Reading Program: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)©

Reading Program Overview

Intervention: Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)


Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)© is an instructional program for use in
elementary school classrooms to improve student proficiency in reading
and math. It was developed for use with students with diverse academic
needs, including English language learners. Although other programs
emphasize peer-to-peer learning strategies that can be utilized in
classrooms, this report focuses on Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies
because of its possible usefulness with students with diverse academic
needs, including English language learners with learning disabilities.

Research

One study of Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies for English language
learners met the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards.
The study included 132 Spanish-speaking English language learners from
grades 3–6 in South Texas.1 The WWC considers the extent of evidence
for Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies to be small for reading achievement.
No studies that met WWC standards with or without reservations addressed
math achievement or English language development.

Effectiveness

Peer-Assisted Learning Strategie s was found to have potentially positive
effects on reading achievement.

1 The evidence presented in this report is based on available research. Findings
and conclusions may change as new research becomes available.

2 These numbers show the average and range of improvement indices for all
 findings across the study.
 
Teachers, Parents and Administrators:
Please Give your Input on Peer-Assisted Learning Strategies (PALS)©

WWC is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Education's

Institute of Education Sciences, the WWC:

Produces user-friendly practice guides for educators that address

instructional challenges with research-based recommendations for

schools and classrooms; Assesses the rigor of research evidence

on the effectiveness of interventions (programs, products, practices,

and policies), giving educators the tools to make informed decisions;

Develops and implements standards for reviewing and synthesizing

education research; and

Provides a public and easily accessible

registry of education evaluation researchers

to assist schools, school districts, and program

developers with designing and carrying out

rigorous evaluations.

All reports are reprinted from the

US Department of Education website

WWC for informational purposes.

Complete Reports Can Be Found

@ http://ies.ed.gov/