Action Research: Peer Coaching Proves Successful

This article exemplifies how instructors concerned about student success and learning can join forces to positively impact student achievement. Faced with high failure rates in large lectur... See More

This article exemplifies how instructors concerned about student success and learning can join forces to positively impact student achievement. Faced with high failure rates in large lecture chemistry courses, college professors initiated a weekly team approach called Team Approach to Successful Learning (TASL). Students were coached by specially trained peer learning coaches (LCs) to help students assigned to their groups. The LCs concurrently enrolled in a course called Chemistry Topics for Teachers that met weekly to investigate best practices in science learning, teaching and pedagogy. The results exceeded anyone’s expectations. As a result, the TASL approach to teaching and learning continues to be offered to almost all of the Chemistry courses at this particular university.