongly believed they understood the content they were involved in, and 76% of the student tutors were aware of the improvement in their students’ understanding and attitude toward the content. These results indicate that tutoring by senior students not only positively influences the tutors themselves but also holds the potential to improve the understanding and learning attitudes of the junior students tutored by their senior peers.