Keywords

In this chapter, we provide an overview of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies, widely known as PALS, a suite of validated, universal-tier programs, conducted by the classroom teacher in the general education classroom, with the primary goal of improving reading and mathematics outcomes for all learners in the general education classroom. In this chapter, we begin by describing PALS’s purpose, structure, and goal, as well as the processes by which PALS is designed to accomplish that goal. Then we explain PALS’s essential components and describe what research studies tell us about the effects of PALS on reading and math achievement and on social standing. Next, we explain considerations for implementing and draw conclusions.

Purpose, Structure, Goal, and Processes for Accomplishing That Goal

PALS is used as a supplement to the adopted core reading or mathematics program. With PALS, the teacher organizes her class of students in pairs to work together 2–4 times per week for 20–30 minutes per session. Pairs work on a highly structured set of activities that provide guided instruction and practice on academic content, including foundational-level skills and higher-order strategies.

The goal is to establish a classroom routine that benefits students’ academic learning and that encourages productive academic behavior and supports socio-emotional growth via two related processes. First, intensive one-to-one peer interactions permit many opportunities for students to ask and respond to questions, to receive immediate corrective feedback, to experience high doses of academically engaged time, and to participate in constructive, supported peer-to-peer social interactions. The second process by which PALS improves outcomes is by establishing a routine classroom structure by which teachers can differentiate instruction. With the PALS structure, teachers assign different pairs to simultaneously work on different levels of text or different mathematics skills, sometimes using varying levels of scaffolds or supports.

Essential PALS Components

PALS Manuals and Training

A different PALS manual is provided for each grade within each content area (reading vs mathematics). Manuals explain the structure of the PALS program for that content area/grade. They also provide the necessary materials for implementing PALS, as well as detailed, scripted lessons for the classroom teacher to use in training her class to conduct PALS in a productive and orderly fashion. As procedures/activities are taught, they are incorporated into the PALS sessions. New activities are gradually added as students gain experience with the previously introduced activities. Training is completed over 4–6 weeks, depending on grade/content area. For information on obtaining PALS manuals, go to www.peer-assistedlearningstrategies.net.

Coach and Player Roles

The teacher pairs the students in her class to place a higher-performing student with a lower-performing student. Pairs are reassigned every 2 weeks in Math PALS, and every month in Reading PALS. Tables 6.1a and 6.1b shows procedures for pairing students, which is based on the teacher’s rank ordering of the students’ skill level. This procedure differs in reading and math.

Table 6.1a Reading pairingscheme
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Table 6.1b Math pairingscheme
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Also, in ReadingPALS, one student in each pair is designated first reader, the other as second reader; students reverse roles halfway through each activity. In math PALS, the students are referred to as Coach and Player; students switch roles halfway through the Coaching component (see Table 6.2b). For ease of communication in this overview, we refer to the “tutor” role as Coach and to the “learner” role as Player. The Coach helps the Player work step by step through the lesson’s activities, structuring the Player’s thinking via guided questions and providing corrective feedback for each error and praise for correct responding.

The PALS program is explicitly scripted for the Coach and the Player so students have clear guidelines for their roles in the learning process (see Fig. 6.1 for how explicit feedback is structured, using as an example the Paragraph Shrinking Activity in PALS Reading at Grades 2–6). Typically, in PALS Reading, the higher-performing student starts as Player and the lower-performing student as Coach. This permits the higher-performing student to model correct reading for the lower-performing student. In PALS Math, the higher-performing student begins as Coach to model correct execution of the procedure or strategy and to model productive methods for giving feedback and providing strong explanations.

Fig. 6.1
A sketch of two people talking, their conversation, and a note by Austen, 1813. They talk about the most important thing about the who or what.

Illustration of the PALS reading paragraph shrinking activity

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PALS Motivation and Behavior Management

PALS incorporates a point system designed to maintain motivation and encourage positive pair interactions and productive academic behavior. Pairs are responsible for awarding each other points in each PALS lesson for correct responses to problems and questions. They record points on a pre-numbered score card. At the end of each session, the teacher identifies the pair who earned the most points that day; that pair collected the PALS folders. To create both a competitive and cooperative motivational framework, teachers assign pairs to two teams. At the end of each week, the teacher sums up each team’s points, and the class applauds the winning team.

Teacher’s Role

In PALS, the teacher conducts the PALS training lessons during the first 4–6 weeks. Then, as PALS is implemented, she oversees each session. She announces the start of the PALS lesson and directs students to move to sit next to partners (using a simple, quiet procedure taught during training). At grades K-1, she next conducts a scripted overview of the lesson, in which the day’s focus, skill, or strategy is explained, and she provides whole-class practice on that lesson’s paired activities. During all paired activities, regardless of grade, the teacher circulates to answer student questions, listen to pairs, and provide help or feedback as needed, and award bonus points to pairs for strong PALS interactions and explanations. The teacher also announces times at which students to switch PALS activities and roles, and she closes out the session by praising groups for strong PALS interactions or explanations and by attending to total point earned that day or week.

PALS Activities, Content, Session Duration, and Number of Lessons

PALS shares a basic organizational structure across the grades and across reading and mathematics. However, the activities differ by grade level and content area. Tables 6.2a and 6.2b outlines the activities by content area and grade. Tables 6.3a and 6.3b outlines the content, duration of lessons, and number of lessons addressed by for reading by grade within reading versus math.

Table 6.2a PALS reading activities
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Table 6.2b PALS math activities
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Table 6.3a PALS reading program details
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Table 6.3b PALS math program details
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Summary of PALS Research

Scores of studies have been conducted examining PALS efficacy on students’ reading and mathematics outcomes, as well as the effects on the social standing of students with disabilities who participate in PALS. In Table 6.4, we provide references for a sample of PALS studies. This bibliography is limited to research conducted by the Fuchs Research Team. It is important to note, however, that studies have been conducted by numerous faculty across the United States, Canada, Iceland, Britain, Finland, Norway, as well as other countries.

Table 6.4 Illustrative PALS studies and overview articles from the Fuchs Research Team
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In a typical efficacy study, classrooms are randomly assigned to PALS versus non-PALS conditions. Across conditions, the core program is the same. The difference is that in the “experimental” condition, PALS is conducted during part of the core instructional block (usually substituting for independent work time). In this way, total instructional time is held constant across PALS and non-PALS conditions.

In each classroom, the researchers identify a subset of students for pre- and post-testing in the study. The sample systematically includes students with learning disabilities as well as other students who at the start of the year demonstrate low academic performance, those with average performance, and students with high performance in the relevant academic domain. The researchers administer pretests and posttests of academic performance to these research participants. In some studies, the researchers also administer measures of students’ social standing in the classroom.

Findings favor the academic learning of students in PALS classrooms improves over students in control classrooms. This is true for all four learner types: students with learning disabilities, as well as other students who began the year with low, average, or high levels of academic performance. Thus, PALS appears to benefit all types of student learners. Additionally, students with learning disabilities are better known, are better liked, and have more friends in PALS classrooms than in non-PALS classrooms.

Considerations for Implementing PALS

High-quality and experienced trainers are available to help states, districts, or schools learn how to implement PALS. This can be accomplished in 1-day training session or multi-day workshops (depending on how many academic areas and grade levels are being adopted), and schools can arrange for trainers to provide follow-up observations and corrective feedback to ensure optimal implementation.

School personnel should also be mindful that to achieve strong engagement, ensure optimal effects on reading and math, and enhance students’ social standing, teachers must allocate the time needed to carefully prepare their students to implement PALS according to plan and that teachers must implement PALS according to the designated schedule. Once classrooms are trained in using PALS, teachers need to be vigilant in keeping students in motivating text of appropriate difficulty (for grades 2–6 Reading PALS) and in attending to photocopying demands (for keeping Math PALS filled with the required materials). Also, although the vast majority of children easily learn how to be helpful, kind learning partners, teachers should be prepared for the occasional student who requires special attention to maintain appropriate PALS behavior. This can sometimes require an individualized behavioral contract or dedicated use of the most proficient and understanding classroom peers to serve as these students’ partners.

Conclusions

PALS is a classroom-based intervention with strong evidence for strengthening reading and math outcomes, achieving strong engagement, and enhancing students’ social standing improving. PALS can be used to supplement a broad array of core programs and, as shown in research, PALS provides an academic “safety-net” for students who require additional structured practice to achieve reading and math benchmarks. Teachers and students alike enjoy using PALS. Teachers report that PALS is easy to implement. Students report that PALS is fun, and the level of student engagement in PALS classrooms is notable. Due to its demonstrated effects within high-quality randomized control trials, its affordability, and its ease of use, PALS has become a very popular educational innovation, used widely throughout the United States, and it has been translated into a variety of languages for implementation in many countries across the globe.

Resources/for More Information

PALS manuals, which provide all materials for implementing PALS (except library reading material) and scripted lessons for teachers to prepare classrooms to implement PALS) are available for kindergarten, grade 1, and grades 2–6 in reading and in math. For information on obtaining PALS manuals, go to www.peerassistedlearningstrategies.com or contact lynn.a.davies@vanderbilt.edu. The website also provides additional information on PALS as well as manuals for conducting validated supplementary, small-group reading and math interventions.