<br/>Depending on the semester, successful completion of the University of Southern Maine (USM) gateway chemistry course - General Chemistry – can be limited to just 50% of enrollees. Several years ago, a belief of many in higher education was that a “flipped” classroom was the key to improve student success, setting the stage for active-learning in high-enrollment general chemistry courses taught in a traditional, large-lecture space. However, two USM Chemistry faculty - in collaboration with USM learning support services - sought to create a new teaching model that goes beyond flipped classroom methods to combat this issue and increase student success.<br/><br/>Beginning in 2015, USM faculty and staff began training and deploying peer assistants (referred to as Learning Assistants) both inside and outside the Chemistry classroom to facilitate engaged informal learning. Using undergraduate student peers offered a new avenue to greater student learning gains and overall success. These peer assistants aid in facilitating group work in the large-lecture setting, creating a sense of community among the students in the classroom and offer tutoring and study sessions outside of the classroom. The peer assistant program offered something new – a personal connection; the relationships built between peer assistants and students has helped to increase the number of students who engage in tutoring throughout the semester.  In this session, we will share outcomes along with details of the training and philosophy associated with this peer support model, and hear directly from an undergraduate panel or Learning Assistants about how their involvement positively influenced learning outcomes for the students and for themselves. The faculty will also share the impact that partnering with peer assistants had upon their own pedagogy and approach to the work.

Flipped classrooms, peer assistants, and tutoring: The winning combination at USM

255th National Meeting (2018)

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