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Program information2
Developer and contact
Developed by Lynn and Doug Fuchs, Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is distributed by Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. Address: Vanderbilt University, Attn: Flora Murray/PALS Orders, Box 328 Peabody, Nashville, TN 37203-5701. Email: flora.murray@vanderbilt.edu. Web: http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/. Telephone: (615) 343-4782.
Scope of use
Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies was developed more than ten years ago to be used with students in kindergarten through high school. It has been implemented in Tennessee, and teacher trainings have been conducted in Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, Arizona, and Ohio. The program has been used with students with diverse ability levels, including English language learners and students with learning disabilities.
Teaching
PALS is designed to supplement the existing reading curriculum. It includes separate versions for kindergarten (called K-PALS), grade 1 (First-Grade PALS), and grades 2–6. In each version students engage in peer-tutoring routines through a series of structured interactions. K-PALS Reading and First-Grade PALS include a set of 70 student lesson sheets, and teachers choose appropriate reading material for partner reading. In higher grades PALS does not provide any reading material; teachers select appropriate reading materials.
PALS sessions usually last 30 to 35 minutes three times a week. A typical lesson for the first-grade students begins with 15 minutes of Sounds and Words, which focuses on learning to hear and identify sounds, sounding out words, learning sight words, and practicing passage reading. The next 15 minutes of Story Sharing focuses on predicting story plots, oral reading, and retelling stories. A typical lesson for students in grades 2 to 6 includes specific activities to improve reading accuracy, fluency, and reading comprehension.
PALS offers teacher training in an all-day workshop where teachers learn to implement the program through modeling and role playing. Teachers are also provided with a manual describing the program.
Cost
The manual for each grade-level reading version of PALS costs $35. It includes teaching scripts and master copies of necessary student materials. Video materials that provide an overview of the grades 2 to 6 program are available for $15. Information on the cost of PALS training workshops is not available.
