Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL)

Freshman year I took Chem-C105. This is the first semester of general chemistry. Along with lecture, we have to take a section called recitation. Essentially, it is two hours for us to work with our classmates on problems relating to lecture that week. A recitation leader is there to facilitate groupwork and help with the problem if needed. I loved my recitation leader, so I decided to become one myself for that course. During this experience, I learned a lot. For example, asking questions that don't directly give away the answer. The point of PLTL is for the students to use each other and not rely on the leader. As a leader, I was instructed to never tell a student if their answer was correct; instead, we asked them how they got they answer and went from there. This experience also allowed me to deeper my understanding of chemistry. I learned that I learn best if I am teaching the material.  

To be a recitation leader, we were required to attend a roughly two-hour class once a week. During this time, we reviewed the week's workshop problems with other leaders. Then we listened to a presentation from veteran leaders to help us learn how to be better leaders.

Below is the syllabus for this class.