Peer Assisted Study Sessions Research Articles

Enhancing PASS leaders' employability skills through reflection

Whilst the benefits for students attending Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) have been widely acknowledged, the benefits for its leaders have not been as clearly evaluated. This paper will explore how the more senior students who take on the role of PASS leader can develop employability skills through a programme of activity that formally rewards students for their participation and assists them in articulating their competencies. The paper presents the findings of a project undertaken by a cross-disciplinary team at Ulster University which focused on the benefits for PASS leaders and, more explicitly, on graduate employability skills such as communication, teamwork and leadership. Students were required to reflect on the PASS process and plan for subsequent sessions whilst also engaging in a series of skill-building activities (games and various practical exercises) which focused on those facets of employability that are of direct relevance to the PASS experience. Quantitative and qualitative methods were employed to evaluate the impact of the PASS programme: initial findings suggest that the programme served to enhance students' perceived competence in respect of some employability skills (e.g. spoken communication) but, more generally, served to raise their awareness and highlight their limitations in some areas. This paper suggests that the process of reflection has helped them to better articulate these skills and identify the steps needed to further develop them. As such, this project has provided research evidence to support the effectiveness of the PASS process and a collection of materials to support the further development of its leaders.

Sustainability and innovation: a blended approach to peer mentor leader training

Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is an established part of widening participation and retention activities at the University of Cumbria. In October 2013, the question of sustainability and growth of the scheme was addressed. The small team of PASS supervisors needed to create an effective and innovative way to meet the challenges of growing and maintaining the university’s most successful peer mentoring scheme. To this end a new blended approach to PASS training was trialled in 2014. The training combined a range of face-to-face support, training and debriefs (plus online elements), via a virtual learning environment (VLE) and Facebook. Having been successful in both implementation and outcomes, this new blended approach to delivering training has now been adopted by the PASS supervisor team.  The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the approaches and methods taken at the University of Cumbria in delivering this blended approach to PASS leader training. Initially it addresses the motivation behind the need for change, in an institutional context. It then explores some of the challenges faced during the implementation and delivery of training. Finally, it reflects on the evaluation and acknowledges future developments for leader training.  ÂÂ

Peer assisted study sessions improve academic achievement. Why don’t more institutions make use of them?

Participation in Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) or Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) improves academic achievement. The barriers to its implementation across the entire higher education sector are largely the result of easily-correctable misconceptions and surmountable logistical issues. This article briefly describes these barriers and the methods which can be used to overcome them and highlights the important role that PASS/PAL can have in the higher education sector in the UK.

On the Effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction

Supplemental instruction (SI)—variously known as peer-assisted learning, peer-assisted study sessions, and other names—is a type of academic support intervention popular in higher education. In SI sessions, a senior student facilitates peer learning between undergraduates studying a high-risk course. This article presents a systematic review of the literature between 2001 and 2010 regarding the effectiveness of SI. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to methodological heterogeneity and lack of consistency defining the SI treatment, qualitative synthesis methods were applied. For seven included studies, however, an effect size of SI participation on final grades was calculated, ranging from d = 0.29 to d = 0.60. The findings of the review are consistent with claims validated by the U.S. Department of Education in the 1990s that participation in SI is correlated with higher mean grades, lower failure and withdrawal rates, and higher retention and graduation rates.

Measuring the effects of peer learning on students' academic achievement in first-year business statistics

Peer-assisted study session (PASS) programs have been shown to positively affect students' grades in a majority of studies. This study extends that analysis in two ways: controlling for ability and other factors, with focus on international students, and by presenting results for PASS in business statistics. Ordinary least squares, random effects and quantile regression models have been used to model data from first-year business statistics students. The findings indicate that the impact of PASS has remained highly significant in both years for both local and international students but is more pronounced for international students. We also find that lower-achieving students derive a higher marginal benefit from attending PASS than higher-achieving students using quantile regression. These findings are significant for institutions implementing similar programs as well as institutional efforts to enhance student performance and improve student retention, or specifically to support international students more effectively.

“We Were Told We’re Not Teachers … It Gets Difficult to Draw the Line”: Negotiating Roles in Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

Peer learning models in pre-service teacher education are in the early stages of implementation. In this article, we evaluated a pilot Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) program that supplemented a course for pre-service teachers at one New Zealand university. PASS participants discussed experiences of the program, revealing tensions between what students and facilitators felt should happen in PASS, and how they acted differently. We explained these tensions by considering how social and cognitive congruence operated between students and facilitators. The majority of our peer facilitators were pre-service teachers, suggesting these intersecting roles offered important considerations for reciprocity in near-peer relationships, and joint negotiations of roles and responsibilities. We conclude this article with implications for future training of PASS facilitators, including those training as teachers.

PASSwrite: Recalibrating student academic literacies development

Concern about student retention and success remains paramount in universities both in Australia and overseas, especially in the light of the ongoing massification of higher education, yet current strategies are not necessarily dealing successfully with the changing demographics of student populations. This is particularly so in the realm of developing student academic literacies. This paper argues strongly for a shift in approaches to the development of academic literacies, adopting current trends in peer learning rather than relying on the deficit model of study skills which is frequently employed at Australian universities. We present an overview of the innovative PASSwrite model, utilising the principles of peer-assisted study sessions (PASS) to create a peer-led informal environment in which students can develop their academic writing abilities in a collaborative, discipline-specific context. We posit that such an environment can better address students’ learning needs across a wide spectrum, from understanding the specific discourse of their discipline and receiving timely feedback on their writing, to developing confidence in their ability to navigate successfully a path through the maze of academia. We provide an outline of a PASSwrite session to demonstrate how this can be achieved, along with the anticipated outcomes. As the project is at an early stage at the time of writing, no firm conclusions can be made, but it is envisaged that these will be presented as the project matures. Cover Page Footnote Support for this project has been provided by the Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching. The views in this project do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. This journal article is available in Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice: http://ro.uow.edu.au/jutlp/vol10/iss2/5

Student life - A productive get-together

The University of Manchester is the national centre for peer-assisted study sessions (PASS), which were developed in 2009 to enable extra-curricular learning in an informal environment.

Peer assisted learning and the creation of a “learning community” for first year law students

This paper will explore the impact of peer assisted learning on student transition and the creation of a “learning community” by way of a case study of first year law programmes at the University of Ulster. A review of first year law programmes was undertaken to identify whether student expectations were being met and how the first year experience could be enhanced. Students were clearly having difficulty making the transition to university and coping with the independent nature of a law degree. Findings led to the implementation of a peer support scheme for new first year law students in the form of Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) which were used to encourage students on the undergraduate LLB programmes at Ulster to support each other in their learning. The PASS scheme was evaluated and this paper highlights the value of peer support particularly in relation to the transition process and increasing student confidence in their subject.

Including everyone: A peer learning program that works for under-represented minorities?

Peer learning has long been recognised as an effective way to induct first-year students into the academic skills required to succeed at university. One recognised successful model that has been extensively researched is the Supplemental Instruction (SI) model; it has operated in the US since the mid-1970s. This model is commonly known in Australasia as the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) program. Although there is a considerable amount of research into SI and PASS, very little has been published about the impact of peer learning on different student groups, for example indigenous and other ethnic groups. This article reports on the results from one New Zealand university of the effectiveness of PASS for Māori and Pasifika students. The questions this article seeks to address are whether attendance of the PASS program results in better final marks for these two groups of students, and whether the number of sessions attended has an impact on the final marks.

PASSwrite: Recalibrating student academic literacies development

Concern about student retention and success remains paramount in universities both in Australia and overseas, especially in the light of the ongoing massification of higher education, yet current strategies are not necessarily dealing successfully with the changing demographics of student populations. This is particularly so in the realm of developing student academic literacies. This paper argues strongly for a shift in approaches to the development of academic literacies, adopting current trends in peer learning rather than relying on the deficit model of study skills which is frequently employed at Australian universities. We present an overview of the innovative PASSwrite model, utilising the principles of peer-assisted study sessions (PASS) to create a peer-led informal environment in which students can develop their academic writing abilities in a collaborative, discipline-specific context. We posit that such an environment can better address students’ learning needs across a wide spectrum, from understanding the specific discourse of their discipline and receiving timely feedback on their writing, to developing confidence in their ability to navigate successfully a path through the maze of academia. We provide an outline of a PASSwrite session to demonstrate how this can be achieved, along with the anticipated outcomes. As the project is at an early stage at the time of writing, no firm conclusions can be made, but it is envisaged that these will be presented as the project matures.

Evaluation of a peer mentoring program for a mature cohort of first-year undergraduate paramedic students

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a peer-assisted study session (PASS) program for a large class of Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedic) students. This cohort was made up predominantly of mature aged students who have not undertaken any study for many years. Within a bioscience first-year core subject, student mentees attended PASS sessions on a voluntary basis, with second-year Bachelor of Health Science (Paramedic) students acting as mentors. Mentors were recruited based on their outstanding academic performance in bioscience the previous year and selected based on group and individual interviews. Successful candidates participated in a compulsory 2 days of student mentor training and were supported throughout the program to develop their mentoring skills in both face-to-face workshops and online. Mentee students were allocated to a PASS session with a maximum size of 25 students/group that was facilitated by 2 student mentors. In general, the program was viewed favorably by both mentors and mentees. There was an increase in academic performance and a decrease in the fail rate of the mentee group compared with the cohort of students that did not participate in the PASS program. Importantly, mentees believed that the program improved their study skills and gave them confidence in their approach to studying. This is a significant consideration for the improvement of student transition and retention in a mature aged student cohort.

Evaluating the Impact of Supplemental Instruction on Short- and Long-Term Retention of Course Content

Findings from prior research in various content domains have indicated that Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) attendees earned higher final grades than non-attendees. However, what makes PASS effective remains unknown; for example, PASS could improve short-term retention but hinder long-term maintenance of course content given that some methods that facilitate short-term retention of information hurt long-term retention. Of additional interest was what predicts students' attendance in PASS. We tracked 75 introductory psychology students' short- and long-term retention of course content via unit quizzes and a cumulative final exam, respectively, to determine if PASS attendance improved both types of retention. Results indicated that PASS attendees had significantly higher academic self-efficacy and final grades than non-attendees. Attendees outperformed non-attendees on three of the six quizzes and on the cumulative final exam, supporting both the short- and long-term effectiveness of PASS.

In‐group and role identity influences on the initiation and maintenance of students' voluntary attendance at peer study sessions for statistics

Although class attendance is linked to academic performance, questions remain about what determines students' decisions to attend or miss class. In addition to the constructs of a common decision-making model, the theory of planned behaviour, the present study examined the influence of student role identity and university student (in-group) identification for predicting both the initiation and maintenance of students' attendance at voluntary peer-assisted study sessions in a statistics subject. University students enrolled in a statistics subject were invited to complete a questionnaire at two time points across the academic semester. A total of 79 university students completed questionnaires at the first data collection point, with 46 students completing the questionnaire at the second data collection point. Twice during the semester, students' attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, student role identity, in-group identification, and intention to attend study sessions were assessed via on-line questionnaires. Objective measures of class attendance records for each half-semester (or 'term') were obtained. Across both terms, students' attitudes predicted their attendance intentions, with intentions predicting class attendance. Earlier in the semester, in addition to perceived behavioural control, both student role identity and in-group identification predicted students' attendance intentions, with only role identity influencing intentions later in the semester. These findings highlight the possible chronology that different identity influences have in determining students' initial and maintained attendance at voluntary sessions designed to facilitate their learning.

Peer facilitated learning in Mathematics for Engineering: a case study from an Australian university

The purpose of this case study is to discuss the effectiveness of peer assisted learning as an engagement strategy for first year engineering students. Studies have shown that engagement is critical to student success in higher education and that it requires a multifaceted approach that recognises the diverse needs of contemporary heterogeneous cohorts. By using the case study of a peer facilitator in a Mathematics for Engineers unit at an Australian University we hope to provide some insights into the Peer Assisted Study Session (PASS) model of student engagement and learning support. PASS is the nomenclature commonly used in Australia for Supplemental Instruction; a peer facilitated learning model that has been shown to improve students’ academic performance as well as assisting in their transition to the university environment. The authors are the coordinator of the PASS programme and a student facilitator from an Australian university. Kiyomi Dunphy, the student facilitator, provides insight into her experience of running weekly study sessions for students and this is supplemented with comments from the programme attendees. Rather than focusing on quantitative data, we have taken a qualitative approach, with the intention of explicating the model as it operates in our particular context.

Peer Assisted Study Sessions to Facilitate Transition for International Students

Peer Assisted Study Sessions to Facilitate Transition for International Students

Do Students Benefit From Supplemental Instruction?

Peer assisted study sessions (PASS) are a type of supplemental instruction (SI) that provide students with out-of-class study review sessions with a group of peers. A student, who has successfully completed the subject and acts as a mentor, facilitates the voluntary sessions. Results of the PASS program at the University of Wollongong have been quite positive in that students, on average, who attend more PASS, achieve higher marks. However, a simple comparison does not control for self-selection bias. We control for self-selection in two ways. Firstly, we use Heckman's two-stage correction technique to analyze the 2002 cohort. Secondly, students in the 2003 cohort were randomly allocated into three groups of equal size: - A control group that was allocated to normal tutorials with standard class sizes and ineligible to attend PASS - A group that was eligible to attend PASS and had normal tutorials of standard sizes - A group that was ineligible to attend PASS but allocated to normal tutorials with smaller class sizes. The results of both methods are consistent and indicate the PASS program has a positive impact on the academic performance of students after correcting for selection bias.

Better Learning Through Curricular Design at a Reduced Cost

AbstractAt Queensland University of Technology the teaching of engineering science to first year students has undergone a substantial modification in the past three years. The best aspects of on‐cam‐pus and distance education have been combined to produce a student‐centered program, comprising comprehensive print resources, peer assisted study sessions, tutorials, computer‐based exercises, a design‐and‐build project, and brief context‐setting lectures. The paper describes the development and operation of these components of the program and how the change from formal content‐driven lecturing has brought about a significant improvement in students' performance in the course. Importantly, the changes have also enabled a reduction in the cost of the course.