Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) - facilitating learning in groups
PAL/SI-PASS sessions intend to help students
- settle in more quickly to university life
- connect more with your course and other students
- feel part of a learning community
- boost your learning strategies, and adjust your study habits to meet the requirements of university study
- gain a deeper understanding of course content and expectations
- increase your academic performance
Studieverkstedet (Learning Support Centre) offers training in PAL/SI-PASS. If you are interested in starting with PAL/SI-PASS, please contact us via e-mail:
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About PAL/SI-PASS
The PAL scheme is a global model, developed at the University of Missouri, Kansas City in the 1970’s. Originally, the scheme was developed to combat the problem of high drop-out rates in certain courses, and was called Supplemental Instruction (SI).
In England the universities drew upon many of the principles and ideas associated with SI, but the focus was not only on high-risk courses. PAL is also called Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) with a national center in the University of Manchester (manchester.ac.uk).
PAL is offered to all students as an additional emphasis is placed upon increasing the level of social integration and improving the first-year students' experience of university life.
Currently, over 1500 institutions in 30 countries have PAL/SI-PASS schemes.
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Relevant links
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Relevant literature
Three books on Supplemental Instruction / Peer Assisted Study Sessions from Nord University and Waxmann Verlag:
- Volume 1: Digital Technologies (waxmann.com)
- Volume 2: Student Learning Processes (waxmann.com)
- Volume 3: Organisation and Leadership (waxmann.com)
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Research literature
- Status report for European SI/PASS/PAL-programmes Post-pandemic/Second edition (si-pass.lu.se)
- How have Supplemental Instruction-Peer Assisted Study Sessions (SI-PASS) programmes adapted during the Coronavirus pandemic? Studies from four Higher Education Institutes in Ireland, Norway, the UK and Sweden (sehej.raise-network.com).
- The Benefits of SI Leadership after Graduation (jstor.org).
- An Exploration of the ‘Lived Experience’ of One Cohort of Academic Peer Mentors at a Small Australian University (ro.uow.edu.au).
- Impact of the Supplemental Instruction Experience on Science SI-PASS Leaders (jstor.org).
- Peer learning leaders: developing employability through facilitating the learning of other students (journal.aldinhe.ac.uk).
- Benefits of Guiding Supplemental Instruction Sessions for SI Leaders: A Case Study for Engineering Education at a Swedish University (ro.uow.edu.au).
- PASS Student Leader and Mentor Roles: A Tertiary Leadership Pathway (ro.uow.edu.au).
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Studies on SI-PASS programmes cost-effectiveness
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Contact information
Would you like to know more about PAL/SI-PASS at OsloMet, please contact via email: