PASS is a student-led, student-focused approach to learning support which empowers students to take control of their own learning under the guidance of senior students who have previously and successfully completed the targeted course. PASS derives from an American model called 'Supplemental Instruction' (SI) which originated at the University of Kansas-City, Missouri in the 70's.
The Supplemental Instruction (SI) and its other variants – Peer Assisted Study Support (PASS), Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) and Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) run in more than 1500 institutions and 30 countries worldwide. PASS program which was approved at the senate of the University of Ibadan on 16 January 2017, is to target traditionally difficult courses and provide regularly scheduled peer facilitated study sessions.
Traditionally difficult courses are those with high failure rates or less than 30% having between 5 and 7 points. The program targets challenging courses that, over time, have demonstrated their difficulty regardless of the lecturer(s) who teach the course, or the material used. To begin with, we have identified CHE 157, MAT 121 and PHY 114.
PASS are facilitated by PASS leaders, who are students who have previously completed the targeted course, and received a minimum of 65%. During the study sessions, the PASS leaders will facilitate collaborative study and group study strategies and techniques specific to the course.
The Goal of PASS is to assist students in becoming independent learners, while the objectives include:
Increasing the number of students in the targeted course who receive a grade of 5 points or better
To reduce failure rates to less than 10%.
Role of the PASS Leader:
PASS leaders facilitate the study sessions and act as a liaison between the lecturer(s) of the targeted course, and the students enrolled in the targeted course. The PASS Leader is to serve as a “model student” who shows how successful students think about and process the course content consistently.
(S)he displays effective behavior and then transfers the knowledge and information obtained to the subsequent study sessions. The role of the leader is to provide structure to the study session, not to re-lecture or introduce new material. The PASS leaders work with students over the course of the semester to integrate the content they are being taught, with appropriate and effective study skills.
The PASS leader is expected to do the following:
· Organize and facilitate one or two 1- hour study session(s) per week
· Meet once a week for an hour each with the partnering lecturer for feedback, strategic planning, and professional development
· Meet/Interact at least once a week the PASS coordinator and other leaders for support, supervision and training's.
· Attend mandatory training session at the beginning of the session
· Have at least 6 points in the targeted course and a CGPA of 5 points at the end of 2015/16 session.
PASS leaders are rewarded at the end of the semester with certification and payment.
Only students who are in 200 and 300 levels during the 2016/17 session are eligible.
