Presented by: Stefanie Anderson - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Presented by: Stefanie Anderson,Math Services CoordinatorMichaelRuwe,Learning Services CoordinatorUniversity of North Carolina Wilmington

Study Sessions:

An

innovative approach to

group

tutoringSlide2

Public InstitutionLocated on the shores of southeast North CarolinaStudent Enrollment: 14,500 undergrads and graduate studentsFaculty: 625 full-time, 271 part-time facultyOffers 55 bachelor’s degrees, and 42 master degree programs, 2 doctoral degreesUniversity of North Carolina WilmingtonSlide3

DePaolo

Hall

1003

–

Writing

Center

& Supplemental

Instruction

1056 - Learning

Services

&

Math ServicesSlide4

Four ServicesLearning Services: individual tutoring for most University Studies coursesMath Services: a drop-in Math Lab and select individual appointments

Supplemental

Instruction: a

series of peer-facilitated group review sessions designed to help students succeed

in historically

difficult courses

Writing

Services: individual

appointments and a drop-in Writing Lab for students to receive response to drafts of their papers while they work on improving their writing skills

University Learning Center (ULC)Slide5

During the 2014-2015 academic year: the ULC provided academic support for more than 35% of UNCW’s students60 tutors were CRLA certified

ULC NumbersSlide6

Problem: Fall 2010 – Statistics (STT) 215High demand for statistics tutoringVery few students interested in tutoring statisticsGrowing student body with a stagnant budgetSolution #1: Spring 2011 – Pilot of Supplemental Instruction (SI) for STT 215Low attendance during first 1/3 of the semester

Solution #2: Study Sessions

Mid-semester the

sessions

were opened to

all STT 215 students

Program now supports 3 courses: Physics, Spanish, &

Statistics

The Start of Study SessionsSlide7

Study Sessions are NOTOne-on-one content tutoringPeer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) Structured Learning Assistance (SLA) Supplemental Instruction (SI) Study Session: Defined Slide8

Study Sessions are: Peer-Assisted Group TutoringPeer Student leader who is CRLA certified or in trainingAssisted Guide, counselor, translator, mentor, coach, resourceGroup

Tutoring

Sometimes 2 students, sometimes 20 or more students

“…people from similar social groupings who are not professional teachers helping each other to learn and learning themselves by teaching”

(Topping, 322).

Study Session: Defined Slide9

Ideal Study Session LeaderVeteran tutor who has already achieved Regular certificationGraduate studentTeaching AssistantRecommendation of Faculty Current tutorsAcademic Advisor SearchAcademic Departments

Student Clubs

Advisees

Peer

:

Recruitment of Study Sessions LeadersSlide10

ULC is certified through the College Reading & Learning Association (CRLA)ULC offers Regular, Advanced, Master level CRLA certification All ULC tutors/leaders/mentors are required to achieve Regular certificationAdvanced & Master levels are optionalPeer:

Training Study Sessions LeadersSlide11

Study Session Leader Handbook:Study Session Definition Job DescriptionApproachesChallengesRewardsWeekly & Bi-Monthly Meetings with CoordinatorIndividual weekly meetingsStaff bi-monthly meetings

Peer

:

Training Study Sessions LeadersSlide12

Guide: Position students in a way that their efforts are meaningful. Counselor: Be aware of psychological and motivational components of learning. Translator: Help students interpret instructor’s jargon and prompt

s.

Mentor:

Share knowledge of subject

content & learning strategies

.

Coach

: Encourage, challenge, and support students. Resource: Refer students to the proper resources.

Assisted

:

Roles of the Study Session Leader Slide13

Advantages of Group Tutoring Students learn content info & study strategiesStudents develop collaborative skillsStudents gain an understanding of diverse intellectual approaches, personal backgrounds, and educational viewpointsLeaders develop leadership and organizational skillsCost effective program

“…

learning may be viewed as being first developed in small group settings that are precursors to the…individual processes

” (

Wertch

qtd

. in Jones &

Brader-Araje).Group Tutoring Slide14

For any one course supported by Study Sessions:Number of sessions per week: 2 or 3Duration of sessions: 1, 1.5, or 2 hoursAttendance status: drop-in; attendance not mandatoryMission statement: an opportunity for students to ask questions and learn with peers -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PHY

101

Tues

6:00pm-7:30pm

in

Deloach

213;

Thur 2:30pm-4:00pm in Deloach 212STT 215Mon 6:00pm-7:00pm in Cameron 210; Tues 12:30pm-1:30pm in Cameron 210Thur 5:00pm-6:00pm in Cameron 211

SPN 201

Tues

5:00pm-6:30pm

in

DePaolo

2017;

Thur

4:30pm-6:00pm in

DePaolo

2017

UNCW Study sessions

:

Fall 2015

Practical Overview Slide15

ChallengesFaculty do not always cover the same material Possibility of different books being usedFaculty members cover material at different pacesSolutionsDepends on the number of students in the study sessionIf many – group according to instructorIf 2-3 – work the room as if it is a drop-in lab

Physics & Statistics ChallengesSlide16

ChallengesSPN 201 “Intermediate SPN I = for students who have previous experience with SPN; are designated this class through a placement testFall 2015: 24 sections of SPN 201 offered; 24 students per section = approximately 576 studentsSolutionUnlike PHY 101 & STT 215, SPN 201 students are permitted to receive individual tutoring Spanish ChallengesSlide17

First assessment – Fall 2013: Student Assessment of Study Sessions (PHY 101, ARH 201, SPN 120, & STT 215)Low response rate but valuable information:71% heard about the service from their instructor 83% indicated “To study for a test” as the reason for attending the study session 50% disagreed/strongly disagreed with the statement, “The leader helped me develop study strategies” 58% agreed/strongly agreed with the statement, “I would attend study sessions in the future”

Fall 2013 Assessment numbers Slide18

Fall 2014: Student Evaluation of Study Sessions – a separate assessment for each subjectLow response rate again!What we learned:PHY 101 – 83% felt they were prepared and that the leader made them think critically STT 215 – half did not come prepared, 0 students felt the leader helped them develop study strategies, 75% disagreed that the leader was encouragingSPN 201 – all students felt they were prepared, 88% felt their confidence with the course material improvedFall 2014 AssessmentSlide19

Spring 2015 – Student Evaluation of Study Sessions – a separate assessment for each subjectPartnered with EDL 553 – Evaluation and Assessment in Higher EducationSpring 2015 AssessmentSlide20

Highlights – SPN 201Students chose to attend for test preparationThe Leader designed the study session based on students’ expressed needs and wantsStudents who attended sessions felt more comfortable with the skills addressed during sessionsStudents felt more prepared for tests, quizzes, and assignments

Recommendations

Continue assessment each

semester

More weekly sessions

Marketing

SPN Assessment – Spring 2015Slide21

Highlights - STT 21561% of students heard about the service from the weekly emails Chose to attend for test preparationOnly attending 1-2 sessionsLeader helped them develop study strategies that would benefit them in class“I was able to work in groups with other students in the study sessions” - 73%

Recommendations

Earlier session times

Emphasize group work in Study Session leader training

Marketing

STT Assessment – Spring 2015 Slide22

Highlights – PHY 102Heard about the service from the instructorDisagreed that the leader helped them develop study strategiesAgreed that the leader made them think criticallyStudents would attend in the futureRecommendations

Emphasize incorporating study

strategies during

training

Marketing

PHY Assessment - Spring 2015 Slide23

Creating a Study Session ProgramSHARE

- Discuss as a large group

PAIR

– With a partner, share your ideas from the worksheet

THINK

- Answer the

Questions to Consider before Implementing a Study Session ProgramSlide24

Questions? References Alcorn, M. W. (2001). “Ideological death and grief in the classroom: Mourning as a prerequisite to learning.”

Journal

for the Psychoanalysis of Society and

Culture

.

6(2), 172-180.

Dunlosky

, J. (2013). Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to boost

learning. American Educator. 37(3), 12-21. Fullmer

, P. (2012). Assessment of tutoring laboratories in a learning assistance

center

.

Journal

of

College

Reading

and Learning.

42(2), 67-89.

Jones, G. , &

Brader-Araje

, L. (2002). The impact of constructivism on education:

Language, discourse

, and

meaning

.

American Communication Journal

.

5(3

). Retrieved from

http

://ac-journal.org/journal/vol5/iss3/special/jones.htm

Paulson, E. C. (2012). A discourse mismatch theory of college learning. In K. Agee &

R

.

Hodges (Eds

.),

Handbook

for Training Peer Tutors and Mentors

(pp. 7-10).

Mason

, OH:

Cengage

.

Topping, K.J. (1996). The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher

education

: A

typology

and

review

of the literature.

Higher Education

. 32(3).

321-345

.

Wong

, W. (2006). Essential Study Skills. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton.