What is the required Pedagogy of Peer-Led Learning Course (01:090:322)?

This course is designed to help students understand the role of a peer educator and develop instructional strategies aligned with the Learning Centers’ guiding principles of student-centered, active, cooperative learning and differentiated instruction.

What will I learn in this course?
Through the course, students learn to:

  • Work with instructors to facilitate small-group learning in lectures.

  • Assist teaching assistants in supporting individual and small-group learning during recitations.

  • Lead study groups or recitations by designing student-centered activities and facilitating learning through dialogue and effective questioning.

Course Topics
LAs are trained to facilitate learning and engage students in scientific discourse, rather than act as experts transmitting knowledge. Topics include:

  • Activity design

  • Cooperative learning

  • Diversity

  • Learning theories

  • Memory and metacognition

  • Mental models and conceptual change

  • Questioning techniques

Course Structure

  • Offered as a hybrid course with asynchronous and synchronous components.

  • Follows a flipped classroom model: students read materials before class and then engage in discussions, collaborative activities, and activity design during class.

  • Designed to model active and collaborative learning, which students then apply in lectures, recitations, labs, and study groups.

Assessment

  • Weekly asynchronous reading quizzes and weekly in-class activities

    • Two summative quizzes

  • Two major projects: an interview project and a teaching statement

    • Projects are broken down into parts that are each due throughout the semester

Who is required to take this course?

  • First-semester LAs must take this course and obtain at least a C to continue working for the LA Program.

  • Open to other peer leaders at Rutgers or students interested in peer education.

Curriculum Credits
The course may fulfill certain requirements depending on the school:

  • School of Arts and Sciences: WCr (Revision-Based Writing and Communication Learning Goal)

  • School of Environmental and Biological Sciences: Experience-Based Education Core Curriculum requirement

  • School of Engineering: Upper-level humanities elective

First-time LAs should check with their academic advisors to see how the course fits into their program.

If you have questions about the course, please contact PL Training at pltraining@echo.rutgers.edu.



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