Work in progress - how do students benefit as peer leaders of learning teams?

ECE 110 is a required course for freshmen majoring in electrical engineering or computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. ECE 110 students may choose to attend optional supervised study sessions, which implement peer-led team learning workshops. In the sessions, students work on difficult problems from previous semesters´ exams under the supervision of a team leader. The team leaders are graduate teaching assistants, undergraduate teaching assistants, and undergraduate volunteers. In the Spring and Fall 2008 semesters, team leaders were asked to keep weekly reflective journals. We qualitatively analyzed 14 journals and found that leaders faced common challenges such as irregular student attendance and inadequate student preparation. Leaders reported that they increased their self-confidence, developed an appreciation for intellectual diversity, and gained an increased interest in teaching.