Small Groups, Significant Impact: A Review of Peer-Led Team Learning Research with Implications for STEM Education Researchers and Faculty

Wilson, Sarah Beth; Varma-Nelson, Pratibha

doi:10.1021/acs.jchemed.5b00862

Cited by 122 publications

(139 citation statements)

References 80 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

137

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…PLTL relies on peer leaders, students who succeeded in a target course, returning to that target course to lead small groups of students in a session called a workshop. Designers of PLTL describe six critical components of the pedagogical approach: (a) workshops are integral to the course, (b) instructors are involved in selecting materials and training and supervising peer leaders, (c) peer leaders are trained and supervised, (d) workshop materials are appropriately challenging and related to course content, (e) workshops are 2 hr per week with students working in groups of six to eight, and (f) institutional support for the adoption (Wilson & Varma‐Nelson, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence‐based instructional practices in chemistry through meta‐analysis

Rahman

Lewis

2019

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Investigating the effectiveness of instructional practices provides an evidence base to inform instructional decisions. Synthesizing research studies on instructional effectiveness provides an estimate of the generalizability of effectiveness across settings, along with an exploration of factors that may moderate the impact, which cannot be achieved within individual studies. This study sought to provide a synthesis of evidence‐based instructional practices (EBIPs) particular to chemistry through meta‐analysis. Ninety‐nine studies were analyzed comprising a broader view of chemistry specific studies than past meta‐analyses. The results showed that EBIPs feature a demonstrably positive impact on students' academic performance in chemistry, although assessment topic coverage and setting size emerged as relevant moderators of impact and prevented making definitive conclusions of the relative impact of each EBIP. In examining publication bias, an asymmetric distribution of studies based on standard error (SE) and effect size was found, indicative of potential publication bias. To explore the potential impact of bias, the trim and fill method was employed resulting in a range for the overall weighted effect size from 0.29 to 0.62. The study concludes that evidence‐based instructional practices have demonstrated effectiveness even in consideration of potential publication bias, as the range of effect sizes remains positive, but highlights the continued need to publish null findings in the research literature.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence‐based instructional practices in chemistry through meta‐analysis

Rahman

Lewis

2019

J Res Sci Teach

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similarly, our study aims to measure potential benefits of Peer-Led Team Learning among students who view their peer leader as relatable, and, separately, as a role model. Peer leaders have been assumed to be role models in previous research (Johnson, Robbins, & Loui, 2015;Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016), and it reasonable to expect additional academic benefits for students who perceive their peer leaders as role models. In addition, we will explore how student-peer leader relationships may be associated with students' level of achievement and perceived learning gains in the context of a high-enrollment introductory biology course.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Student Attritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, as students learn more they will feel more satisfied with the course, tend to enroll in more courses in the discipline, and persist to graduation (Zerger, Clark-Unite, & Smith, 2006). PLTL has already been shown to improve student attitudes towards the subject under study, as well as increase exam scores, quiz grades, and final course averages (Eberlein et al, 2008;Finn & Campisi, 2015;Gosser et al, 1996;Peteroy-Kelly, 2009;Snyder, Carter, & Wiles, 2015;Snyder, Sloane, Dunk, & Wiles, 2016;Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016). We therefore also expected that the interactions between peer leader and student during PLTL sessions may influence students' self-assessed learning gains and final course grade in our course.…”

Section: Factors Influencing Student Attritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous literature has suggested that peer leaders serve as more than just facilitators during PLTL sessions, asserting that they may also serve as role models to the students in the PLTL group (Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016). The eligibility criteria for service as a peer leader include having earned a high grade in the given course as well as receiving group leadership training with a learning specialist, and these criteria are communicated to the students they will lead.…”

Section: Peer Leaders As Role Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The SALG instrument was chosen as a research tool for this study because it is completely modifiable to instructor needs, can be used as a baseline assessment or summative assessment, and can gauge self-assessed student learning gains in categories such as class impact on attitude, increase in skills, and integration of learning (Scholl & Olsen, 2014). Although self-report measures have raised concerns due to possible measurement errors, the SALG has been the prevailing choice of PLTL research on student's perceived learning gains (Wilson & Varma-Nelson, 2016).…”

Section: Study Population and Conceptual Assumptionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Peer-led team learning for introductory biology: relationships between peer-leader relatability, perceived role model status, and the potential influences of these variables on student learning gains

Winterton

Dunk

Wiles

2020

Discip Interdscip Sci Educ Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Student-instructor interactions have an influence on student achievement and perceptions of learning. In college and university settings, large introductory STEM courses are increasingly including Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL), an evidence-based technique associated with improved student achievement, recruitment, and retention in STEM fields, especially for underserved populations. Within this technique, peer leaders hold a unique position in a student's education. Peer leaders have relevant experience in that they have had recent success in the courses in which they facilitate student learning, yet, compared to student-faculty or student-teaching assistant relationships, there is minimal imbalance of authority or power. Students might find their peer leaders to be more relatable than faculty or graduate teaching assistants, and may even consider them to be role models. We explored students' perceptions of peer leader relatability and role model status in relation to students' achievement and their perceived learning gains in the context of an introductory biology course with an associated PLTL program. The final course grades and self-assessed learning gains of PLTL students who felt they related to their peer leader were compared to those who did not. We also compared final course grades and self-assessed learning gains between PLTL students who viewed their peer leader as a role model versus those who did not. Self-reported learning gains were significantly higher for students who relate to their peer leader, as well as for students who viewed their peer leaders as a role model. There is some support that this trend is stronger for STEM majors versus those who are not enrolled in a STEM program, though the interaction is not significant. Significant differences in overall course grade were only observed between students who reported that they related to their peer leader versus those who did not relate to their peer leader.

show abstract

Predicting undergraduate career goal change in a research‐intensive community

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Providing infrastructure to support student‐led research teams at research‐extensive universities has been an effective way of dramatically increasing the number of research opportunities available to all undergraduates. While cocurricular, team‐based programs are able to scale‐up and sustain undergraduate research, their ability to promote participation in the STEM research workforce has not been firmly established. The present work has therefore aimed to characterize the types of undergraduates who get involved in these programs and the team structures that predict their decision to pursue a research‐oriented career. Surveys were used to collect data on undergraduates' vocational identity beliefs, team leader qualities, and the time spent doing research with a faculty‐mentor and other team members. Cluster analysis of survey data (n = 407) revealed that those with relatively high levels of career exploration formed a majority of participants in this community. Logistic modeling predicted that these undergraduates are more likely than others to pursue research careers after a semester of team‐based research. Cross‐discipline interactions between team members and team leaders also predicted career goal change. For Hispanic students, participating in student‐led, faculty‐mentored research teams had mixed effects. When spending 4 h/week or more working with others team members, Hispanic team members were found to be more likely than non‐Hispanic students to pursue a research career. Hispanic students, however, were less likely to report career goal changes when working with faculty mentors who were mainly non‐Hispanic. Implications for designing undergraduate research programs to amplify and diversify the STEM workforce are also discussed.

show abstract

Small Groups, Significant Impact: A Review of Peer-Led Team Learning Research with Implications for STEM Education Researchers and Faculty

Cited by 122 publications

References 80 publications

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence‐based instructional practices in chemistry through meta‐analysis

Evaluating the evidence base for evidence‐based instructional practices in chemistry through meta‐analysis

Peer-led team learning for introductory biology: relationships between peer-leader relatability, perceived role model status, and the potential influences of these variables on student learning gains

Predicting undergraduate career goal change in a research‐intensive community

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About