Eligibility

Proposals may be submitted for support of peer-led team learning course development in any field of science and in mathematics.

Proposals are invited from organizations in the United States and its territories: two-year colleges, four-year colleges, and universities. Applicants must show evidence of familiarity with the peer-led team learning model of instruction. This can be demonstrated through attendance at a PLTL short course or workshop. Evidence of a mentoring relationship with an experienced peer-led team learning instructor is desirable.

Submission

Five copies of the written proposals must be submitted to Pratibha Varma-Nelson. 

            Below are listed the consultants for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Math:

Proposal Preparation

The written proposal should contain the following information, assembled in the order indicated:

2. Project Description

Text in this section of the proposal should be double-spaced. Use standard margins, 12-point font, and print only on one side of the page. Limit the project description to no more than five pages. The description of the project should contain an explicit statement of plans for meeting the critical components of peer-led team learning, including:

Additionally, the project description should contain:

3. Biographical Sketch

Provide a biographical sketch of no more than two pages for the PI. Include items relevant to experience with curricula similar to peer-led team learning and/or curriculum reform.

4. Budget and Budget Justification

Provide a one-page budget and a one-page budget justification on separate pages. Funding up to $5000 per person (proposal) and $10,000 maximum for a discipline (department) at an institution will be considered. Requests for Workshop leader salaries must be matched on a one-to-one basis from the institution.  Show matching institutional funds explicitly on your budget page.  No indirect costs should be included.

The PLTL Project will provide evaluation assistance by the Project Evaluator.

Acceptable budget categories include (a) Workshop leader salaries, (b) support for preparation of materials, (c) travel for dissemination, including the presentation of posters, papers, workshops, or short courses, (d) evaluation, and (e) support for participation of a learning specialist, (f) an additional $1000 stipend for faculty to develop at least one original workshop module and $200 stipend for students to test the new module (Biology courses only).

5.  Statement of tasks to be performed with time lines

Provide a statement of tasks to be performed, i.e., training of peer leaders, materials development, evaluation, dissemination, etc.  All activities must have specific time lines.

Proposal Review Criteria

The general review criteria are: how well the proposal meets the critical components of peer-led team learning, evidence of understanding the peer-led team learning model, quality of plans, probability of successful implementation, and the other items requested in the project description section. The panel will also consider the qualifications of the personnel submitting the proposal.

Reviews are conducted by a panel appointed by the WPA officer for each discipline. Each panelist writes an individual review for all proposals assigned to the panel. The reviews are used by the WPA officers to make final funding decisions.

6.  WPA Research Requirements:

The Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) National Dissemination Project is undertaking a research project to assess (1) the impact of PLTL on student learning and attitudes; and (2) the impact of the leadership experience on the educational and career choices of the peer leaders.

The Project is supporting evaluation studies that involve a PLTL experimental group and a comparison group, a pre-post test design, or a paradigm developed in
consultation with the Project's research and evaluation team (Cracolice, Gafney, and Strozak). Outcome measures for the studies may include student performance on a standardized achievement tests and responses on a standardized, web-based student survey such as the Student Assessment of Learning Gains. In addition, each study site will complete a survey that provides institutional data, student background data, and PLTL program data.

After successful review of the WPA proposal, applicants will consult with an evaluation team member to formulate an evaluation plan. The final award will be contingent on the applicant's ability to participate in the research project.

New WPA grant recipients are required to participate in this research and will receive additional support from the project to do so. Project support includes: $500 in additional funds (added to your WPA budget for costs associated with participation in research); technical assistance in developing a research paradigm and executing the study; technical assistance in data collection, analysis and presentation; and technical assistance in assessing the impact of the PLTL leadership experience.

The data that each WPA researcher collects and submits to the project will be aggregated, analyzed, and reported with that of the other sites. Each WPA researcher will retain ownership of his/her data and authorship rights for articles and presentations. The project will send each WPA recipient a summary report of data collected by the research team. The WPA grant PI and collaborating institution will be acknowledged in published accounts of the research.

Acknowledgement             

The WPA program is made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation.