Peer-Led Team Learning: National Dissemination by the Workshop Project

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Interdisciplinary (99) This project is a supplement to the NSF supported project: "Peer-Led Team Learning: National Dissemination by the Workshop Project." It is designed to address more directly the barriers that confront fully effective implementation of this approach by two-year (community) colleges. It is important to address these barriers and achieve maximally effective implementation of this project in two-year colleges because nearly 40% of U.S undergraduates enrolled in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology courses are attending these institutions, and many will take their basic science in this academic sector before transferring to 4-year colleges and universities to complete baccalaureate degrees. Given the size and diversity of the community college population, national dissemination of the workshop model of peer-led team learning can be greatly enhanced by successful implementation at the community college level. Some of the barriers faced by two year colleges are idiosyncratic to 2-year colleges, while others derive from the characteristics of students attending 2-year colleges. The barriers that will be addressed in this project are the high turnover of student leaders due to shorter spells of education, the high incidence of part-time (or full-time) employment among students, higher levels of family responsibilities which conflict with academic scheduling, the often weaker academic backgrounds of entering students which reduces the pool of potential team leaders, the lack of capability to carry out effective workshop leader training in many colleges, heavier teaching loads of faculty leaving less time to engage in adaptation and implementation activities, a lack of resources to pay student workshop leaders and less opportunity to offer academic credit to student workshop leaders, and difficulties faced by community college faculty in attending professional conferences. This project is supporting a variety of workshop activities for community college faculty, including a series of 12 one-day "drive-in" workshops at different sites around the U.S. specially tailored and shortened for faculty in two-year colleges. These 12 workshops will be managed by 2 teams of faculty, one East Coast and the other West Coast based, and are being held on the campuses of 2-year institutions across the nation. This project is also supporting special breakout sessions for community college faculty attending the longer workshops of the parent project and supporting the education of at least 25 WPAs (Workshop Project Associates). WPAs are a cadre of faculty who are prepared to engage in further dissemination activities.