SUCCESS THROUGH PAL
(PEER ASSISTED
LEARNING)
Rachel Hoover
Director of Academic Skills Development
rshoover@frostburg.edu
301-687-3064
PH 150
PAL OVERVIEW
What?
How?
Simon Sinek: Start With Why
Why?
PAL Staff's & Students' Perspectives
BAC KG RO U N D I N F O R M AT I O N
Need for Academic Support
 Assistance with liberal arts and sciences courses:
•
English literature, geography, history, philosophy, music appreciation,
political science, psychology, sociology
 Assistance with study skills and time management
BAC KG RO U N D I N F O R M AT I O N
Research based approach
 Peer mentoring programs have been linked to increases in retention
and graduation rates (Budge 2006; Mee-lee & Bush 2003)
 Peer mentoring can lead to higher first year GPA and completion of
credits (Campbell & Campbell 2007)
 Peer partnerships have positive effects on both mentors and mentees
(Snowden & Hardy 2012-2013)
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Procedures:
1. Students request help in the PASS Office (PH
150)through filling out an intake form
2. Students complete appointment with a
professional PASS staff member
3. Students are assigned a PAL Leader and leave
with a meeting time/date
PAL OVERVIEW
PAL Leaders connect with students to help them develop skills for college
success. They are dedicated students who have successfully completed liberal
arts courses.
PAL Leaders will:




Introduce students to multiple thinking, learning, and success strategies
Help students identify specific skills they need to improve to reach their goals
Assist students in applying new approaches to course content
Guide students in creating individualized study and success goals and plans based on how they learn
best
 Provide on-going support for students in their efforts to implement their plans and become selfregulated learners
PAL OVERVIEW
Fall 2015 PAL Leaders
Renee Anderson, Interpretive Biology and Natural History
Nate Hutchings, Mass Communication
April Kinyua, Political Science and International Politics
Tanisha Mitchell, Political Science and Law and Society
Joshua Stepney, Grad student in School Counseling
Caitlin Taylor, Political Science
W H Y A R E YO U A PA L L E A D E R ?
We believe that………..
 Students can succeed
 Study skills can be taught
 We can empower others
 They are worth it
 Fellow students need help
H OW D O W E H E L P S T U D E N T S R E AC H
T H E I R A C A D E M I C G OA L S ?
Activity & Discussion
Please rank the top five obstacles that you believe get in the way
of student success?
1. Knowing how to study (50%)
2. Bad at Tests (39%) & Understanding Assignments (39%)
3. Other (33%)
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Self-Regulated Learning: A Combination of Skills and Wills!
(Zimmerman 1990)
 Metacognitive Processes
 Behavioral Strategies
 Motivation
METACOGNITION
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Creating
Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Awareness
of your
thinking
processes
Demonstrating
Diagraming
Discussing
Comparing/Contrasting
Explaining
Describing
Listing
Defining
BEHAVIORAL STATEGIES
Shift your learning GEARS!
Gather (class engagement, course resources, allies)
Elaborate (details, explanations, examples)
Arrange (outline, notecards, charts/tables, idea maps)
Review (read, write, think, say, do)
Self-Assess (evaluate learning process, feedback, plan of action)
MOTIVATION
Growth Mindset (Carol Dweck, 2008)
Encourage students to believe that their academic capabilities can grow
through their efforts
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations
Help students examine inner and outer incentives
Goal Setting
Guide students in setting SMARTER (Specific, Measureable, Achievable,
Relevant, Timely, Extending of Capabilities, Rewarding) goals.
What questions/comments do you have?
REFERENCES
Budge, S. 2006. Peer Mentoring in Post-Secondary Education: Implications for Research and Practice. Journal of College Reading
and Learning 37(1), 73-87.
Campbell, T. A. , & Campbell, D. E. 2007. ‘Outcomes of mentoring at-risk college students: Gender and ethnic matching
effects’. Mentoring and Tutoring 15(2), 135-148.
Dweck, C. 2008. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books.
Jacobi, M. 1991. Mentoring and undergraduate academic success: A literature review. Review of
Educational Research 61, 505-32.
Johnson, W.B. 2002. The intentional mentor: Strategies and guidelines for the practice of mentoring.
Professional Psychology: Research and Practice 33, 88-96.
Mee-Lee, L., & Bush, T. 2003. Student mentoring in higher education: Hong Kong Baptist University. Mentoring and Tutoring
11(3), 263-271.
Newton, F., & Ender, S. 2010. Students Helping Students: A Guide for Peer Educators on College Campuses. San Francisco: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
REFERENCES CONT.
Nilson, L. 2013. Creating Self-Regulated Learners. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
Rodger, S. and P. Tremblay. 2003. The effects of a peer mentoring program on academic success among
first year university students. The Canadian Journal of Higher Education 33, no. 3, 1-18.
Snowden, M. and T. Hardy. 2012-2013. Peer mentorship and positive effects on student mentor and
mentee retention and academic success. Widening Participation and Lifelong Learning 33,
no. 5, 583-597.
Terrion, J. Lennox, R. Philion, and D. Leonard. 2007. An evaluation of a university peer-mentoring
training program. International Journal of Evidence Based Coaching and Mentoring 5 no. 1, 42-57.
Tinto, V. 1998. Colleges as communities: Taking research on student persistence seriously, Review
of Higher Education 21, 167-77.
Zimmerman, B. 1990. Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement: An Overview. Educational Psychology
25(1):,3-17.