Higher Education Research and Development: Article Summary Notes

This assignment presents summary notes for two research articles focused on peer learning in higher education. The first article, "Finding their way in post-secondary education: the power of peers as connectors, coaches, co-constructors and copycats," investigates the role of peers in connecting students with resources and opportunities, utilizing an ecological model. It combines qualitative and quantitative methods, analyzing data from 1308 students to find that students benefit from workshops, leading to better grades and improved learning skills. The second article, "Peer-led team learning in a college of engineering: First-year students’ achievements and peer leaders’ gains," examines the impact of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) programs on first-year engineering students' achievement. Also using data from 1308 students, this research shows that PLTL programs improve academic performance, critical thinking, and retention rates. Both articles highlight the benefits of peer interaction and support in enhancing student success within the higher education environment.

Article 1 – Summary Notes
Research question:
Analysing the role of the peers as a connector between the arrays of the
microsystems to utilize ecological model as a real framework.
Title of article:
Finding the way of post-secondary education: the real power of peer like the
connectors, the coaches, the co-constructors and the copycats
Publication:
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
Author(s):
Diliana Peregrina-Kretz, Tricia Seifert, Christine Arnold and Jeffrey Burrow.
Background information:
This research paper is based on students’ post-secondary experience based on
an ecological model of framework to analyse the role of peers as connectors. The
respondents have confirmed that the peers that helped connecting them with the
resources and the opportunities to serve coaches and the confidantes for the
students as role models.
Aim and scope:
The Aim is to find the values in order to cultivate the institution and its peers
culture where students will possess and be responsive to each other’s learning
process and success. The scope here is to create positive peers culture by dealing
closely with the staffs to develop a meaningful and continual connections.
Method + Participants:
This research combines qualitative and quantitative methods.
1308 students participated in the research.
Findings:
The findings indicated a level of high development of personal involving nature
and responsiveness. The students benefitted from the workshops. They showed a

positive relation in between the psychometric scores and the relative
achievements.
Discussion/conclusions:
This workshop improved the students’ by accomplishing better grades and lower
course dropoutrates. It is also evident that the enhancement of the learning and
thinking skillsin broad sense. It is also observed that the workshops contributed
more to the students with higher capabilities.
Limitations:
Many students could have participated in the assessment, but due to higher
academic qualified students were given priority.
How does this connect to MY literature review?
As found in the review of literature, it reveals that no study have conducted
research in Israel on the basis of PLTL.

Article 2– Summary Notes
Research question:
Operating programmes based on peers led team learning how to promote
students’ retention and learning process in college of engineering.
Title of article:
A peers led team having a learning process in the college of engineering: The First
year students have achievements related to the peers leader relating gains.
Publication:
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
Author(s):
Orna Muller, Miri Shacham and Orit Herscovitz
Background information:
This Research Paper is based on the effects of the PLTL programmes on
achievement of students who participated in the workshops.
Aim and scope:
The aim is to reveal about the workshop related to advance students of higher
levels to improve the achievements in various courses. The scope here is to
contribute more to the students with higher academic capabilities.
Method + Participants:
The method of this research paper is examining the impacts of the PLTL in the
students of first year to assess their gains and their achievements.
1308 students participated in this research.
Findings:
The findings are related to improve participants’ academic achievements and to
have a critical thinking gain and improvement of performance and retention. The
findings also indicate higher level of personal involvement and responsibility. The
findings also have shown that the students who participated have been benefitted
due to this workshop.
Discussion/conclusions:

The workshops related to the PLTL programmes improved the participation of the
students, helped them accomplish better in terms of grades and make the course
drop-out rates lower if compared to the nonparticipants of the programme.
Limitations:
The only limitation regarding this research paper is of focusing on a group of
students, as the results have shown in previous time that the number former PLs
who graduated from the engineering college is only six.
How does this connect to MY literature review?
The literature review suggested that no studies were conducted in the Israel in
terms of PLTL or some same kind of purpose programme.