Peer Assisted

Learning
Strategies
(PALS)

(c) 2009, Orlikowski

© 2009, Orlikowski
 Goals for this
session:
PART 1- PowerPoint
•What is Peer Assisted
Learning Strategies (PALS)?
•What does PALS looks like in
the classroom?
(c) 2009, Orlikowski © 2009, Orlikowski
 Goals for this
session:
PART 2- Wiki
• What does research say
about PALS?
• What are the advantages and
disadvantages of PALS?
© 2009, Orlikowski
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
PART 1

What is Peer
Assisted
Learning
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
© 2009, Orlikowski
 PALS is…
• Type of classwide peer tutoring that is used
to improve reading and mathematics skills
– It is meant to be used by teachers along with their
current reading and mathematics curriculum

• “PALS incorporates structured activities that

require peers to engage in frequent
interaction, provide each other with
immediate corrective feedback, and take
turns as tutor and tutee” (Fuchs, Fuchs, &
Burish, 2000). (c) 2009, Orlikowski © 2009, Orlikowski
 Part 1
continued…

What does PALS

look like in the
classroom?
(c) 2009, Orlikowski © 2009, Orlikowski
• A 25 to 35 minute reading or
mathematics activity
• Implemented 2 to 4 times per
week
• Compliments but does not replace
existing reading and math
curricula
• Teachers train students to use the
PALS procedures

© 2009, Orlikowski
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
• Students are paired up and pairs
are changed regularly based on
the students’ individual needs
• Students are divided into two
teams and earn points for their
team
• Students take turns being the
tutor and the tutee
• Immediate feedback is given to
tutee by tutor
© 2009, Orlikowski
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
PALS Reading
• Used from pre-school to high school
• Pre-school and Kindergarten PALS
focuses on:
– Letter names and sounds
– Letter-sound correspondences
– Phonological awareness
– Decoding
• First grade PALS focuses on:
– Decoding
– Fluency
• Grades 2-6 PALS focuses on:
– Fluency
– Comprehension
• Higher grades PALS focuses on:
– Partner reading
– Identifying main idea
– Predicting
– Reading Aloud (c) 2009, Orlikowski © 2009, Orlikowski

– Summarizing
 PALS Reading
activities
• Partner Reading
– Brief retellings
• Tutor reads for 5 minutes and tutee rereads same passage
• Tutor corrects word errors and tells tutee to reread the sentence
• Tutee retells the sequence of events
– Students earn 1 point for correctly read sentences and 10 points for the
retelling
• Paragraph Shrinking
– Identifying main idea
• Tutor guides tutee by asking…Who? What? When? Where?
– Students earn 1 point for answering the questions and 1 point for
stating the main idea
• Prediction Relay
– Make and check predictions
• Tutee makes prediction about the next half page
• Tutee reads the half page out loud
• Tutee confirms or disconfirms prediction
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
• Tutee identifies main idea of the half page © 2009, Orlikowski
 PALS Math
• Used in grades K-6
• Consists of “coaching” and “practice”
• During “Coaching” (15-20 minutes)
– Students complete a worksheet of
problems on a specific skills area (ex.
adding, subtracting, regrouping, charts,
etc.)
– “Coach” uses a worksheet that contains
questions to guide student to skill
comprehension
• During “Practice” (5-10 minutes)
– Students work independently on a
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
worksheet with skills covered in “coaching”
© 2009, Orlikowski
 PALS Materials
• Minimal and inexpensive
• PALS teacher’s manual
• Transparencies
• Overhead projector
• Pocket folders for each pair of
students
• Timer
• Classroom teachers can implement
PALS without the use of teachers’
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
© 2009, Orlikowski
 Great sites about
• PALS!
The Official PALS website:
http://kc.vanderbilt.edu/pals/teachmat/default.html
• What Work Clearing House:
http://
www.ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/reports/beginning_reading/pals
/
• Council for Exceptional Children Website:

http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home
• A PowerPoint:

http://www.southwestida.com/2008conference/PDFs/YenP
• Promising Practices Network:

http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?programid
(c) 2009, Orlikowski
© 2009, Orlikowski