Academic and personal support
The Peer Learning Program provides a supportive learning environment for College students, from Peer Learning Leaders who have completed, and excelled in, College subjects previously. The program is designed and delivered by the peer learning team at UOW College, so that the information and free guidance you receive will align with what you are studying in class.
PALS are one-hour study groups facilitated outside class by Peer Learning Leaders, and may be held on-campus or online. The course content is reinforced and revised, usually on a week-by-week basis. Where possible, some PALS are aimed at breaking down assessments into manageable steps with the guidance of the PALS Leader. The Leader can provide you with generalised feedback on the assessment work in progress. Attendance at PALS is optional, but highly recommended.
The Peer Learning Leader works in the role of Peer Assistant Tutor. PAT learning support is embedded directly into selected subjects' tutorials or computer labs. It provides students with a second person to consult in class in addition to their regular teacher.
If you attend PALS regularly, you are eligible to request a free one hour one-to-one consultation with your subject Peer Learning Leader. The PAC consultation may be a one-off, or can be weekly, dependent on your request and peer learning staff availability. You may request an individual PAC consultation by speaking with your PALS Leader. If your subject does not have PALS attached to it, then you can request PAC help by asking your student mentor, student advisor, student services officer, or course progress advisor, to pass your request on to the UOWCA Peer Learning Program Coordinator.
Peer learning support is available for specific subjects in the University Entrance Program, Foundation Studies and all Higher Education Diplomas. For our Vocational Courses, it is available for the Diploma of Nursing and the Fitness Certificates. To find out whether support is available for your subjects, check your subject Moodle sites or ask your subject coordinator.
The program aims to help students learn by:
Taking advantage of the support that your Peer Learning Leaders offer can help you to become more efficient and successful with your time spent learning. One hour participating in a PALS session, can save you struggling alone for several hours at home.
Where possible, the three types of peer learning support will commence in Week 1 of College Academic session, although it might not be possible to set up PALS sessions until Week 2.
Details of the times and locations of PALS sessions will be provided during Week 1 lectures, by the PALS Leaders, and/or via SOLSmail. They will also be provided on the subject Moodle sites under the ‘support’ tab.
In addition to reinforcement of the subject content, you learn study skills to help you have even more success in the subject. You also learn how to effectively participate in group study with your peers.
Yes, but the help is in the form of how to approach the assessment and manage your time accordingly. Your peer learning leader will not do an assignment for you.
Each PALS session is one hour in length, although you do not have to attend the whole hour.
PALS attendance is not compulsory but is highly recommended.
The Peer Assisted Learning Program is free of charge for all College students.
The Peer Learning staff are current university students who have already successfully completed the subject, or an equivalent subject.
The average number of people in a College PALS session is five, although this does vary to some extent.
A College PALS session has a strong focus on “how to learn”, while a normal class tends to be mainly focused on “what to learn”. Also, a PALS session is run by one of your peers, while a normal class is run by an academic teacher.
Information is provided during your classes in week 1 of session, and on your subject Moodle sites. You can also find information by contacting: UOWCA Peer Learning Coordinator
A College PALS session has a strong focus on "how to learn", while a normal class tends to be mainly focused on "what to learn". Also, a PALS session is run by one of your peers, while a normal class is run by an academic teacher or a vocational trainer.
I feel it’s very rewarding work and I know when I was a student, I took advantage of the Peer Learning Leaders to help me. The College set me up for success and I tell everyone, even if they don’t need to go through the College they should because it was the foundation that I needed in order to create a bright future for myself.
If you have any questions about Peer Learning Support including study help or becoming a Peer Learning Leader, contact Jann Duxbury-Roberts at jroberts@uow.edu.au
