An investigation of NUCLEUS students' involvement in outside of class peer study meetings

Date
2016
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University of Delaware
Abstract
Research has shown that undergraduate students benefit from participating in peer study meetings in which they voluntarily work together on academic material outside of class time. Such productive peer interactions can help students persist in college to the completion of their undergraduate degrees (academic achievement), and develop transferable skills that are essential for success in life after college (professional development). These ways of supporting students align with the main goals of the NUCLEUS program. Therefore, providing better support for NUCLEUS students to participate in productive outside of class peer study meetings is one way NUCLEUS staff can foster the mission of the NUCLEUS program. The NUCLEUS program is an undergraduate academic support program in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Delaware. Historically, NUCLEUS staff have encouraged students to work on course material with classmates outside of class time and class requirements. However, a survey of NUCLEUS students’ engagement in voluntary peer study meetings outside of class time has never been carried out. This Executive Position Paper describes the findings of a descriptive study that used mixed methods to investigate the extent to which NUCLEUS students were involved in outside of class peer study meetings during the fall 2012 semester. Furthermore, to ascertain how NUCLEUS staff can better support NUCLEUS students’ participation in productive, outside of class peer study meetings (the organizational improvement goal of this Executive Position Paper), the study explored the factors that helped and hindered student participation in peer study meetings as well as the factors that helped and hindered productivity in peer study meetings. Implications from these findings, in addition to NUCLEUS students’ suggestions, informed the implementation of several program activities to better support NUCLEUS students’ participation in productive peer study meetings. Additionally, further recommendations for the NUCLEUS program and recommendations for ways the university may better support all students’ participation in outside of class peer study activities are described.
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