Peer Assisted Learning: Strategies to Increase Student Attendance and Student Success in Accounting
It is well known that extracurricular peer-learning programs such as Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) have an impact on student retention, success, and overall student satisfaction. However, for PAL to work as intended, higher participation rates are needed a
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Peer Assisted Learning: Strategies to Increase Student Attendance and Student Success in Accounting Mauricio Marrone and Lilia Draganov
Abstract It is well known that extracurricular peer-learning programs such as Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) have an impact on student retention, success, and overall student satisfaction. However, for PAL to work as intended, higher participation rates are needed as student attendance remains one of the challenges faced by program administrators. In our study, we analysed the reasons why students attend PAL, and which strategies can be followed to increase students’ interest in the program. This chapter outlines how targeted messagescanencouragedifferentcohortstoattendPAL,andassistsPALadministratorswith how to conduct their recruitment campaigns to be consistent with their universities’ needs. Keywords Peer-learning implementation
Student participation
At-risk students
Program
Introduction Changes in higher education in Australia, in particular, the movement towards deregulation and the increase in competition from various providers, have shifted the focus to student retention and engagement. To retain more students and enhance their experience, providers are implementing new initiatives and reviewing those that are currently in place. The program discussed in this chapter is Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), which is derived from the Supplemental Instruction (SI)1 program, 1
SI was developed in the mid-1970s at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The program has been adopted by different institutions throughout the world, acquiring different names. In the UK, the program appears under the title of Peer Assisted Learning (PAL), which is also used in some institutions in Australia. In Australasia, the program predominantly has been called Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) (Barry et al. 2012, p. 10). At the Faculty of Business and Economics at Macquarie University, the program is named PAL, and follows the model and principles of the SI and PASS programs. Because the literature predominantly refers to it as SI, the authors use this term throughout this chapter.
M. Marrone L. Draganov (&) Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 L.N. Wood and Y.A. Breyer (eds.), Success in Higher Education, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-2791-8_9
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and incorporates its model. This program aims to support difficult subjects that are marked by high failure and withdrawal rate. The indicators we used to measure the success of the program include student attendance, based on the idea that the more frequently students engage with the program the greater chance that they will persist and succeed in their degrees (e.g. Blanc and Martin 1994; Congos and Mack 2005; Rath et al. 2007). However, researchers often report student attendance as one of the greatest challenges of the SI program. To encourage students to attend the program, an understanding of the reasons why they attend must
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