Current Students > Academic Success Center > Peer Assisted Learning

Left to Right: Jackie Weber, Rachel Doran, Gabe Newman, Ashley Habel & Sheila Gross

Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) mentoring groups provide academic support for Western Humanities.  PAL groups are formed for students who want to have regular assistance and are willing to commit themselves to ongoing weekly review sessions for this lecture course. All the students in a PAL group have the same Western Humanities professors. The PAL mentor, a student who has taken the course with that particular faculty member, earned a B-plus or A, and has been recommended by that faculty member, facilitates the review sessions. The PAL mentor is not a tutor. The PAL mentor facilitates the group members’ learning by: discussing questions, providing time management tips, helping students with course specific learning techniques, and modeling test preparation strategies. The PAL mentor does not  re-teach. Focus of the groups is on long-term learning. 

During the first week of the course the PAL mentors attend the various sessions of the Western Humanities course and do a short presentation explaining the PAL groups and the importance of getting involved early in the semester and continuing to attend on a weekly basis throughout the semester. Stickers with PAL session meeting days, times, and locations are distributed. Sessions begin either the first or second week of the semester. One mentor may mentor to several PAL groups depending on the number of students interested in participating. Mentors benefit as well from the experience of facilitating these study groups.