PLT Leader Manual

Table of Contents

1. An Introduction to Peer Led Team 2. Expectations of a Peer Led Team Leader 3. Planning PLT Sessions 4. Skills for PLT Leaders 5. Tips for Effective PLT Leaders

An Introduction to Peer Led Team

What is Peer Led Team (PLT) PLT is not tutoring! PLT is an academic support model that uses peer-assisted study sessions to improve student retention and success within targeted historically difficult courses. Each PLT session will be assigned an PLT leader who has taken the course to help keep the group focused and on task.

Benefits to Students ●Development of study skills ●Spend more time working with course material ●Higher grades (on average) ●Opportunity to study with other students in the same class

What do PLT Leaders do? PLT leaders meet with groups of students twice a week to help them gain a better understanding of the material. The PLT leader is not an expert in the subject. The role of the PLT leader is to help guide students through the course, to assist them in developing study skills relevant to the course, and to help them identify important information and concepts in the course material.

Benefits to PLT Leaders ●Refresh knowledge and learn a topic more completely ●Develop leadership skills ●Develop communication skills ●Learn more about teaching techniques and how people learn ●Get paid

Expectations of Peer Led Team Leaders As an employee and representative of CARE we expect that you will behave in a professional manner at all times. We also expect the following…

You are expected to be on time for your sessions. Arrive a few minutes early so that you

can arrange the room and greet students when they get there.

You are responsible for contacting me if you will be late for a session or unable to meet a session. PLEASE give as much notice as possible so I can handle situation accordingly.

Dana Tempel (217) 244-2678 or (217) 493-5998 text is fine but please sign your name to it

You will complete the training.

You are expected to meet your sessions at the times which are set at the beginning of the semester. Schedules shouldn’t change without consulting me first.

CARE assistant director, PLT Coordinator and PLT leaders will meet as a group every 2-3 weeks to discuss session progress and share other information with each other that may be helpful. We to stay closely connected as a group. If there is something that needs immediate attention we can certainly address those as they arise.

Planning a PLT Session

Good planning is essential to the success of a PLT session. If you fail to plan, then plan to fail.

Each session should include:

An introductory activity. This is something short and quick to get everyone started. You can use this activity to gauge what the students already know, to set the agenda for the session (be sure to include student input in preparing the agenda), or as a way to introduce students to each other (useful early in the semester).

Setting an agenda with the students is an important process to engage in at the beginning of each session. Students need to be allowed to have input in what will be covered during the session. At a minimum, time should be set aside at the end of the session to cover material which the students have concerns about.

A main activity. This is where the bulk of the time will be spent. Depending on what you decide to do there may be more than one of these activities planned. In fact, it might be best to plan at least two in case one activity is a “flop”!

During the entire session there are some things to remember

●Wait time is important, students need time to think and formulate answers ●Redirecting questions is a good way to make the students take responsibility for their own learning ●Desk/chair arrangement can determine how students interact. Encourage students to sit close together before the session starts.

A closing activity. This is an opportunity to summarize what was covered and to help students plan what to do next to study for the class.

Opening and Closing Sessions Setting an Agenda During the first couple weeks the first thing you will usually do is introductions so that students know you and each other. Later in the semester you can skip introductions and start with setting an agenda. Setting the agenda allows you to inform students of what you have planned. This needs to be a cooperative process between you and the students. Get their input, ask what they are having difficulty understanding. If it doesn’t fit in with your planned activities you have the option of either changing activities, or placing their questions on the end of the agenda. In any case, be sure to address their needs.

Opening Sessions Having an opening activity helps to get the session started and indicates to students that it is, in fact, time to start working.

Here are some suggested activities for opening an PLT session: ●Making an Information Organizer ●Informal Quiz ●One-Minute Paper ●Note Review

Closing Sessions Closing the session is a time to review what was covered and to make sure that all the topics on the agenda were discussed. If you have left the agenda on the board a student can go to the board and with the input of the other students mark off the topics and questions that were covered. This can also be a good time to ask students to come up with a list of concepts that they should now study on their own. You can also use this time to find out what students would like to cover in the next session. And activity can be included as a closer. Some suggestions are: ●Informal Quiz ●One-Minute Paper ●Think-Pair-Share ●Predict Exam Questions

Main Activity Focus on difficult material Your job is not to review material the students learned in class. The purpose of PLT is to familiarize students with techniques that will allow them to handle a variety of problems they will come across throughout their college career. By focusing on the most difficult material, you prepare students to deal with a wider range of difficulties. Have detailed plans Do not go into sessions and try to improvise what you plan on reviewing and how you plan on doing so. Be specific in the topics you are going to cover and be specific how you are going to cover this. The more detailed your plan is, the more prepared you will be when something goes wrong. Also, activities will not always go the way you want them to. They may not take as long as you expected, the students may not find the exercises helpful, more or less students showed up than expected, etc. Make sure you have back up plans so that you can make the best use of your time and your students’ times. Focus on active learning Students learn best when they play an active role in their learning. When coming up with or choosing your own activities, do your best to choose activities that allow students to engage with the material rather than just consume the material. Encourage collaboration The main activity should consist of individual and small group work that encourages students to use each other as a resource rather than depending on you for help. Plan activities that allow students to engage with each other as much as possible.

Learning Activities Ideas ●Information Organizers Charts, Concept Maps, Diagrams ●Think-Pair-Share ●One-Minute Paper ●Jigsaw Divide and conquer ●Vocabulary ●Boardwork ●Note Review ●Informal Quiz ●Matrices ●Incomplete Outline

Information Organizers

Organizers are a way to display or present information and connect it to other information that the student either already knows or which is also part of the class. There are different styles of organizer, the type you use will largely depend on the material you are covering. An information organizer is typically not used to display a great deal of content or detail, instead they make it easier to see relationships between concepts or ideas.

Charts One common chart used is the KWLH chart. The columns are labeled as shown below. This is a good way to get students to access their prior knowledge before beginning work on new material.

What we Know What we Want to

know What we Learned How we can learn

more

Carbon forms four bonds

More about bonding in carbon

About carbocations Look for reactions of carbocations in the textbook

A carbon with 4 different substutuents is chiral

What about carbons with 3 things?

About pro-chirality Making models

Or, you may choose to make a table and put a different topic or concept as each heading and fill in the cells beneath it with what you know.

Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Hydrogen

electronegative electronegative

4 bonds 3 bonds 2 bonds 1 bond

12 14 16 1

Concept maps Concept maps attach ideas and concepts together in a graphical manner. Usually a main topic or idea is identified and placed in a circle in the center. Related ideas are written around it and connected with lines. When these additional ideas are related to each other, additional lines are drawn in to show the relationship.

You may wish to add more information about the relationships by putting key words or phrases over the connecting lines.

Diagrams Some material lends itself to drawing diagrams. This can be especially useful in science courses where a diagram can be used to summarize the parts and activities of a system or thing. Try using multiple colors to help visualization and retention.

Think-Pair-Share

Think-Pair-Share is a three step process. 1. Give students a problem or question to think about. 2. Students then pair up and discuss their answer with one another. 3. Each pair then shares with the rest of the group. ●This is much less intimidating to the student than answering a question on their own and will encourage discussion between students. ●Before you give them the question be sure to tell them not to blurt out an answer! ●While they are thinking individually they shouldn’t talk to one another. You may want to suggest that they write down their thoughts or make diagrams. ●If paired up students still don’t seem comfortable sharing with the larger group you may want to have a member from each pair write their results on the board. ●You may want to get the process started by asking the first question. After that, you may want to have the students provide questions. ●This is a good way to keep the group from trying to make you do a “question and answer” session as it forces them to interact with one another and not just you.

One-Minute Paper

This is a quick way to check for understanding of a topic. You may also be able to use it to get a group refocused if they are moving in to many different directions. 1. Give the students a question or topic. 2. The students have one minute to respond to the topic, write down what they know about the topic, or answer the question Be sure students realize that this isn’t meant to be a polished essay! The goal is to get their ideas down on paper One minute can seem like a long time when no one is talking. Keep an eye on the clock and be sure to give them as much time as you promised. You may even wish to give them 2 or 3 minutes, depending on the topic. 3. Ask students to share their responses with the rest of the group. ●Here are some general examples of topics/questions you might use: What was the most important thing you learned today? What questions do you still have? What is a possible quiz or test question from the material covered today? ●You may also wish to ask a question that summarizes the actual content for the session. What factors affect Gibb’s free energy? What effect does changing them have? What are the differences and similarities between type 1 and type 2 diabetes? ●You can combine the one minute paper with think-pair-share and have students share their papers with one another.

Jigsaw

This is a technique that works well when there is a large amount of material (such as exam reviews) or if you have a difficult multiple part problem. This can also work well if you find you have an especially large number of students at a session. The basic idea is to divide the students into groups with each group tackling a different problem or set of information. After a set amount of time the groups reconvene to share with the rest of the students. ●You may also find that dividing into smaller groups is useful when one person is dominating a discussion. ●Be sure to leave time at the end for the groups to reconvene. An important part of this technique is putting all the information together at the end. ●Plan ahead of time for how to divide the students into groups. You can have them count off by 2’s or 3’s for example. Or you could arrange the chairs into groups before the students arrive. A special case of the Jigsaw method is referred to as Divide and Conquer. This technique is used for handling difficult readings. ●Take a portion of the text or assigned reading and divide it up into sections. Each group takes responsibility for reading and summarizing the main points of their section. The summary should usually be 1-2 sentences. After each group reports back the summary of their assigned section the group as a whole can discuss the reading. ●This is useful for occasions when no-one has done the reading or homework! ●This is a good method to give everyone a base of knowledge before another activity such as boardwork, a matrix, or predicting exam questions.

Vocabulary

Chunking Vocabulary development can be an important part of a math or science course. Most vocabulary development relies on “chunking”. The human brain can usually encode only 5-9 pieces or information at a time, to remember more the information needs to be organized (or chunked) into groups.

Before the session:

1. Come up with a list of vocabulary words. Alternatively, depending on the subject you may have a list of equations or symbols.

2. Organize the words into groups. 3. Pick out a few words for the group to define, these should be words that lead to discussion.

4. Scramble the words. Put stars next to the words you want them to define. At the session: 1. Give the students the scrambled list of words. 2. Tell the students to organize the words in a way that makes sense to them. This may not be the same grouping that you used! That is OK! 3. Tell the students to give definitions or examples for the starred words. 4. Come back together to discuss the groupings and definitions.

● Be sure you give them enough time, grouping words can take awhile. ● You may want to have students work in pairs or small groups and have a representative put the grouping pattern they devised on the board. ● You might suggest that they fill in definitions for the remainder of the words when they get home.

Matrix Another way to cover vocabulary is to create and fill in a matrix which includes the meanings of the terms and examples of them.

Word Definition Example from Notes

Example from Book

Another Example

●You may want to let students make their own list of terms. Give them highlighters and have them go through their notes looking for vocabulary words. ●You might suggest that students make vocabulary notecards to carry around and review.

Boardwork

Doing boardwork is a good way to develop problem solving skills and works well when you have difficult problems that students don’t know how to tackle. For each problem worked at the board you want to figure out the following: ●What is the prerequisite knowledge needed to do the problem? ●What are the mathematical steps to do the problem? ●How can you narrate (put into words) the steps? ●Find or make a similar problem. Before the students arrive make the following categories on the board:

Prerequisites Mathematical Steps Narrative Similar problem

1. When the students arrive ask for a volunteer to write on the board, let them know that the rest of the group will tell them what to write! 2. Give the students the problem and have them brainstorm information (such as formulas and conversions) that they might need to solve the problem. 3. After completing the list of useful information, have them brainstorm the mathematical steps needed to solve the problem. 4. Once they have written out the math, have them put it into words for the narrative section. 5. Have the students look in their books for a similar problem, or if possible, have them construct a new problem of their own. ● You may want to get a different volunteer to write at each step ● Encourage more mathematical students to try to come up with the narrative, and more verbal students to try to come up with the math steps.

Note Review In a note review activity students have the opportunity to compare their notes to the notes of other students in the class. This allows them to fill in information they missed and to go back over the information in their notes. One way to review notes is to have each person read a portion of their notes out loud. Comment, add additional information, or discuss points that they may disagree on. Once the group has finished, go to the next student and have them pick up in their notes where the previous student left off.

●If one of the students doesn't want to read, don't try to force them, move on to the next student. ●You may suggest that students look for supporting information in their textbooks and then annotate their notes or write page references in their books. ●This can be very useful at the beginning of the semester. This exercise can help them develop good note taking skills and help them understand the importance of taking good notes. ●This can also be a good way to start a session ●This is also a good technique to use when the lecture covered lots of new vocabulary and can be combined with a vocabulary exercise.

Informal Quiz

In an informal quiz the PLT leader reads a few questions out loud to the group and individually they write down their answers. In an informal quiz students should feel free to look at their notes or books, but do not talk or share with one another. After the students are done writing down their answers the group debriefs. Ask if anyone has an answer to any of the questions. Allowing the students to volunteer to answer any question they are comfortable with will make the process more informal and comfortable for the students. ●Tell students to write down the question if they don't have an answer. This allows them to

be writing while the rest of the group is writing. ●It should be possible to answer the question in a short sentence or a few words. ●Include different types of questions. Ask true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer

questions. ●Don't include too many questions. 10 is maximum number you should include. ●They may find the process more informal if you tell them to get out scrap paper or pass

out half sheets of paper. ●Try to call on weaker students first if they raise their hand. ●If you get a wrong answer during debriefing, try to say something positive. Don't let wrong

answers stand though, get another answer from another student.

Matrices

A matrix is essentially a chart used to compare and contrast two or more things. To create a matrix the subjects go in the vertical axis and the characteristics on the horizontal axis. Concentration Units for Solutions

Symbol Numerator Denominator

Molarity

Molality

Normality

% Conc. (w/w)

Once filled out it might looked like this….. Concentration Units for Solutions

Symbol Numerator Denominator

Molarity M moles solute liters of solution

Molality m moles solute Kg of solvent

Normality N moles equivalents liters of solution

% Conc. (w/w) % (w/w) grams solute grams of solution

●The first few times you use matrices you may want to provide students with an incomplete matrix to start with. ●Later in the semester you may want to let students decide what subjects and characteristics to use. ●Don't forget to include a title for the matrix ●If the group doesn't get the entire matrix completed during the session it is OK, have them complete it at home. You may want to have them bring their completed matrices to the next session to go over.

Incomplete Outline

Using this technique will help students to organize large amounts of information, and can be useful for organizing lecture notes and/or readings. Students may not be able to see the best way to organize the information the professor is giving them, which is where you can help. Before the session go over the material and organize it into outline form. Then remove some of the information to produce an incomplete outline. You should have some idea of what the completed outline would look like, but don't give the completed outline to the students. At the session place the students in groups and give each group ONE copy of the incomplete outline. Have the group fill in the outline. By giving each group only one copy you can get them to work as a team instead of each doing the outline individually. ●Groups of 3-5 will work best ●As the semester proceeds you can make the outlines more incomplete 1. Energy A. _______________ i.____________________ ii.____________________

B._______________ 2. Laws of Thermodynamics A.______________________________________________ B.______________________________________________ C.______________________________________________ 3. Entropy A. _____________________________ B.______________________________

Questions to ask yourself when planning the session: 1. Am I addressing the most difficult content? There may be important content you ignore. Make sure you don’t overlook important material to cover assuming they know it! 2. What learning strategies would work best with this material and how long will each take? Initially, it may be difficult to estimate how long an activity will take, as the semester progresses you will find it easier to plan an appropriate amount of material. Early in the semester you will probably want to plan an extra activity or two for each session. 3. How many students do you expect? You should have a combination of individual and small group activities planned. Make sure that these activities can be accommodating for sessions of different size. Remember that sessions are not mandatory, so attendance will fluctuate. Be ready to accommodate for that. 4. What do you need to do to prepare yourself? Planning is more than just coming up with a schedule for what you’re going to do. It includes everything from gathering the right materials for your planned activities, preparing assignments, familiarizing yourself with the material, etc. Be active with your planning process. The more you do before your sessions, the better your sessions will go.

Feedback

One of the most important parts of running the PLT sessions will be receiving feedback and applying it to future sessions. Student feedback Students will be asked to fill out a survey every week in order to find out which activities were most beneficial to them, and how useful the PLT sessions are to them. Self-evaluations Each session will also be followed by a self-evaluation that will be sent to the head of the program. There are two reasons for this. One reason is that it allows PLT supervisors to keep track of how leaders think they’re doing, and gives the supervisors a record of what works and what doesn’t. The other reason is to encourage self-reflection. By filling out the self-evaluations, it forces leaders to be active in their improvement process and be critical about what they can improve on. Observations Occasionally, one of the PLT supervisors will stop by a session and observe the session. This allows for a different view of how the sessions are going, and allows for more big picture planning. It also allows for students to be observed objectively. By using a combination of student feedback, self-evaluations, and observations, session planning can be constantly modified and improved, which is the key in developing good programming.

Skills for PLT Leaders Wait Time There are two types of wait time. 1) After you ask the group a question. You should wait at least 3 seconds after asking a question before saying anything, more if the question was difficult. Students need time to mentally formulate an answer. It can be difficult to wait in silence, this takes some practice and you will get better at it as the semester progresses. 2) After a student responds You should also wait after a student responds to allow the responding student to elaborate on their answer and for other students to comment. If no one has responded after 5-10 seconds you may want to try rephrasing the question, simplifying the question, or asking if someone can rephrase the question for you. Redirecting Questions Redirecting questions is the process of deflecting a question from yourself either back to the student who asked or to the group. The goal is to get someone else to answer the question, or to explain where to find the answer. When the students explain the answer they will learn more than if you simply tell them! It can be difficult to avoid answering a direct question from students, so it may help to practice some potential responses. Here are some examples. Student: I don’t understand this question, what does it mean? PLT Leader: Can anyone in the group rephrase the question? Student: Why do we have to convert into different units? PLT Leader: Let’s look that up in the notes, can someone find the page on Kelvin in their notes? Student: How do I start this problem? PLT Leader: Let’s list everything we know about the problem and try to figure that out.

Tips for Effective PLT Leaders

1. Running a successful session requires careful planning. Never go into a group intending to "play it by ear" or "answer questions."

2. Build flexibility into the organization of the PLT - just because you wanted to do a worksheet you created doesn't mean that’s what the students need.

3. Don’t feel tied to keeping up with the content. You don’t have to “do something” with

every bit of content provided by the instructor and the text.

4. It is more effective to “model” how successful students learn a particular subject than it is to “tell” students what they need to know.

5. Waiting for students to volunteer a well-developed answer takes time. If you are

uncomfortable waiting for 30 seconds, join students in looking through notes or text.

6. If students are unable to answer the question, ask for the source of information. For example, ask for the date of the lecture that contained the information and search for the answer together. Avoid taking on the responsibility of always providing answers.

7. It's OK to say "I don't know, but I will find out for you" - you are not (nor are you

expected to be) a walking answer key!

8. Encourage students to summarize the major concepts of the lectures. Let other students fine-tune the responses. If information is incorrect, ask students to find specific references in the text or notes that will clarify the correct answers.

9. Avoid interrupting student answers. PLT should provide a comfortable environment for

students to ask questions or attempt answers. Protect students from interruptions, laughter, or from those with louder voices.

10. Refer to and mention the syllabus regularly. Check that students understand the

requirements and dates of reading assignments, projects, and tests.

11. If your group has more than 12 students, divide into subgroups. Provide discussion topics that the groups can explore. Move from group to group, participating from time to time, reassuring the group that you are still there for them.

12. Balance listening with speaking, you should be 80% listening, 20% speaking in any PLT

session.

13. Seek examples. When people mention abstract issues or discuss things in fairly general terms, seek concrete examples or ask for more detail (either from the individual or from the group as a whole).