Does Peer-Assisted Learning Improve Student Marks in Accounting?

Michael Dobbie,Sadhbh Joyce

doi:10.5539/ass.v5n10p3

Abstract

For the past several years students in accounting at Macquarie University in Sydney have been offered the chance to participate in a peer-assisted learning program. This paper conducts a statistical analysis of the relationship between participation in peer-assisted learning and student performance, as measured by the final mark achieved in the unit offering peer-assisted learning. The paper presents a methodology for conducting the analysis that represents an advance on that found in the extant literature on this topic. Using this superior methodology, the paper finds that participation in peer-assisted learning has a statistically and numerically significant effect on student marks.

Highlights

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between student performance, as measured by their Standard Numerical Grade (SNG), and their participation in PAL, while controlling for a range of other factors likely to influence SNG
The results suggest that for each one unit increase in GPA, SNG increases by approximately 10.3 marks
If there is some correlation between GPA and PAL, we would expect the Inverse Mills Ratio (IMR) to be a more independent measure of the effect of PAL on SNG, since it has the influence of ability (GPA) factored out

Summary

Objectives

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between student performance, as measured by their Standard Numerical Grade (SNG), and their participation in PAL, while controlling for a range of other factors likely to influence SNG. This is done by estimating the following linear regression model with homoscedastic disturbances: SNGi E0 E1PALi E2GPAi E3CHINAi E4OTHERi ui ui ~ N 0,V2 i 1,!,n (1). In order to separate the influence of ability and PAL on SNG, what is required in this study is some measure of ability prior to participation in PAL.

Results

Discussion

Conclusion