Peer-assisted learning strategies
- Issue Areas
- K-12 education
- Outcomes
- Elementary and middle school success
- This strategy can help address educational disparities. The U.S. Department of Treasury has indicated that strategies that help achieve this outcome are eligible for the use of Fiscal Recovery Funds.
- Investments in this strategy are SLFRF-eligible as long as they are made in qualified census tracts or are designed to assist populations or communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Program overview
Improving early literacy outcomes: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies Reading (PALS Reading) is a literacy-based peer tutoring program. Participation in PALS Reading is associated with improved alphabetics among kindergarten and first grade students.
Supplementing regular reading instruction: PALS Reading is designed to be implemented at the classroom level as a supplement to a primary reading curriculum. The program is intended to be delivered across three to four 35-minute sessions per week. In preparation for each session, the teacher assigns students to pairs, in which one student is proficient and the other is deficient on the topic or skill emphasized in that session. The proficient student serves as the tutor, and the deficient student serves as the tutee, with students switching roles across sessions.
Structuring the peer tutoring interaction: Each session includes three primary components: partner reading, paragraph “shrinking,” and “prediction relay. First, the stronger reader begins reading the text. Second, as the student completes their sections, they summarize the passage and offer a sequential retelling of important events that occurred. Third, after providing their summary, the student predicts what will happen next in the passage, before continuing to read. The reader’s partner then assesses whether the prediction was accurate, and the other student takes their turn as the reader.
- Strategies
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Literacy curricula and interventions
- Cost per Participant
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Approximately $40 for program manuals; $1,500 for one day of professional development (2012)
Multiple studies with rigorous designs suggest that PALS Reading is a promising strategy for improving alphabetics among kindergarten and first grade students.
- This assessment is based on evidence from a2012 research synthesis.
Prepare educators for implementation: Schools should provide professional development and ongoing support to educators implementing the PALS Reading program. The Fuchs Research Group at Vanderbilt University, which developed the PALS program, offers training workshops led by experienced trainers to implementing schools.
Conduct a diagnostic assessment: The PALS model relies on the ability of teachers to create student pairs where one student is proficient and the other deficient on a given topic. By conducting a diagnostic literacy assessment, teachers can leverage data to more quickly create appropriate student pairs.
Track students over time: Over the school year, each student in PALS classrooms should be paired with several different students and serve as both a tutor and a tutee. As such, teachers should create a tracking system to ensure these goals are taken into account when assigning pairs.
Use data to monitor progress: Schools should use data to monitor student progress. These data can be used to identify areas where students require additional support. Periodic literacy assessments and/or structured observations by educators may be used to collect data on student achievement.