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COLLEGE OF THE
HOLY CROSS Final Report on
the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) Pilot in Organic Chemistry 1, Spring 2002 Peer
Assisted Learning (PAL) is the Holy Cross version of a program modeled
on the Supplemental Instruction method of collaborative, peer-led study
sessions that was created at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).
The focus of PAL is to utilize students who have previously
succeeded in a traditionally difficult course (as defined by high rates
of withdrawals or grades of D or F) to help current students learn
effective study methods and achieve their own success.
National data show that the SI method can raise student grades
and lower the numbers of D, F and W grades as compared with students who
choose not to participate in the voluntary sessions.
This is true for white students as well as for ALANA students. The
goal of the Holy Cross pilot was to see how PAL would affect withdrawal
rates and grades of Holy Cross students.
(Since HC students are generally encouraged to withdraw before
receiving a course grade of D or F, the withdrawal numbers and overall
grades would be most important.)
My hope was that the program would prove successful and indicate
that expansion to Atoms & Molecules could promote higher student
achievement in these two important "gateway" courses.
Like many others at HC, I am particularly concerned about the
number of ALANA students who find first-year chemistry a
"barrier" rather than a "gateway," and wanted to see
how PAL would affect ALANA students' grades. After
being delayed due to a faculty departure in Fall 2000, PAL was launched
in Spring 2002, thanks to the willingness of Prof. Ron Jarret to host
the program in his Organic 1 lecture and lab sections.
We selected four students as peer assistance leaders ("PALs")
and trained them before classes began.
One PAL attended lecture and pre-lab lecture along with the
students during each unit of the course.
The PAL met weekly with me and with Prof. Jarret to plan the
weekly PAL session. The
same one-hour session was offered on Sunday and Tuesday evenings and
student attendance was completely voluntary. The
pilot showed many positive results. It is especially helpful to compare Spring 2002 data with the last two
semesters Prof. Jarret taught the course (1999 and 2001).
These provide a form of control for the PAL data. 1.
Student attendance at PAL sessions was exceptionally high. ·
49
of the 51 students attended at least one session. At 96%, this is more than twice
the highest percentage of attendance recorded in over 40 courses
in 18 years at UMKC. ·
The
average number of sessions attended by a student was 8.5, or about 33%
of the 26 bi-weekly sessions. 2.
The average course grade was higher than in previous terms. ·
Students
who attended 14 or more PAL sessions (i.e., just over once/week on
average) earned higher-than-average course grades (3.08 compared with
the class average of 2.96) (see chart, "Spring 2002 PAL attendance
and course grades"). ·
The
average class grade (2.96) was higher than the averages from Spring 1999
and Spring 2001, when Prof. Jarret adjusted the grades upward, bringing
the averages to 2.80 and 2.96, respectively (see chart, "comparison
of average course grades"). 3. Students
withdrawals from the course declined compared with previous terms
(see chart, "Students withdrawing from course over 3
semesters"). ·
The
only 2 students who never attended PAL both withdrew from the course. ·
In
Spring 1999, 13 students (24.1% of students enrolled) withdrew; in
Spring 2001, 9 students (17.0%) withdrew; in Spring 2002, 7 students
(13.7%) withdrew. ·
There
were no ALANA student withdrawals (see below). 4.
ALANA students did better, overall, in the Spring 2002 than in
prior terms. ·
Only
3 ALANA students enrolled, but all completed the course.
In Spring 1999, 4 of 6 (66.7%) of the ALANA students withdrew; in
Spring 2001, 3 of 9 (33.3%) of the ALANA students withdrew (see chart,
"Students withdrawing from course over 3 semesters"). ·
Although
ALANA enrollments in the course have been small, it is noteworthy that
the average course grade for the ALANA students was 3.13 (higher
than the 2.96 class average). In
Spring 1999 and Spring 2001 the average grade for ALANA students was well
below the class average (see "Comparison of Average Course
Grades"). 5.
Written student evaluations were very positive. ·
The
students took to heart the test preparation and study methods they
learned from the PALs and expressed their gratitude to the PALs for
their time and help. ·
One
student, who had previously withdrawn from Prof. Jarret's course and was
re-taking it with him in Spring 2002, noted that PAL supported her own
more serious approach this term. She
was a regular attender at PAL sessions and wrote that ". . . the
PAL sessions had a lot to do with why I did better this time
around." There
are several suggestions for improvement that I intend to address in
future PAL implementations. First,
the students urged that sessions not begin before 7:00 p.m. (I had set
them at 6:30 p.m.) Second,
we do not require a separate PAL for every testing unit of the course;
having three PAL rotations (instead of five) would allow greater
continuity of work between PAL and students.
Third, the PAL training should be reworked to address some of the
challenges the PALs faced this term, e.g., when to abandon a session
plan, how to place limits on the amount of time you are available
outside of PAL sessions. Fourth,
if PALs take longer rotations they should each be observed twice (or
more times, if necessary) in order to provide feedback on their progress
and maintain a high level of quality.
Lastly, all the PALs reported a great sense of personal
fulfillment from their work in the program, but urged me to warn future
PALs that the time commitment is heavy, in excess of the 9 hours/week
they were paid. I
consider the pilot to have been successful and I will propose that PAL
be offered in Fall 2002 as a pilot in Atoms & Molecules and
continued in Organic Chemistry 1 in Spring 2003. PAL would not have been possible without the financial support of the Deans' Office, the Hewlett-Mellon Presidential Discretionary Fund, and the full cooperation of Prof. Ron Jarret. The pilot's success is due in great measure to the willingness of the Organic 1 students to participate fully in PAL and to the talented and extremely dedicated PALs: Rebecca Arvary, Kristin Hurd, Kristina Lake, and Jude Rieger.
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