This mixed methods study was designed to investigate the implementation of an online Supplemental Instruction Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (SI-PASS) student leader training course developed and conducted in a Turkish foundation university setting. Based on a sequential explanatory design approach in which quantitative data preceded qualitative data, the study aimed to evaluate the online student leader training course through quantitative and qualitative data collected from six student leaders taking the course. Results indicated that student leaders were satisfied with support offered by instructors; weekly synchronous meetings; alignment of course content with module aims; presentation of knowledge, skills and concepts; videos prepared; and technical support provided. However, they were dissatisfied with course workload when it came to pace and length of the modules, and number of assignments, quizzes, and forum posts. This study offers insights for the future iterations of the course. Encompassing both synchronous and asynchronous interactivity, student leader training analyzed in this study might serve as an alternative to face-to-face student leader training sessions widely organized in higher education institutions. Through constant evaluation of online student leader training, quality could be ensured, and student leader performances could be enhanced.
Demand for pharmacy student placements is increasing due to implementation of Doctor of Pharmacy programs in Canada. Peer-assisted learning (PAL) placements help meet growing demands while also providing quality learning experiences. In Alberta, most PAL models use a 2:1 student-to-preceptor ratio. Feedback from Alberta preceptors is positive, and PAL is seen as an efficient precepting method. As preceptor perspectives have been explored, our objective was to understand student perspectives of the advantages and challenges of PAL and to report feedback on optimizing PAL. These objectives will reduce gaps in the literature and improve PAL for students and preceptors. Our study involved an anonymous web-based survey with qualitative and quantitative questionnaires. The inclusion criteria involved University of Alberta, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences pharmacy students who completed PAL in the second or fourth year between 2016-2018. Open-ended questions were analyzed through inductive analysis. Descriptive statistics reporting percentage agreement of Likert scale and closed-ended questions were also performed. Overall, 29 of 156 (18.5%) individuals participated. Advantages identified included skill development, gaining therapeutic knowledge, confidence development, increased comfort, and receiving multiple sources of feedback. Challenges identified included peer conflict, PAL coordination, and providing or receiving difficult feedback. Suggestions for optimizing PAL included learning activities focused on conflict resolution and providing or receiving feedback, defining peer roles, and PAL coordination, whereby students are involved in the matching process. Eighty-four percent of respondents would recommend PAL. Overall, students reported positive experiences and would participate in PAL in the future. Students developed skills and confidence essential for practice.
This paper reports on a small qualitative study exploring sociocultural factors and their impact on a student-led, near-peer teaching (NPT) initiative at the early stages of its implementation in a medical school in Hong Kong. Near-peerteaching-whereby students teach their junior peers in the same course-is recognized as an effective pedagogical approach in medical education. However, few studies have explored the pedagogical perceptions of students being taught by their peers. A qualitative study was conducted involving second-year and fifth-year medical students from a single institution in Hong Kong, who participated as peer learners and peer teachers respectively in a student-initiated NPT program spanning five months. Nine peer learners and three peer teachers were interviewed. This study bringsto lightthree majorthemes regarding NPTand howthis teaching approach impacts students' learning, namely (1) students' learning priorities, (2) students' perceived extent of knowledge in their near peers, and (3) individualistic learning approaches. Peer learners' specific learning contexts seem to shape their learning priorities in terms of whether they are exam-oriented or clinical-oriented. Students' perceptions of their near peers' level of expertise is manifested in doubt regarding NPT's pedagogical legitimacy, while their individualistic approaches to learning-amid a competitive educational environment lacking adequate support systems-leads students to perceive NPT as serving a social role beyond its academic purpose. This study highlights the need to consider the specific sociocultural context in which NPT programs are being developed, given its direct impact on NPT's feasibility, efficacy, and sustainability.
Students' academic success and wellbeing are interconnected, yet university courses rarely promote mental health and compassionate practices. To bridge the divide between academic and social-emotional learning, an intervention was designed that required students to engage in compassionate communication with their classmates by posting help-offering messages in Slack. In this mixed methods study, quantitative data were collected from first-year undergraduates (N = 36) in two team-based engineering courses (intervention group n = 24; comparison group n = 12). A pre-and post-intervention survey assessed students' beliefs and experiences concerning compassion-related variables. The qualitative data collected included students' Slack posts (n = 43) and individual interviews with participants from the intervention group (n = 6). Pre-post survey changes showed no significant differences in the comparison group, while significant pre-post changes were found in the intervention group (p < .05). Students reported an increase in social connectedness, a greater valuing of compassionate interactions amidst academic work, and a dramatic reduction in perceived stigma. Students also shared how the intervention strengthened team communication and collaboration during technical decision-making meetings. These findings demonstrate that compassion-based interventions can be embedded within preexisting undergraduate courses, including STEM subjects, to enrich academic learning and wellbeing.
There are guidelines and laws to regulate many of the daily decisions professionals take at work. However, some situations do not have an obvious solution and cannot be solved with the help of an instruction manual. Work-based learning offers an important opportunity for students to engage in a setting of relevance for their future profession and there be exposed to various situations. This learning environment has great potential to aid the development of professional judgment but could also be an obstruction if supervisors and students are not given the right tools and instructions. The authors of this research note are course managers in work-based learning for a healthcare education program in a Swedish higher education institution, and here we seek to address some important considerations when using peer learning to facilitate and support the development of professional judgment during work-based learning.
This paper shares a UK institution's research-informed peer-to-peer model for broadening and embedding a variety of peer learning and support activities into the curriculum and as co/extracurricular opportunities. Qualitative research explored the approaches, practices, and values of peer learning and support through a literature review, followed by mapping practices across the institution and conducting focus groups with students and staff. Thematic analysis of these findings, combined with reflections from the professional experience of the researcher, informed the development of the peer-to-peer model. The importance of institutions strategically leading and evaluating the embedding of peer learning and support within the curriculum across all courses, in addition to providing co/extracurricular opportunities, is discussed. Findings highlighted a wide variety of approaches to peer learning and support and identified five key stages to guide staff practice, including 1) co-design, 2) inclusive recruitment, 3) training and reward, 4) safeguarding and supervision, and 5) evaluation. Values were identified for framing peer-to-peer interactions as empowering, developmental, collaborative, exploratory, accountable, respectful, inclusive, transitional, compassionate, and motivational. Implications of the peer-to-peer model for institutions and practitioners are discussed, including its use for staff development, curriculum design and teaching, quality assurance and impact evaluation, and research. Next steps for further research and wider consultation are shared.
Students working as teaching assistants (TAs) in tertiary education usually do not receive formal recognition for their contributions to the educational process. It has not been whether TAs would appreciate recognition in the form of a qualification or, if so, what that qualification should take. This study aims to answer these questions by interviewing TAs currently working at two universities in the Netherlands in two semi-structured groups. The results show that TAs would welcome the possibility of obtaining a student teaching qualification based on their work, provided that it is not mandatory and that results in a certificate rather than study credits. The associated training should comprise suitable amount of formal training in the form of meetings on (subject) pedagogy, lesson visits, feedback by faculty staff, and some form of assessment. The results warrant experiments on the implementation of a student teaching qualification.
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a peer-assisted academic support program designed to increase the persistence of early college students in challenging introductory courses. While considerable literature exists on the outcomes associated with SI, many of these studies have methodological limitations, including failing to account for self-selection bias and treating attendance as a binary variable. This study uses a paired experimental design in which replicate sections of an introductory chemistry course, taught by the same instructor in the same semester at a small liberal arts college in the United States, were assigned to either traditional tutoring (TT) or SI. Students (n = 138) were also classified as underrepresented or marginalized students (URM) or non-URM. Results indicate that both groups of students were significantly more likely to attend SI than TT sessions. After controlling for attendance, URM students in both years and non-URM students in one year earned significantly greater final exam grades in the SI treatment than in the TT treatment. The paired course experimental design provides strong evidence that these grade differences are driven by the content of the SI sessions and not by the abilities or motivation of the students who attended. This confirms that Supplemental Instruction is effective at improving exam grades, particularly for URM students, in part because it attracts higher attendance.
This study explored the peer tutor and Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader experiences in campus learning centers as seen through the perceived gains in three subcategories: 1) academic performance and learning, 2) non-academic skillsets, and 3) self-confidence and fulfillment. The peer tutors and SI Leaders surveyed in this study had experience in one or both of these roles and came from institutions across the nation and from several international institutions. In this quantitative study, participants completed a researcher-created survey. The major findings showed a significant difference in the peer educators' perceived gains based on their roles, with tutors reporting greater perceived gains. Additionally, the study found that these peer educators perceived the most gains in non-academic skillsets, specifically related to increases in their communication and listening skills as well as skills for future careers. When examining the perceived gains in relation to the role and the length of time in that role, the peer tutor role was found to be significant in all three subcategories, whereas the length of time in that role did not present significant differences. Implications for practice support the need for increased resource allocation, showing that learning centers impact more than the students the peer educators serve.
This study was conducted to examine experiences and attitudes of midwifery student tutors during scheduled class time. Sixty-one students from 2016 to 2019, who passed the gynecology and infertility course, participated in this study as student tutors and tutees. Students' experiences were investigated with a five-point Likert-type rating scale questionnaire including 17 items in six domains. The average score, frequency, and percentage of positive and negative attitude were calculated in each domain. All participants were female with an average age of 26.3 years. Average student experiences were favorable, and their attitudes towards peer teaching were overwhelmingly positive in all domains. Class-time peer tutoring programs where students change their roles as teacher and student may be regarded as an alternative to traditional peer tutoring programs.
This research explores the different types of motivation that inspired students to engage in an online peer-assisted learning (PAL) leader role. An interdisciplinary online PAL pilot programme at a university in the United Kingdom was reviewed to investigate the experience and perceptions of voluntary online PAL leaders. The purpose of the study was to address a paucity in knowledge about the motivations for this role, specifically from an online perspective, and to guide future online PAL leader recruitment.A thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews was used to determine emerging and relevant themes. Three research questions guided the interviews, and findings are presented in response to these questions.Findings indicate that different types of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were key reasons for engaging in the online PAL leader role. The participants expressed an altruistic and empathic approach towards volunteering. Potential personal benefits motivated their participation, including improved study skills, transferable skills, and the possibility of an award. These motivations fell into two significant themes: the awareness of personal gain and the emergence of a desired version of self.Recommendations are made for the recruitment and training of online PAL leaders and the logistics of the scheme to ensure it is well advertised, accessible, endorsed by academic staff, and combines synchronous and asynchronous modes. It is hoped that this research will be valuable given the shift to online study and blended learning in response to and as an outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic and the value placed on interactive virtual spaces to minimise isolation.
This paper discusses the impact of a series of professional development workshops for peer leaders to enhance the student learning experience at an Australian enabling education institution over the period of three years (2019- 2021). It reports the impact of these workshops on peer leaders' professional development and, more importantly, on enhancing the learning experience of students participating in Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). The paper also highlights the effect of this initiative on curricular and teaching practices. The insights for this report are drawn from a wide range of data including student and peer leader surveys, reflections, and teacher commentaries. Via the use of NVivo, qualitative data was coded and organised into themes while quantitative data was used as a reference for the discussion of the identified themes. The findings directly support the recommendation that sufficient and contextualised professional development training be provided to promote peer leaders' impacts on student learning experience and to provide an important source of reference for curricular and teaching practices.
In response to the paucity of clinical placements available in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, alternate options for prelicensure students were necessary in order for them to complete the fieldwork required for graduation. In response, Curtin University replaced a faculty-led fully-simulated placement with a peer-assisted learning model. This incorporated final-year students acting as peer teachers to penultimate-year students, thus creating new learning and teaching placements for the final-year students. To our knowledge, this had never been done on such a scale before. Considering the importance of meeting learner expectations in the tertiary setting, the perceptions of peer learners around the innovation were important but unknown. This study used a prospective qualitative observational design that utilized feedback from peer learners relating to learning using the peer-assisted model. Peer learners provided written reflections that were analysed thematically. During November and December 2020, 171 penultimate-year physiotherapy students participated in one of two three-week placements, and 170 consented to participate in data collection. Qualitative data reflected several enablers and barriers to learning during the experience. These related to the peer teacher attributes, the provision of performance feedback, the learning environment, and the facilitation of clinical reasoning. Peer learners enjoyed the peer-assisted model, found peer teachers able to facilitate learning, and provided useful insights that will shape future placements. The success of the model supports repeating it in the future. This will maintain a bilateral exchange of peer-led clinical learning and teaching with diminished faculty supervisory workload.
The General Education Foundation (GEF) Programme, consisting of two seminar courses, namely "In Dialogue with Humanity " and "In Dialogue with Nature, " has been a common core requirement of The Chinese University of Hong Kong since 2012. Aided by selected classics, students from all faculties engage in dialogues with their teachers and each other to reflect on what it means to have a good life, what an ideal society is, and the nature of intellectual pursuit in the sciences. Reading classics and discussing serious questions in class, however, can be challenging for some students. To help students meet these challenges, Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) were introduced in the pilot stage of GEF in 2010 and, with subsequent refinements, continue to this day. The seminar-style and interdisciplinary nature of GEF makes it an atypical case for PASS. This paper will examine and evaluate how PASS can improve student learning in seminar-style courses like GEF with a mixed-method study from a student perspective. According to evidence from online surveys and focus group interviews, PASS successfully 1) improves students' understanding of the course content at a cognitive level, 2) assists and motivates them to prepare better for seminar discussions, effecting a behavioural change, and 3) facilitates affective learning outcomes in terms of confidence and motivation. Major challenges-including students' misperceptions about PASS, differences in leaders' approaches and organisational difficulties-are identified. Proposed solutions to these challenges will also be discussed.
This qualitative study at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, USA, investigated leader identity emergence of study group facilitators. There is a gap in the professional literature regarding study group programs and identity emergence of the student paraprofessionals who facilitate the study sessions. This study built upon previous studies of identity formation by integrating educational theories that help explain the changes that occurred. Peer study group programs are powerful co-curricular experiences. This study provided answers to why and how identity emergence occurs. The Leader Identity Development Model for peer study group facilitators was developed based on the findings from this study and other experiences with study group leaders over the past three decades by David Arendale to help predict this change and the experiences that supported identity formation. Among those catalysts were written reflections by the study group leaders throughout the academic term on what they learned about themselves and about their conversations with other study leaders and the study group program manager. Implications are provided that explain how peer programs can become a more transformative learning ecosystem. Peer learning programs present an untapped personal and professional development opportunity for student leaders that would be even more powerful if it were intentional rather than serendipitous.
There is a national shortfall of student Allied Health Professional (AHP) clinical placement availability in the United Kingdom. Debate exists regarding ways to improve this situation against the backdrop of National Health Service (NHS) pressures. Historically, clinical educators have adopted a one clinical educator to one student (1:1) model. AHP clinicians perceive various barriers regarding the implementation of peer learning placement models where multiple students (two or more) are assigned to one clinical educator. A means to address the perceived barriers to adopting a peer learning placement model has been gained from unstructured interviews, conference feedback, questionnaires, and a literature review. Assimilation of this information has resulted in the development of a peer learning model named the Hull Evaluation-Appraisal-Student-Integrated (EASI) model. This combines tools developed from other peer learning models with bespoke tools that have been developed to address barriers perceived by clinical educators and students. The Hull EASI model emphasizes a team approach for enhancing students' educational experience rather than it being the sole responsibility of the clinical educator. It was piloted within a physiotherapy musculoskeletal (MSK) outpatient setting. The Hull EASI model will undergo further development and evaluation, including in the inpatient setting and with other AHP professions. It will continue to evolve in response to local demands.
