INSPIRE Portfolio | Vincent Pigno

Peer Assisted Learning

  

 

 

Program Summary slide: download here Download download here

Peer Network Online Intercultural Competence Activity

Prof Clark-Oats and I presented an intercultural competence activity from the book Building Cultural Competence: Innovative Activities and Models by Kate Berardo et all called Voices From the Past. This activity allowed participants to express their cultural identity by exploring messages that were repeated to them as they developed their own cultural identities. During the activity groups discussed how these messages shaped and were shaped by their cultures.

The text describes the challenge level of the activity as "medium". Our impression of the activity was that it would be good for a group just starting to get to know each other. An appropriate time for this activity would be during the pre-semester training right when our class groups were meeting together for the first time. 

In order to modify this activity to an online environment we created used an online collaboration tool called Jamboard along with zoom breakouts. Participants were split into smaller breakout groups and were directed to the Jamboard where they filled out a slide with their names, their cultural identity and their professional identity. In the center of their slide participants wrote a key message they heard from someone influential in their lives. After a discussion in breakouts of the messages each person selected we met back a large group. Participants then placed digital sticky notes with messages on quotes from other groups that resonated with them.

Intercultural Competence Activity Material for Voices From the Past

Voices from the Past Jamboard for Breakouts 1 and 2 Links to an external site.

Voices from the Past Jamboard for Breakouts 3 and 4 Links to an external site.

Voices from the Past Jamboard for Breakouts 5 and 6 Links to an external site.

Peer Network Program Evaluation Plan

The Peer Assisted Learning program employed over 60 students during the Fall and Spring semester as student facilitators. The PAL program saw nearly 900 students enroll in our PAL workshops during the 20-21 academic year.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the PAL program has adapted its modalities from physical whiteboards to an online whiteboard program called miroboard. In order to create a sense of location the PAL program chose to use Microsoft teams for the video meetings of PAL.

The PAL program has over 7 years of data that indicates that students opting into a PAL earn a 20% "bump" in their course grade. The current data for the effectiveness of the pal program can be found on our website Links to an external site..

 

Program Staff

I am an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Sacramento State. My passion is teaching and making a positive impact on the students I have the great privilege of interacting with on a daily basis.

 

This work was supported by the Developing Hispanic Serving Institution Project INSPIRE