Everyone can experience academic difficulty at one time or another.
Research indicates that Peer Assisted Learning (PAL – aka peer tutoring) is a viable method for assisting medical students who have
experienced some level of academic difficulty (Burgess A, McGregor D, Mellis C, 2014.
BMC Med Educ. 14:115). Working with someone who is close to you, in terms of experience,
but has completed a specific learning experience can really make a difference. To
facilitate this service, the School of Medicine offers a PAL program. Currently, the
focus of the tutoring program is for students in Years 1 and 2. Students from the
year above are paired with interested individuals for formal tutoring sessions.Connecting with a tutor.
To find a tutor, contact Allison Perrin, MS, LPC, Director of Student Affairs at Allison.Perrin@ttuhsc.edu or by phone at 806-743-3005.
Selection of a tutor.
Students seeking a tutor first meet with Ms. Perrin to discuss and assess academic
skills in addition to other skills that may impact performance, such as time and stress
management. If these discussions identify a potential benefit for participation in
PAL, a tutoring dyad is created. Peer tutors are selected based on their own performance
in the curriculum and are assigned to a tutoring relationship for those topics at
which they performed at a superior level. Every attempt is made to identify compatible
tutoring pairings, and Ms. Perrin will arrange for adjustments to the pairing arrangements,
if necessary.Meeting with a tutor.
There is no formal requirement for a specific number of tutoring sessions, as this
may depend upon availability of either member of the tutoring dyad, or the degree
of need that is perceived by the tutor. The average number of sessions for current
and past tutoring dyads is approximately 3-4.The cost of a tutor.
Tutors are paid at an hourly rate of $17.00 from funds provided by the Office of Dean of the School of Medicine. Thus, there is no cost to the student seeking a tutor.
Becoming a tutor.
Any student who would like to be considered for a position as a peer tutor should
contact Allison Perrin at Allison.Perrin@ttuhsc.edu or by phone at 806-743-3005. Peer tutors must complete a set of training modules
required by TTUHSC Human Resources before commencing tutoring.