Abstract
BackgroundBeing a successful peer-led team learning (PLTL) workshop leader involves developing content knowledge and workshop facilitation skills. These skills connected to being a peer leader, however, do not terminate at the end of one’s undergraduate program. In fact, many former peer leaders denote having been a peer leader on their LinkedIn profile. This study examines the transferable skills that former peer leaders identified as being valuable in their current positions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with former peer leaders from varying disciplines, universities, ages, and years since being a peer leader.ResultsInterview questions captured leadership experiences including successes and challenges of being peer leaders, roles and responsibilities, and specific transferable skills further developed by being peer leaders and how they are being utilized in the leaders’ current position.ConclusionThematic analyses of these interviews indicate that former peer leaders recognize leadership skills, coping with many challenges (including not having the right answer), collaboration/teamwork skills, self-confidence, and problem-solving skills as being relevant and frequently used in their current work.
Highlights
Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is a well-established evidence-based pedagogy (Gosser Jr, Kampmeier, & Varma-Nelson, 2010; Tien, Roth, & Kampmeier, 2002; Gosser, Kampmeier, Roth, Strozak, & Varma-Nelson, 2001) that has been shown to enhance student learning and retention across Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) disciplines while simultaneously benefitting undergraduate peer leaders that lead the workshops (Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016)
The one exception that we have found to this trend is that of Gafney and Varma-Nelson (2007) who looked at long-term effects of peer-led team learning (PLTL) on peer leaders in STEM disciplines via a quantitative survey instrument
Though previous research indicates a focus on content knowledge gains of peer leaders (Gafney and VarmaNelson, 2008; Varma-Nelson, Cracolice, & Gosser, 2004), students did not mention it much in relation to their current work
Summary
Peer-led team learning (PLTL) is a well-established evidence-based pedagogy (Gosser Jr, Kampmeier, & Varma-Nelson, 2010; Tien, Roth, & Kampmeier, 2002; Gosser, Kampmeier, Roth, Strozak, & Varma-Nelson, 2001) that has been shown to enhance student learning and retention across STEM disciplines while simultaneously benefitting undergraduate peer leaders that lead the workshops (Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016). Being a successful peer-led team learning (PLTL) workshop leader involves developing content knowledge and workshop facilitation skills. These skills connected to being a peer leader, do not terminate at the end of one’s undergraduate program. This study examines the transferable skills that former peer leaders identified as being valuable in their current positions. We conducted semi-structured interviews with former peer leaders from varying disciplines, universities, ages, and years since being a peer leader
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