Program information

Developer and contact

Developed by Lynn and Doug Fuchs, Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is distributed by the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development. Address: Vanderbilt University, Attn: Flora Murray/PALS Orders, Peabody Box 228, Nashville, TN 37203-5701. Email: flora.murray@vanderbilt.edu. Web: http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals. Telephone: (615) 343-4782.⁶

Scope of use

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies, developed in the 1990s, was designed to be used with all students in kindergarten through 5th grade. It has been implemented in Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, and other states. The program has been used with English-proficient students with learning disabilities; the developers also have expanded its scope of use to include English language learners with and without learning disabilities and high school students.

Teaching

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies is a peer-tutoring program that incorporates three reading strategies: partner reading and retelling, paragraph shrinking, and prediction relay. During Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies sessions, students are put in pairs and take turns being the tutor (coach) and the tutee. To form pairs, the teacher ranks students from highest to lowest reading achievement. To decrease the disparity of the reading ability of the pairs, the list is split in half. The first student listed on the first half of the list is paired with the first student on the second half of the list.

During partner reading and retelling, the stronger reader reads for five minutes, while the weaker reader serves as the coach by identifying errors, initiating correction procedures, and awarding points for each sentence read correctly. After the first student reads, the coach asks what he or she has learned. Students switch roles for the second five minutes and follow the same procedure; that is, the weaker reader reads the same material while the stronger reader serves as the coach.

During paragraph shrinking, students generate main idea statements. The stronger reader reads one paragraph at a time. After reading each paragraph, the reader determines the main idea by responding to the following: “Name the most important who or what in the paragraph. Tell the most important information about the who or what. Say the main idea in 10 words or less.” The reader receives one point for each correct response. The tutor uses a correction procedure to help the reader amend inaccurate main idea statements. The first reader reads and shrinks paragraphs for five minutes before students switch roles. The second reader does not read the same material.

Prediction relay increases comprehension and piques students’ interest in the selection they are reading. Before reading half a page, the stronger reader has two minutes to predict what he or she might learn or what might happen. After reading for five minutes, the stronger reader has two minutes to evaluate the prediction. The students switch roles and follow the same procedure with new reading material.

Cost

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies materials range from $15 to $35. Large-print lessons ($15) are recommended for using Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies in reading instruction for kindergarten classrooms. Materials for 1st grade consist of scripted lessons to teach students the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies procedures, teacher-directed decodable worksheets, and decoding lesson worksheets that student pairs use during tutoring. Classroom reading materials (e.g., anthology from a core reading program, children’s books) are used for the partner-reading portion of 1st-grade Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies. Materials for 2nd grade and above consist of a teacher’s manual with scripted lessons to instruct students in the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies program. Students use classroom reading material to implement the program. Additional information can be found on the Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies website (http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals).