Psychology students’ experiences of peer tutoring in academic writing European Congress of Psychology, Oslo, July 2009 Kathy Harrington, Savita Bakhshi and Peter O’Neill London Metropolitan University

Background Initiative of Write Now Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) Collaborating institutions: Liverpool Hope University and Aston University; strong links with Psychology at all three universities Aims of Write Now: Enrich students' learning experiences through development of innovative, evidence-based provision focused on writing for assessment Celebrate and promote student writing in the disciplines, enabling students to develop academic and disciplinary identities as empowered, confident writers 5 years funding from Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE):

University Writing Centre opened and Student Writing Mentor Scheme implemented Oct 2006 Open to all students across disciplines, including Psychology Objectives: 1. Offer something innovative in context of UK writing development where peer tutoring in writing is rare 2. Evaluate a model of student-led writing support that could be implemented in other Higher Education institutions Peer tutorials at London Met 3

The focus of the scheme: Non-directive, non-hierarchical collaboration “I’ll be somebody to chat to and to ask questions. Somebody that’s on a par with them and not a lecturer, somebody that’s been through it…” (Hill and Reddy, 2007) Not explicitly on subject content (however, strong link between thinking and writing) Enabling students to gain confidence and competence as writers in their disciplines In first year and a half of operation, over 1300 tutorials conducted; 20% with students of Psychology

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Peer mentoring in Psychology Benefits for learning (Rae & Baillie, 2005) and development of critical thinking skills (Anderson & Soden, 2001) Aids transition to Higher Education (Hill & Reddy, 2007) Social integration and enhanced retention through peer e-mentoring (Hixenbaugh et al., 2005) Improved student achievement when combined with other nontraditional approaches to teaching (e.g., problem-based learning) (Helman & Horswill, 2002) Benefits for: Students Mentors Lecturers 6

We suggest there is a need because: Psychology is a writing-intensive subject (i.e. essays, scientific reports, dissertations, case studies, etc) Writing in an academically literate way according to the expectations of the discipline (including use of APA style) is essential to doing well as a student in Psychology Students may also need help with general writing (i.e. grammar, punctuation, etc), as identified by Psychology lecturers (see Newman, 2007) The collaborative approach provides a low-stakes environment where students can talk about and get feedback on their writing A need for peer mentoring in writing for Psychology students? 7

Study aims Investigate undergraduate and postgraduate Psychology student experiences of participating in peer tutoring in academic writing during the first year and a half of operation Specifically, we aimed to: Assess the degree to which students felt that the peer tutors provided an environment supportive of their own writing development Identify the key factors that shaped the students’ experiences of this new form of writing support 8

9 Online survey developed through focus groups, comprising open-ended and closed questions All students who attended peer tutorials between Oct 2006 and Jan 2008 invited to participate (n=622) 99 students participated (16%) 25% of participants studying Psychology Descriptive statistics, and comparison of Psychology student responses with total sample where appropriate Method

Our sample Gender distribution: Females (81%), Males (19%) Native languages other than English = 71% Studying a variety of subjects, including Psychology (26%) Art and Design (14%) IT, Media and Communications (10%) IR and Politics (7%) Undergraduate (75%), postgraduate (21%) This sample is largely representative of the students who visited the Writing Centre in

Results Findings are reported in relation to: a. Student motivations for attending peer tutorials in writing b. Specific writing concerns, actual experiences, and post- tutorial views of the tutorials c. Relationship between student and peer mentor d. Students’ attitudes towards their own writing before and after participating in the tutorials

a. Motivations for using the Scheme 12 Being able to talk about their writing with someone else and wanting encouragement to stay motivated were the most important reasons for Psychology students in booking their first tutorial

13 b. Specific writing concerns, actual experiences, and post-tutorial views

14 b. Specific writing concerns, actual experiences, and post-tutorial views

15 c. Relationship between student and Mentor Overall, Psychology students found it very or fairly helpful to have a peer mentor from the same subject area (90%), compared to the total sample (68.8%) 26.3% found it little or not at all helpful having a peer mentor from a subject area other than Psychology, similar to the total sample (23.8%)

16 d. Students’ attitudes towards their own writing before and after participating in the Scheme

17 d. Students’ attitudes towards their own writing before and after participating in the Scheme Figure 8 shows that students’ confidence levels rose after participating in peer tutorials

Conclusions 18 We found that: Students attended peer tutorials looking for general support and encouragement and someone to talk to about their writing Psychology students generally preferred to work with peer mentors in their own subject Students felt that participating in peer tutorials helped them develop their writing Students were highly satisfied overall Students’ confidence about their own writing increased following a peer tutorial These results suggest that peer mentoring in academic writing can be a useful aid in supporting students’ academic writing development

Where do we go from here? Research into… The relationship between participation in peer tutoring in academic writing and student achievement and progression – for both peer mentors and mentees Using quantitative and qualitative methods Observation and recording of tutorials Correlation with essay and examination grades Any other ideas? 19

References 20 Anderson, T., and Soden, R. (2001). Peer interaction and the learning for critical thinking skills. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 1 (1), Helman, S. and Horswill, M. S. (2002). Does the introduction of non-traditional teaching techniques improve psychology undergraduates' performance in statistics? Psychology Learning and Teaching, 2 (1), Hill, R., and Reddy, P. (2007). Undergraduate peer mentoring: an investigation into processes, activities and outcomes. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 6 (2), Hixenbaugh, P., Dewart, H., Drees, D., and Williams, D. (2005). Peer e-mentoring: enhancement of the first year experience. Psychology Learning and Teaching, 5 (1), Newman, M. (2007). ‘Appalling’ writing skills drive tutors to seek help. Times Higher Education, 07 May Rae, J. & Baillie, A. (2005). Peer tutoring and the study of psychology: tutoring experience as a learning method. Psychology Teaching Review, 11 (1), 53.

21 Centre for Excellence in Teaching & Learning Kathy Harrington