The Peer Learning Association

Jean Heitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Program Description

The Peer Learning Association (PLA) is a registered student organization and works with interested faculty in development of peer learning programs tailored to the needs of the students in their courses.

Program Purpose

Program Goals

To improve student learning by providing a mechanism for interested faculty to offer peer learning programs tailored to the needs of the students in their courses.

Program Activities

With the permission of the course faculty, PLA establishes and runs free small group study sessions led by Peer Facilitators. The sessions are open on a voluntary basis to any students in the course. In weekly peer sessions, peer members/students have the opportunity to test their understanding of course material by presenting key topics to classmates in an informal setting. Topic lists are assigned weekly and students can easily prepare for them as part of their normal studying. PLA members are selected based on their prior success in the course. A PLA member will attend all lectures and meet once a week with the professor. At the meeting they identify the most important concepts covered that week. That PLA member will develop an outline of these key concepts for the Peer Facilitators in that specific course. They will meet as a group each week to discuss general pedagogical methods and to go over the specific biological concepts and the plan for the following week's peer sessions. PLA peer facilitators focus on the "learning by teaching" method. Using this model, each peer member/student in the peer learning group takes a turn teaching the other peer members one of the key concepts/topics/problems. The Peer Facilitator chooses members randomly for presentations. During the presentations the other peer group members ask the presenter questions designed to make the "teachers" test their knowledge, rethink their paradigms, and ultimately improve their academic abilities. As a result, the peer group members begin to understand the types of questions they should be asking themselves as they study and prepare for future sessions and for success in the course. During these weekly peer learning group sessions, PLA peer facilitators are discouraged from taking an active role in leading the sessions or in answering questions. Instead, the peer facilitators encourage the group members to take the lead, to ask questions that support critical thinking and to answer them. The rationale behind this is that for effective learning these roles should be invested in the peer group members/students themselves. The peer facilitators are expected to take notes on the good questions that are asked as well as any important concepts that the presenters may have missed. At intervals, the peer facilitator will ask each person who has already presented, summary questions that ensure that they are learning from any mistakes made in their presentation. The consistent feedback and the focus on metacognition help the peer members/students improve their critical thinking skills, their understanding, their study habits and ultimately their results on exams and in the course as a whole.

The Peer Learning Association was started by students and is primarily maintained by students with the assistance of 2 faculty/staff advisors. We have developed a handbook (62 pages) that describes the organization and much more. The handbook can be provided to any interested individuals.

Notes and Tips

Perhaps the most important dos and don'ts have to do with the interactions among the student leaders and the advisors. In our case, the advisors remain advisors and the students have blossomed as a result.

Evidence of Success

Future Work

References and Accessory Materials

https://uwmadison.box.com/PeerLearningHandbookSp15