Report on Semester 1, 2012 PASS Trial and Proposal for 2013

Prepared by Chris Ma’auga, PASS Coordinator. Assistance from Caitriona Cameron and Alison Lister is gratefully acknowledged.

PASS Programme Objectives 

Increase student success in first year courses

Improve retention

Improve outcomes for Maori, Pasifika and international students

Background:

A substantial body of research shows Supplemental Instruction has a positive effect on learning, including:◦higher pass rates◦higher individual grades◦ lower withdrawal rates◦higher graduation rates

Therefore, PASS can address retention challenges at Lincoln University.

Semester 1, 2012PASS was offered to support 3

courses:◦ACCT 103◦BIOS 109◦LASC 101

124 sessions were run108 students participated

FundingFunding was provided from:

◦AVC Sheelagh Matear◦Te Manutaki◦Library, Teaching & Learning◦Commerce Faculty

Outcomes:1. Does PASS attendance improve grades?

Legend: No = did not attend PASS, Mid = attended 1-4 sessions, Hi = attended 5+ sessions

Note: y-axis shown from 50

LASCBIOSACCTHiMidNoHiMidNoHiMidNo

85

80

75

70

65

60

55

50

Mark

Final Marks by PASS Attendance

2. Has PASS assisted student learning?Questionnaire responses indicated

aspects students liked most were:

◦Going through the lecture material with other people and hearing how they interpret it;

◦It’s easier to ask questions than in lectures, able to go more in depth;

◦Being able to work together and alongside my peers.

 

Most respondents agreed or strongly agreed that PASS had:

◦ helped them to understand course content;

◦ increased their motivation to complete the course;

◦ helped them to develop their learning skills;

◦ helped them to form friendships.

Research perspective:

Van der Meer and Scott (2009) strongly suppport the use of a broader perspective when evaluating the PASS programme. In their view, it is important that students “perceive the development of study skills [in the PASS programme] to be helpful and effective”, and that students should feel PASS helps them to “make connections with other students” and to “feel more connected to the university” (p. 5). Bearing this advice in mind, we can conclude that PASS has been relatively successful in its first semester.

 ◦ Van der Meer, J., & Scott, C. (2009). Students’ experiences and perceptions of peer assisted study

sessions: Towards ongoing improvement. Australasian Journal of Peer Learning, 2(1), 3-22. Available at: http://ro.uow.edu.au/ajpl/vol2/iss1/2

3. Did PASS attract Maori, Pasifika and international students?Numbers of Maori, Pasifika and

international students were very low in the PASS classes.

Possible reasons (international students) – ◦ Speed of speech or style of presentation did not

suit speakers of English as an alternative language (EAL).

A goal for S2 is to better meet needs of international students.

Further investigation is needed into how PASS can attract more Maori and Pasifika students.

Peer Leaders:

Skills enhanced by the Peer Leader role:

◦ time management◦ organisational skills◦ group facilitation◦ leadership◦ communication skills ◦ creativity ◦ sensitivity to others◦ understanding how people work in groups

(As identified by Peer Leaders in essays.)

Research perspective:Couchman (2009) reports:

◦The leaders “are engaged in facilitating communities of practice in their sessions” and that they are reflective practitioners, “continually monitoring their performance and adjusting it to meet student needs”.

Skalicky and Caney (2010) identify a leadership pathway for peer leaders:◦As the peer leaders gain more expertise

in their role, they are able to move into mentoring roles, supporting new leaders, and to take on administrative roles within the programme.

The regular communication between lecturers and peer leaders focused on student learning further assists leaders themselves to identify as members of a community of practice.

Lecturers:

General comments:◦“I was happy to be involved with the

Pass programme and if the results are anything to go by, feel it made a useful contribution to the course. I certainly found it reassuring to know that there was another layer of backup supporting the course.”

◦“those students that attended PASS sessions found them very helpful.”

◦“I would strongly recommend that PASS be continued and extended into other courses in the future”.

Suggestions for improvement:

◦“I would have liked better communication between me and the PASS leaders, so I was more aware of the issues and opportunities with a view to making any necessary changes.”

Challenges:

Getting enough students turning up to PASS to run an effective group session;

Finding times when both a sufficient number of students and a peer leader are free;

Establishing PASS as something different from a tutorial, and as a valid learning tool.

Conclusion:

A great team effort;A further step towards student-

led learning assistance;Challenges in establishment

phase are consistent with those faced by other institutions;

Potentially important factor in socialising students into their discipline and giving them the skills to succeed at university.

Goals for semester 2:

to run the programme more efficiently,

to have higher attendance, to be more inclusive of EAL

students, andto provide enhanced, ongoing

leader training and reflection.

Proposal for PASS 2013 

Offer PASS in 2 core courses per faculty

Offer 1 session/week initially

(increasing as demand increases)

Aim for at least 10 students per session

Train one more coordinator

Establish a course in reflective practice

to support peer leader development

Funding:

Recommend that faculties provide funding to cover peer leader training and wages.

Recommend that overheads, coordination and administration be covered from central funding.

Appendix 1: Outcomes

 Descriptive Statistics:  ACCT 103: Att N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI  Hi 13 74.85 10.20 2.83 (68.69, 81.01)  Mod 37 66.08 11.12 1.83 (62.37, 69.79)  No 124 65.35 11.14 1.00 (63.37, 67.33)

Legend: Hi = attended 5+ sessions Mod = attended 1-4 sessions No = did not attend PASS

8880726456484032

Hi

Mod

No

ACCmark

ACC

Dotplot of ACCmark

BIOS 109:  Att N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI  Hi 8 80.75 5.82 2.06 (75.88, 85.62)  Mod 19 81.58 10.47 2.40 (76.53, 86.63)  No 54 73.98 14.91 2.03 (69.91, 78.05) 

Note: An outlier who attended one session and received a mark of 20% has been eliminated from this dotplot and calculation.

LASC 101:

  Att N Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI  Hi 11 73.91 9.53 2.87 (67.51, 80.31)  Mod 18 73.56 7.16 1.69 (70.00, 77.12)  No 38 68.97 8.78 1.42 (66.08, 71.86)

Legend: Hi = attended 5+ sessions Mod = attended 1-4 sessions No = did not attend PASS

  

     

84787266605448

Hi

Mod

No

LASCmark

LASC

Dotplot of LASCmark