Peer-assisted study sessions (PASS) are an international, widely adopted, supplementary instruction programme that has shown to have multiple academic benefits for students. However, PASS attendance rates across the world are typically very low, and the reasons for this are unclear. (1) To test the predictability of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) on PASS attendance and subsequently students' academic performance; (2) To assess the role of students' motivation within the TPB; e.g. can motivation close the intention-behaviour gap and (3) To test whether a large-scale intervention based on the TPB can improve PASS attendance and subsequently improve students' academic performance. TPB measures, academic motivation, PASS attendance, and final unit grade were assessed three times pre-intervention across two Australian universities (N = 965) and modelled using latent variable analysis. The intervention consisted of a series of 'PASS Facts' delivered to students (total N = 2087) via multiple media. The findings showed that the TPB predicted PASS attendance and performance. Academic motivation predicted performance, but it did not close the intention-behaviour gap nor moderate the PASS attendanceperformance relationship. Furthermore, in all three implementations, the interventions did not increase the theoretical constructs. The TPB is useful for predicting PASS attendance and can be extended to predict students' performance. Future research should investigate factors other than academic motivation to attempt to close the intention-behaviour gap. Future research may also develop a more active intervention, wherein students can practice a skill (i.e. time management) instead of passively receiving messages.
Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) is a student let program designed to support students transitioning into university and tackling traditionally difficult first year core subjects. The model is collaborative with student leaders facilitating activities and discussions driven by student need. Consistently research has found that students can benefit, in terms of increased grades, from attending PASS, however findings for online delivery modes are mixed. These studies have generally only compared face to face (F2F) with online modes of PASS-like programs for one subject. No study has compared different subjects from varying disciplines to investigate if the benefits of PASS online are the same for all students. PASS at UOW conducted a pilot study of synchronous online sessions, tested across three different first year university subjects. A total of 1.471 students enrolled into these subjects, with 409 attending some form of PASS. Result revealed PASS students gained significantly higher average final marks compared to students who did not attend any type of PASS, regardless off subject. However, results for PASS varied depending upon mode of delivery engaged in (F2F or online) and also with subject. Although not all differences were statistically significant, trends suggest a student/subject interaction that may vary the amount of benefit gained from PASS online formats. Possible drivers for these results are discussed as well as consideration given to cohort effects and student skills for online learning modes.
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