Creation, Conflict, and Survival: Life Lessons from a TRIO Program

“Creation, Conflict, and Survival” is a history story from several equity programs at the University of Minnesota that you might find useful. The co-authors are Bruce and Sharyn Schelske who directed a set of equity programs for over four decades that served historically-underrepresented and disadvantaged students. The story begins with the history of the Integrated Learning Course they created. The IL Course helped their students learn and practice learning strategies applied to a paired content course such as American History. In many ways, it operated as a mandatory SI-PASS-PAL program. But much more. Part two of the article is an extensive set of generic lessons from leading the IL course that could be used with any education program, not just the ones they led. My favorite is “Build your ark before the rain starts.” These life lessons are priceless.

You can download the article at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/241236 The original article that provides more description of the IL course and research studies that supported its effectiveness is available at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/200360

Best wishes to the start of another academic term.

Updated Peer Bibliography Directory and Individual Topics

From UnSplash

Today I uploaded the revised and expanded directory of peer study group programs. It expanded by over 100 entries in the past year. In addition, the topical bibliographies were updated and new categories were added for online programs, social media use, the technology employed during study sessions, and mention of facilitators or participants engaging in reflection during study sessions or outside of sessions by the facilitators as part of their personal and professional development. Among the options for downloading is one to download the EndNote data file of the entire database upon which all these bibliographies are based. All of this work is covered by a nonprofit copyright notice. You are encouraged to use these documents to support your program and be a resource for writing your own publications about peer learning programs. Simply go to the main menu tab for “resources” and then select “peer bibliography” from the drop-down menu.

Benson, J., & Lilly, M. (2017). Peer-Assisted Learning Program: Guide for team leaders. University of Minnesota. https://z.umn.edu/PALleaderguide

The Guide for Team Leaders is designed to inspire personal exploration of leadership within PAL, SI, and related academic support programs. Depending on the program, there may already be an existing structure in place where an experienced facilitator/leader mentors their own team of peers functioning in a similar role. These team leaders can create opportunities for members to interact, share knowledge, and promote the professional growth of their peers.

This guide was originally designed to support the growth of such team leaders within the Peer-Assisted Learning (PAL) Program at the University of Minnesota. However, as this work progressed, it became clear that the ideas were applicable to a variety of team leadership roles. This hands-on guide delves into such topics as meta-cognition, team member identity and participation, meeting/discussion topics and activities, and much more. Interactive activities encourage readers to reflect on these topics, while providing ample space for them to record their insights. It complements the Guide for Peer Learning Facilitators and utilizes activities in Tried and Tweaked, both of which are works developed by the University of Minnesota’s PAL Program.

2018 Revised Annotated Bibliography of Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Programs

I am happy to announce that the 2018 Revised Annoated Bibliography of Postsecondary Peer Cooperative Learning Programs is now available to download. Click on this link for a PDF or Word version of it.

There are now nearly 1,500 entries spanning 488 pages. I noticed recent listserv conversations about locating research studies to support Supplemental Instruction programs or similar approaches operating at the college level. The directory grew significantly in the past two years. The directory includes the Emerging Scholars Program (Dr. Uri Treisman model), Peer-Led Team Learning, Supplemental Instruction, and Video-based Supplemental Instruction, Structured Learning Assistance, Accelerated Learning Groups, and Peer Assisted Learning.

You can download the directory as a PDF or Word document. I also included some sub-topics of the directory such as facilitator development, vocational influence, identity development and more. I also provide the EndNote library file to allow you to more easily search the database for the topic you want.  Be sure also to download the keyword search guide to discover all the ways to search the contents for the information you want. Other bibliographic database systems may be able to open the EndNote file but I am not an expert with that process.

No doubt I missed some citations related to these seven major peer learning programs. Please send me the citation and perhaps a copy of the publication and I will be happy to include in an update. Thanks for consideration.

Updated 2017 Guide to iPad Apps for Academic and Personal Use

I updated by 2017 Guide to iPad Apps for Academic and personal Use.  Click on the following link to download the PDF document. <click on this link>.  I added a collection of apps for listening to podcasts on iOS devices. Whle the Apple Podcast app is my preference, there are others that provide different ways to sort through the 250,000+ podcasts available through the iOS ecosystem. 

Speech and language therapy students' experience of Peer Assisted Learning: Undergraduates investigate PAL as a means of enhancing academic and professional development

Guyon, A., Butterfint, Z., Lacy, A., Sanosi, A., Sheridan, K., & Unwin, J. (2015). Speech and language therapy students' experience of Peer Assisted Learning: Undergraduates investigate PAL as a means of enhancing academic and professional development. Journal of Learning. Retrieved from https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/55820/1/PAL_Project_FINAL.pdf

The implementation of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) on healthcare courses in Higher Education Institutions has been explored in a number of studies. This paper presents research into the experience of PAL on a BSc Speech & Language Therapy (SLT) programme. The research was conducted by final year undergraduate SLTstudents to form the basis for their final dissertations. The focus for their research was on the effects of PAL on academic and professional development for both mentees and mentors on the same course. Data were generated from standard PAL evaluations and focus roups. Findings indicate that mentees benefit from PAL in terms of their university experience and learning. Mentors benefited from opportunities to develop and practice skills for their future employment. Engagement with PAL is attributed toits structured yet informal nature and the enthusiasm of the mentors. However, the collaborative nature of PAL take  time to develop, impacting on the behaviours of both mentees and mentors. Overall PAL offers mentees and mentors opportunities which enhance their academic learning and professional development.

To download the complete annotated bibliography of more than 1,100 citations of postsecondary peer cooperative learning programs, click on the following link, http://z.umn.edu/peerbib

Developing student mentor self-regulation skills through formative feedback: Rubric development phase

Hammill, J., Best, G., & Anderson, J. (2015). Developing student mentor self-regulation skills through formative feedback: Rubric development phase. Journal of Peer Learning, 8(1), 48-58. Retrieved from http://ro.uow.edu.au/ajpl/vol8/iss1/6/

Research into Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) in Higher Education has largely focused on the positive effects of PASS on student motivation, retention and engagement. Less attention has been given to the cognitive, affective and professional development of the PASS Student Mentors through their engagement with students and academic staff. At Victoria University learning and development for Student Mentors begins at training and continues during the semester, supported by several methods of formative feedback: weekly reflective posts through an online platform, weekly development workshops, observations, progress interviews, and evaluations. Despite ongoing training and development throughout the semester, PASS supervisors have observed that some Student Mentors do not have a clear understanding of the role expectations. This paper describes the processes undertaken to develop a rubric that clarifies PASS facilitation objectives for Student Mentors and their PASS supervisors.

To download the complete annotated bibliography of more than 1,100 citations of postsecondary peer cooperative learning programs, click on the following link, http://z.umn.edu/peerbib