1. Learning Development
Peer Assisted Learning Leicester Award:
Training Session 1
Steve Rooney
Zoe Enstone
Marta Ulanicka
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

2. PAL Leicester Award: what’s involved?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward > Programmes> Peer Assisted Learning
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

3. Training sessions
• 25th October 2011: Facilitation skills
• 1st November 2011: IT skills/independent group work.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

4. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

5. Academic Skills Development – what we do
• Getting organised and
ready for study • Making the most of lectures
• Managing time
• Academic writing
• Effective reading strategies
• Making notes
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

6. Academic Skills Development – methods of
access
one-to-one
consultations
online and paper-based resources
study-skills workshops
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

7. Our website:
www.le.ac.uk/succeedinyourstudies
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

8. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

9. Teaching/instruction versus Facilitation
Teaching Facilitation
Helping people to reach answer
Concrete instruction themselves - more about guiding
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

10. Facilitation – what’s your view?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

11. Facilitation – what’s involved? what works?
Building on top of existing knowledge
Questioning
Interactive - keeping people engaged
Avoid hierarchies
Group work, collaboration
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc
1

12. Facilitation
Multi-sensory Positive
Questioning
Multi-media Reinforcement
Group Work
Experiential Generic Study
and Group
Learning Skills
Dynamics
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

13. Questions: Open versus closed questions
• Closed questions: emphasise content, can often be answered
with a few words, or with a yes/no;
• Open questions: allow the other person to elaborate on
information of their choice.
Closed Open
Did you understand the main What did you think were the
points of the first lecture on main points of the lecture?
Physiology?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

14. Questions: Socratic questioning
Socrates taught by asking
questions to encourage his pupils
to discover the answer
themselves.
‘Socratic questioning’ relates to
the use of open questions to
break down difficult concepts into
small chunks of information which
can be answered more easily.
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ian-w-scott/4869953457/
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

15. Questions: Socratic questioning (2)
How do we address this whole problem?
What is the first thing we need to do to understand this?
More information at:
http://www.changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

16. Redirecting questions – how not to give
answers
• Can anybody help X answer that question?
• What was said in the lecture about this?
• Does anybody know the answer to that question?
• What do you think?
• What information would you need to answer that?
• What is the first thing you would need to do? What would you
need to do next?
• Let’s try and work that out together.
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

17. Fill them up with facts!
“Now, what I want is, Facts.
Teach these boys and girls
nothing but Facts. Facts alone
are wanted in life. Plant
nothing else, and root out
everything else. You can only
form the minds of reasoning
animals upon Facts: nothing
else will ever be of any service
to them.”
Thomas Gradgrind
in Charles Dickens, Hard Times
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www.le.ac.uk/slc

18. Transmissive teaching
knowledge
student
teacher
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19. Tell me, show me, involve me
“Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me and I'll remember.
Involve me and I'll
understand.”
Confucius
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

20. Using the senses Kinaesthetic
Encourage students learning:
to: learning through
Encourage students to:Discuss and doing/movement
Draw: explain topics to Encourage use of:
pictures/diagrams/flow other
each Experiments,
charts/mind maps Listen to simulations, role-
Use colour lectures/recordingsplay Both taste and smell
Make good use of ‘Explain aloud’ as Real can act as powerful
space in their notes a revision/ artefacts/objects memory triggers.
Visualise comprehension Resources which ?
 Access a variety of checking strategy are interactive
resources such as “You do not reallyand/or involve
written texts, understand problem solving,
screencasts, diagrams,something unless such as games,
charts etc. you can explain it quizzes etc.
to
your grandmother.”
(Albert Einstein)
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

21. Techniques to get them talking
Thinking Develop ideas
Time Understand task
Input new but Pair Pair Get talking
related task discussion discussion Check understanding
Group Group Group Group Develop
work work work work ideas
Whole class feedback
Tutor summary
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

22. Other techniques
• Rounds
• Case studies
• Role play
• Changing the rules
• Games
• Quizzes
• Debates
Structured activities can also help manage group dynamics
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

23. Positive reinforcement
Think about how you can:
• create a positive atmosphere;
• encourage participation;
• use praise in a constructive way (‘I
like the way you’ve elaborated on
the points instead of just providing
a list’)
• respond tactfully if you suspect
lack of understanding (‘What else
could you add to this?’ ‘Is there
another way you could look at
this/different approach you could
take?’)
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

24. Awareness of generic study skills
Information
management,
Time management
reading strategies,
note-making
Revision and exam
Academic writing
skills
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

25. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

26. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

27. Questions/concerns
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

28. Plan of session
• Introduction to Learning Development
• Facilitation Skills
Break
• Remembering Boundaries
• Skills Audit
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

29. Contacting us and staying in touch
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
palaward@le.ac.uk
(0116) 2231889
2nd floor,
David Wilson library
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

30. Sections of this training session were based on the UCL transition mentor training
materials (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transition/student-mentoring) and Glasgow PAL
coordinators’ pack (http://www.psy.gla.ac.uk/~steve/resources/paltraining.pdf).
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc

31. Encourage students to: Encourage students to: Kinaesthetic learning:
Draw: Discuss and explain learning through
pictures/diagrams/flow topics to each other doing/movement
charts/mind maps Listen to Encourage use of:
Use colour lectures/recordings Experiments,
Make good use of ‘Explain aloud’ as a simulations, role-play
space in their notes revision/comprehension Real
Visualise checking strategy artefacts/objects
 Access a variety of “You do not really Resources which are
resources such as written understand something interactive and/or
texts, screencasts, unless you can explain it involve problem
diagrams etc. to your grandmother.” solving, such as games,
(Albert Einstein) quizzes etc.
Both taste and smell
can act as powerful
memory triggers.
?
www.le.ac.uk/leicesteraward
www.le.ac.uk/slc