1. Learning Development
Introduction to the
Peer Assisted Learning Leicester Award
Steve Rooney
Zoe Enstone
Marta Ulanicka
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

2. What is Peer Assisted Learning?
“... a scheme that fosters cross-year support between
students on the same course. PAL encourages students to
support each other and to learn co-operatively under the
guidance of trained students, called PAL Leaders, from the
year above.”
(Bournemouth University, www.peerlearning.ac.uk)
PAL leader views (UWE)
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

3. What is the Award about?
• Use your knowledge and experience to help others to learn;
• Refresh your own knowledge;
• Gain numerous new skills;
• Increase your employability and gain accreditation.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

4. What will completing the Award involve?
• You will work in a team to design and lead a peer assisted
learning (PAL) activity.
• The PAL activity could take the form of:
– face to face sessions
– IT mediated support
– resource development
(or a mixture of the above)
• We will provide you with training and guidance to enable you
to undertake the activity.
• You will submit a proposal and updates to keep in touch with
us.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

5. Assessment of the Award
• Portfolio containing:
– evidence of at least 20 hours of peer assisted learning related
leadership activities (inclusive of
meetings, preparation, publicity etc)
– skills audit completed during initial training
– 1500 – 2000 word reflective assignment or blog
– presentation materials
• Presentation drawing links between skills you have developed
and skills required by graduate employers
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

6. Points to note
• Peer Assisted Learning relates to student-to-student activities;
• You will have to include an element of teamwork within the
Peer Assisted Learning leadership activities which you carry
out;
• Only PAL leadership activities carried out this year can be
counted towards the award.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

7. Timescales
• First training session: Tuesday 6th December
• Second training session: Wednesday 14th December (DWL IT
Room 1)
• Deadline for peer support activity proposals: 21st December
(if you plan to start in January)/3rd Feb (if you plan to start in
February)
• Updates: 27th February, 30th March, 14th May
• Deadline for finishing PAL activity/last update: 8th June
• Presentations: 18th – 20th June
• Deadline for submission of portfolio: 27th June
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

8. What is the Leicester Award?
• Encompasses a range of employability courses and
programmes available to University of Leicester
students;
• Gives you the opportunity to gain a qualification
which encourages reflection and personal
development in a range of ways;
• Appears on your degree transcript;
• More information at www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

9. What’s next?
• Complete the registration form;
• Come to the training sessions;
• Plan your PAL activity and submit
the proposal;
• Run the PAL activity.
We will keep in touch and support
you with the above!
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

10. PAL Leicester Award: what’s involved?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward > Programmes> Peer Assisted Learning
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

11. Training sessions
• 6th December 2011: Facilitation skills
• 14th December 2011: IT skills/independent group work.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

12. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

13. Academic Skills Development – what we do
• Getting organised and
ready for study • Making the most of lectures
• Managing time
• Academic writing
• Effective reading strategies
• Making notes
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

14. Academic Skills Development – methods of
access
one-to-one
consultations
online and paper-based resources
study-skills workshops
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

15. Our website:
www.le.ac.uk/succeedinyourstudies
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

16. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

17. Teaching/instruction versus Facilitation
Teaching Facilitation
Giving information Showing them the right direction
Development of knowledge
Considers learning styles - student
centred
Ways they can approach things - study
skills
Teaching how to access resources
Getting them to think for themselves
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

18. Facilitation – what’s your view?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

19. Facilitation – what’s involved? what works?
Ask what students know first
Breaking things down - 1 concept at a time
Different perspectives
Linking/overview
Problems to solve
Student-led sessions
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc
1

20. Facilitation
Multi-sensory Positive
Questioning
Multi-media Reinforcement
Group Work
Experiential Generic Study
and Group
Learning Skills
Dynamics
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

21. Questions: Open versus closed questions
• Closed questions: emphasise content, can often be answered
with a few words, or with a yes/no;
• Open questions: allow the other person to elaborate on
information of their choice.
Closed Open
Did you understand the main What did you think were the
points of the first lecture on main points of the lecture?
Physiology?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

22. Questions: Socratic questioning
Socrates taught by asking
questions to encourage his pupils
to discover the answer
themselves.
‘Socratic questioning’ relates to
the use of open questions to
break down difficult concepts into
small chunks of information which
can be answered more easily.
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-w-scott/4869953457/
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

23. Questions: Socratic questioning (2)
How do we address this whole problem?
What is the first thing we need to do to understand this?
More information at:
http://www.changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

24. Redirecting questions – how not to give
answers
• Can anybody help X answer that question?
• What was said in the lecture about this?
• Does anybody know the answer to that question?
• What do you think?
• What information would you need to answer that?
• What is the first thing you would need to do? What would you
need to do next?
• Let’s try and work that out together.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

25. Fill them up with facts!
“Now, what I want is, Facts.
Teach these boys and girls
nothing but Facts. Facts alone
are wanted in life. Plant
nothing else, and root out
everything else. You can only
form the minds of reasoning
animals upon Facts: nothing
else will ever be of any service
to them.”
Thomas Gradgrind
in Charles Dickens, Hard Times
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

26. Transmissive teaching
knowledge
student
teacher
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27. Tell me, show me, involve me
“Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me and I'll remember.
Involve me and I'll
understand.”
Confucius
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

28. Using the senses Kinaesthetic
Encourage students learning:
to: learning through
Encourage students to:Discuss and doing/movement
Draw: explain topics to Encourage use of:
pictures/diagrams/flow other
each Experiments,
charts/mind maps Listen to simulations, role-
Use colour lectures/recordingsplay Both taste and smell
Make good use of ‘Explain aloud’ as Real can act as powerful
space in their notes a revision/ artefacts/objects memory triggers.
Visualise comprehension Resources which ?
 Access a variety of checking strategy are interactive
resources such as “You do not reallyand/or involve
written understand problem solving,
texts, screencasts, diagr
something unless such as games,
ams, charts etc. you can explain it quizzes etc.
to
your grandmother.”
(Albert Einstein)
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

29. Techniques to get them talking
Thinking Develop ideas
Time Understand task
Input new but Pair Pair Get talking
related task discussion discussion Check understanding
Group Group Group Group Develop
work work work work ideas
Whole class feedback
Tutor summary
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

30. Other techniques
• Rounds
• Case studies
• Role play
• Changing the rules
• Games
• Quizzes
• Debates
Structured activities can also help manage group dynamics
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

31. Positive reinforcement
Think about how you can:
• create a positive atmosphere;
• encourage participation;
• use praise in a constructive way (‘I
like the way you’ve elaborated on
the points instead of just providing
a list’)
• respond tactfully if you suspect
lack of understanding (‘What else
could you add to this?’ ‘Is there
another way you could look at
this/different approach you could
take?’)
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

32. Awareness of generic study skills
Information
management, readi
Time management
ng strategies, note-
making
Revision and exam
Academic writing
skills
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

33. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

34. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

35. Questions/concerns
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

36. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

37. Contacting us and staying in touch
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
palaward@le.ac.uk
(0116) 2231889
2nd floor,
David Wilson library
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

38. Sections of this training session were based on the UCL transition mentor training
materials (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/student-mentoring) and Glasgow PAL
coordinators’ pack (http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/resources/paltraining.pdf).
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

39. Encourage students to: Encourage students to: Kinaesthetic learning:
Draw: Discuss and explain learning through
pictures/diagrams/flow topics to each other doing/movement
charts/mind maps Listen to Encourage use of:
Use colour lectures/recordings Experiments,
Make good use of ‘Explain aloud’ as a simulations, role-play
space in their notes revision/comprehension Real
Visualise checking strategy artefacts/objects
 Access a variety of “You do not really Resources which are
resources such as written understand something interactive and/or
texts, screencasts, diagra unless you can explain it involve problem
ms etc. to your grandmother.” solving, such as games,
(Albert Einstein) quizzes etc.
Both taste and smell
can act as powerful
memory triggers.
?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc