| Description of good practice: |
Context:
MSc. Business and Management taught PALS sessions:
All postgraduates studying Business and Management (n=80) have been given PALS sessions during the scheduled time. Among them, 25 postgraduates who begin their study from January 2014 have been divided into two groups. Each group has been led by two PALS leaders from 5th March 2014 to 27th March. 8 sessions (60 minutes per session and 2 sessions per week) were running for each group. The remaining 55 postgraduates who begin their study from September 2013 have been divided into two groups. Each group has been led by one PALS leader from 5th March 2014 to 21th May. 9 sessions (60 minutes per session and 1 session per week) were running for each group.
In total, 9 debriefs (60 minutes per debrief) were running in order to analyze records of mentoring meetings to develop a revised PALS for master students.
Tourism and Hospitality Management taught PALS sessions:
PALS sessions were prepared by PALS leaders for 56 students in this project. Among them, 34 final year undergraduates have been divided into two groups. Each group has been led by two PALS leaders from 5th March 2014 to 27th March. 4 sessions (60 minutes per session and 1 session per week) were running for each group. While, other 10 pre-master students has been led by two PALS leaders from 5th March 2014 to 27th March. 4 sessions (60 minutes per session and 1 session per week) were running for pre-master students. The remaining 12 postgraduates have been placed in one group led by two PALS leaders from 24th April to 21th May. 10 sessions (60 minutes per session and 2 sessions per week) were running for this group. In total, 9 debriefs were running in order to analyze records of mentoring meetings to develop a revised PALS for new and potential masters students.
Faulty of Health and Human Science taught PALS sessions:
Two sessions have been conducted: consisting of one hour PALS session and one hour feedback to PALS coordinator, 4 hours in total. Sessions conducted on 16th May and 23rd May 2014. Fifteen midwifery students attended the session The course is due to end November 2014 and another PALS session will be undertaken September or October 2014.
Inclusivity challenge:
Higher education, both in undergraduate and postgraduate level, is facing many challenges due to the diverse in students’ background, including age, motivation, learning need and personal experience. However, postgraduate education seems more complicated because of the academic and social pressure. It is obvious that more and more master students are international and mature students, which composes the significant difference compared with the basic characteristics of undergraduate students. Support, both academically and socially, is required urgently by the postgraduate students, because this support may be a contributory factor to non-completion or failure of the program study. Generally speaking, there are three conflicts when international students study abroad—culture, education, language conflicts.
Postgraduates have a range of inclusivity issues:
Increasingly numbers of master’s students are mature and/or international students who may require support both academically and within the social environment.
For a small number of students undertaking certain master programs perceived lack of academic and social support may be a contributory factor to non-completion or failure of the program of study
The transition to masters level study is currently been managed on an ad hoc basis and has to date not involved major stakeholders.
PALS allows senior academics and/or leaders to help their peers with support in learning, educational attainment and personal development in many undergraduate programs. Therefore, the peer mentor scheme which is only available for current undergraduate students could also support postgraduates with a range of learning challenges.
Benefits and impact:
PALS is a mentoring strategy utilised in higher education in the general classroom and in more flexible self-decisive place and time, which could increase the academic and social performance of potential and new postgraduate, and thereby ease the transition to be postgraduate students. PALS may be conducive to promoting a positive and engaging learning environment for both the tutor and tutees. The impact that PAL has on a range of variables including cognitive, psychosocial and social skill development has been well documented.
Evaluation – PALS leaders’ response to the sessions ( useful and flexible way to learn)
• ‘In our experience with the pre masters students we think that the sessions were useful for us and the students. We talked to them about the course and what each module entails and what kind of work experience we can get as well as helping them with critical thinking’
• ‘We think that if we had a bigger group, the sessions would be much more interesting and we would take more out of it ourselves. Even organising a study group could add to the value of the meetings’
• ‘We enjoyed it. The preparation for the sessions itself was fun as well as educating, getting to know other people who want to study a master’s degree was great. This experience will benefit us in the future’
Student Comments:
For those who attend the PALS sessions, they think it is useful. They can communicate more freely to the leaders. Leaders can tell peer students their experience both in learning the subjects and living on campus. Among all the peers, pre-master students show the most enthusiasm and think PALS is very useful. One of the pre-master student said that ‘PALS leaders let me know more about the university and how to live easily here. I have a comprehensive understanding for the incoming postgraduate study. It is useful for my future living and learning.’ However, there are some problems. Sometimes the PALS leaders cannot understand or solve the problems. Most of the students misunderstand the PALS sessions as ordinary classes before attending the session. Therefore, they hope to learn professional or academic knowledge from the PALS sessions. And the PALS time is not good. Most of students believe PALS sessions should be start in September when they come to a new environment.
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