Peer Assisted Learning for 1 st Year Students BA (Hons) in International Business and Languages Odette Gabaudan and Maria-José Gonzalez s: School of Languages Scoil na dTeangacha

PAL in DIT School of Languages “Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I’ll understand, involve me and I’ll remember” Chinese proverb  Cross year support b/w 1 st year and 2 nd year students of the BA (Hons) International Business & Languages programme  Co-operative learning under guidance of 2 nd year mentors

1 st YEAR STUDENTS…

AIMS of PAL  Facilitate transition from secondary school to third level  Engage with academic work  Acquire set of study skills  Help student integration  Enhance academic performance  Improve retention

LONG TERM AIMS  Embed initiative in IBL programme  Expand to new programmes in SoL  Expand to Erasmus students for their integration into DIT

SCOPE OF PAL SESSIONS  Course/College in general  Subject-related - consolidation of class work - trouble-shooting  Study skills

PROCESS STAGE 1 – semester 1  Induction for 2nd year volunteer students as mentors  Before review week, get together session b/w 1st and 2nd year students. Ice breaker and pairing up of students  Review week: initial meeting b/w mentor and peer  Feedback questionnaire to all students involved STAGE 2 – semester 2  January: get together between 1 st and 2 nd years to re-launch initiative and attract more 1 st years. Icebreaker & raffle  Focus group with 2 nd years : Experience so far How to engage 1 st year students  Identification of 2 nd years’ strengths → discipline based mentoring sessions for 1 st years  Practical information session

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION  Facebook, Webcourses, Webex, text, on student.dit.ie flyer (wordle.com)  PAL presentations made to 1 st year class groups  Mentors addressed 1 st years in class to explain benefits of PAL

STATISTICS & SURVEY RESULTS

SURVEY RESULTS Topics covered during PAL sessions General college information Course work Webex Library Assignments Course Structure Modules Projects Presentations

IBL MENTORS’ PERSPECTIVE  Help 1st years  Meet new people  Develop personal and professional skills  CV  DIT Certificate  (…) Revise course content

REFLEXIONS  Lack of engagement in 1 st year students  High levels of enthusiasm in 2 nd years  Unexpected challenges 1 st years’ poor engagement Learning curve (e.g. Facebook, “training” of mentors) Requirement for sustained effort

ACTION PLAN  Engaging 1 st years into PAL Compulsory v/ optional Embedded in induction – early start is key Involve programme team Include PAL section in student handbook Timetable: identify free suitable slot Involve Student Union  Identify mentors before June 2010  Seek formal training of trainers

CONCLUSION  Institutional support (Teaching Fellowship)  Expansion of PAL / PASS in Ireland (GMIT, AIT but also UL, DKIT, WIT etc)  Develop PAL / PASS in DIT The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be ignited - Plutarch