Questions arising from the use of peer assisted learning as a technique to increase diverse participation in engineering education

Abstract

A program of peer assisted study sessions (PASS) was piloted in the second half of 2010 in two first year engineering courses catering to both on-campus and distance students. The student cohort concerned is a diverse cohort of students, a large percentage of whom are non-traditional higher education students accessing the course through distance education. The PASS program was implemented in both traditional face to face on campus sessions as well as in an online mode, which was intended to partially address issues of inclusivity and access to peer support for this diverse cohort. The program was evaluated using a program logic approach. The evaluation confirmed that participants experienced all of the benefits generally associated with peer assisted learning programs: improvements in learning attitudes and skills, increased focus and motivation, mastery of course content, increased confidence and a positive attitude towards faculty. Despite the positive results of the evaluation it was noted that the participation rates by students were low, particularly for the online version of the program. Several questions were raised by the evaluation through the dichotomy of positive perceptions and outcomes and the relatively low uptake of the program. This discussion paper reports on the initial stages of a qualitative research project investigating the effectiveness of online peer assisted study sessions for engineering students.