Gafney / Varma-Nelson Peer-Led Team Learning: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Institutionalization of a College Level Initiative

1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4020-6186-8
Verlag: Springer Netherlands
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 16, 160 Seiten

Reihe: Innovations in Science Education and Technology

There seems to be no end to the flood of conferences, workshops, panel discussions, reports and research studies calling for change in the introductory science courses in our colleges and universities. But, there comes a time to move from criticism to action. In 1993, the Division of Undergraduate Education of the National Science Foundation called for proposals for systemic initiatives to change the way int- ductory chemistry is taught. One of the five awards was to design, develop and implement the peer-led Workshop, a new structure to help students learn science. This book is a study of 15 years of work by the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) project, a national consortium of faculty, learning specialists and students. The authors have been in the thick of the action as project evaluator (Gafney) and co-principle investigator (Varma-Nelson). Readers of this book will find a story of successful change in educational practice, a story that continues today as new institutions, faculty, and disciplines adopt the PLTL model. They will learn the model in theory and in practice and the supporting data that encourage others to adopt and adapt PLTL to new sit- tions. Although the project has long since lost count of the number of implem- tations of the model, conservative estimates are that more than 100 community and four year colleges and a range of universities have adopted the PLTL model to advance student learning for more than 20,000 students in a variety of STEM disciplines.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Gafney, Leo

Varma-Nelson, Pratibha

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Acknowledgements;6
2;Introduction;7
3;Contents;9
4;1 Plan and Context of the Study;13
4.1;1.1 Background;13
4.2;1.2 Plan of the Study and Methodology;14
4.3;1.3 Origins and Rationale for Peer-Led Team Learning;16
4.4;1.4 PLTL in the Context of Reform Initiatives;18
5;2 Development and Implementation of Peer-Led Team Learning;21
5.1;2.1 Peer-Led Team Learning as a Program;21
5.2;2.2 Evaluation Priorities;24
5.3;2.3 Students and Student Leader Experiences: Qualitative Data;25
5.4;2.4 Academic Performance: Quantitative Data;28
5.5;2.5 Evaluation Data: Fidelity to the Model;34
5.6;2.6 Workshops from the Leaders’ Perspective;37
5.7;2.7 Summary;39
6;3 Dissemination Strategies;40
6.1;3.1 Dissemination Model;41
6.2;3.2 Using Diffusion Practices to Improve Education;45
6.3;3.3 Attributes of Innovations;49
6.4;3.4 Additional Issues in Dissemination;50
6.5;3.5 PLTL Leadership and Coordination;54
7;4 Adopting and Adapting PLTL: Successes and Limits;55
7.1;4.1 Workshop Project Associate (WPA) Mini-Grants: Scope of the Program;55
7.2;4.2 Experiences of WPA Grant Recipients and Other Early Adopters;61
7.3;4.3 Summary;68
8;5 Indicators of Institutionalization;69
8.1;5.1 Experiences of Other Initiatives;69
8.2;5.2 Administrators’ Views About Institutionalization;72
8.3;5.3 Indicators of Institutionalization;75
8.4;5.4 Case Studies: Sustainability Issues;76
8.5;5.5 Online Survey on Implementation, Dissemination, and Institutionalization;81
8.6;5.6 Summary;85
9;6 Study of Former Workshop Leaders;86
9.1;6.1 Pilot Study of Former Leaders;86
9.2;6.2 National Survey of Former Workshop Leaders;87
9.3;6.3 Connections with Previous Studies;95
10;7 Impact on Minority Students and Women;96
10.1;7.1 Academic Needs of Under-Represented Minority Students and PLTL;96
10.2;7.2 Women and PLTL;102
10.3;7.3 Summary;104
11;8 PLTL and the Goals of Higher Education;105
11.1;8.1 College as Preparation for Careers;105
11.2;8.2 Changes in Teaching and Learning;107
11.3;8.3 Faculty-Student Partnerships in Teaching and Learning;108
11.4;8.4 Conclusions;110
12;9 Issues in Implementation, Dissemination and Institutionalization;111
12.1;9.1 Issues in Implementation;111
12.2;9.2 Findings About Dissemination;116
12.3;9.3 Issues Regarding Institutionalization;119
12.4;9.4 Summary;120
13;10 Evaluation Strategies;122
13.1;10.1 Program Implementation;122
13.2;10.2 Student Experiences with PLTL;126
13.3;10.3 Focus Groups Findings;127
13.4;10.4 Student Academic Performance;132
13.5;10.5 Program Monitoring and Small Grants;133
13.6;10.6 Faculty Response to the Program;138
13.7;10.7 Administrative Response;140
13.8;10.8 Former Leaders Response;140
13.9;10.9 Dissemination;141
13.10;10.10 Institutionalization;142
14;A National Science Foundation Support;144
15;B List of PLTL Mini-Grant Recipients: Workshop Project Associates;145
16;Bibliography;147
17;Index;154