SUPPORTING STUDENT LEARNING Samuel Jones

PASS Peer Assisted Study Scheme Academic Support Facilitation not teaching In Psychology, our first year consisted of PASS for one module, we have now expanded it to any module

PEER MENTORING Pastoral Support 2 nd and 3 rd year students being a point of contact and support for a group of 1 st years Has been ran in the School of Psychology for several years Feedback over the years has, generally, remained very positive

HOW HAVE THEY WORKED? Students who used PASS reported that: They were more confident with the material Several resulting factors from this Peer mentoring: Felt more confident with the idea of University than when they began Gained friends or at least a minor relationship with their fellow students

IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES Critical Analysis Overall Confidence Resulting effects: Holistic view of University and Academic Achievement

COMMUNITY Just as much about student participation as it is staff/department participation Meet and Greet Event/Freshers Welcome Meet same year students Also meet students in the other years Levels of Support mean that students can rely (in some aspects) on elements within the School Its not just about getting to know other students but also staff within your school

Well I chose to do PASS because I had never heard of it before in the past few years and thought that if I had have, I would have really benefitted from it myself. In the first session we ran we just had an informal chat with a student who was particularly anxious and daunted about not only the degree but life after it and it was clear from just talking to us about our experiences, she really benefitted from it and was much more determined, relaxed and prepared. I guess the interactive component and helping students find their feet and learn valuable skills from each other and even find skills out for themselves, that they may not have known they had.

I joined PASS because I felt like I would have benefited from it in my first year, I think it's a good place to meet other people on your course as well as being able to get a different perspective on something you might not understand (students will be able to explain stuff in a more student friendly way, if that makes sense). It's also a good place to meet older students- last year in our sessions it seemed less focused on the actual course content but more on exam technique, essay writing etc, as well as asking us about our second year electives and how we found them, particularly towards the end of semester b when they were making their own choices. I think it's just generally a good idea for first years to have some older students they aren't afraid to speak to, since they probably would be too scared or shy to tell a lecturer if their lecture was unclear, but we can feed back to lecturers if this sort of problem arises.

THE FUTURE… Difficult to predict Learn from other institutions Increase uptake of the scheme Ensuring it stays voluntary

ANY QUESTIONS?