Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Mar 9;14(3):e1002398.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1002398. eCollection 2016 Mar.

Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed

Julia J Snyder  1   2 , Jeremy D Sloane  1   2 , Ryan D P Dunk  1 , Jason R Wiles  1   2
Affiliations

Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed

Julia J Snyder et al. PLoS Biol. .

Abstract

Active learning methods have been shown to be superior to traditional lecture in terms of student achievement, and our findings on the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) concur. Students in our introductory biology course performed significantly better if they engaged in PLTL. There was also a drastic reduction in the failure rate for underrepresented minority (URM) students with PLTL, which further resulted in closing the achievement gap between URM and non-URM students. With such compelling findings, we strongly encourage the adoption of Peer-Led Team Learning in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. The PLTL model.
In the PLTL workshop model, students work in small groups of six to eight students, led by an undergraduate peer leader who has successfully completed the same course in which their peer-team students are currently enrolled. After being trained in group leadership methods, relevant learning theory, and the conceptual content of the course, peer leaders (who serve as role models) work collaboratively with an education specialist and the course instructor to facilitate small group problem-solving. Leaders are not teachers. They are not tutors. They are not considered to be experts in the content, and they are not expected to provide answers to the students in the workshop groups. Rather, they help mentor students to actively construct their own understanding of concepts.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Achievement in introductory biology for URM and non-URM students with and without PLTL.
Percent of students who earned a D, F, or withdrew (W) from the course. Values represent percent +/- standard error. Chi-square analyses reveal a significant gap between URM and non-URM students (p < 0.001) when these students do not participate in PLTL; this achievement gap is closed when students participate in PLTL (p = 0.272).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Freeman S, Eddy S, McDonough M, Smith M, Okoroafor N, Jordt H, et al. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(23): 8410–8415. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1319030111 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Snyder JJ, Carter BE, Wiles JR. Implementation of the peer led team learning instructional model as a stopgap measure improves student achievement for students opting out of laboratory. CBE Life Sci Edu. 2015;14: 1–6. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Roth V, Goldstein E, Marcus G. Peer-Led Team Learning: A Handbook for Leaders, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2001.
    1. Woodward A, Gosser DK, Weiner M. Problem solving workshops in general chemistry. J Chem Educ. 1993;70: 651–652.
    1. Gosser DK, Roth V, Gafney L, Kampmeier J, Strozak V, Varma-Nelson P, et al. Workshop chemistry: Overcoming the barriers to student success. The Chem Educ. 1996;1: 1–17.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources