Resources for Parents
The PLTL Workshop program is a distinctive opportunity for students attending the University of Rochester. Students can easily get lost in lecture courses and the recitations that often can accompany such courses. These traditional methods tend to promote passive learning with little interaction between the student and the professor or lab leader. PLTL Workshops, on the other hand, are small interactive groups that promote learning in a relaxed, non-threatening atmosphere. PLTL Workshops give your student more individual attention. Research has overwhelmingly shown that PLTL Workshops improve student learning. Students who attend and participate in PLTL Workshops perform significantly better than students who do not.
The PLTL Workshop program at the University of Rochester is indeed unique. It covers many disciplines and creates an intellectually vibrant and personal learning experience for students. PLTL Workshops benefit all who participate, from those who struggle to the top of the class. Students make connections with their peers that can last throughout their college years. PLTL Workshops personalize their education and therefore provide crucial academic support.
PLTL Workshops are good for students! They:
- Improve learning.
- Improve grades.
- Promote student interactions academically and socially, creating a more collaborative atmosphere campus-wide.
Frequently heard comments from PLTL Workshop participants:
- The informal atmosphere makes learning the material more fun.
- Concepts are studied in a way that makes it easier to understand.
- PLTL Workshop problems are good guidelines for test problems.
- After PLTL Workshop, all the problems are easier to understand.
- It’s easy to ask for help because of the willingness and availability of the PLTL Workshop leader.
- PLTL Workshops are very helpful and absolutely necessary.
- I really appreciate the support I get from my PLTL Workshop leader.
- PLTL Workshop leaders are well-prepared and knowledgeable.
- I passed the class because of PLTL Workshop!
How will PLTL Workshops help my student?
As a rule, PLTL Workshop students get better grades, learn more, develop effective study skills, and cultivate academic partnerships that last. PLTL Workshops do all this AND they make learning the material more fun!
Will PLTL Workshops be more work for my student?
There is extra scheduled class time; however, this class time is very structured and efficient. Students find that time spent in PLTL Workshop is time very well spent. By and large the most common response to PLTL Workshop is that they help students to perform better in the course and research backs this up semester after semester.
My student has special needs. How will PLTL Workshops help them?
PLTL Workshops are effective for all types of students. Because they are peer-led and small, students are much more willing to ask questions and get one-on-one help from their peers including the PLTL Workshop leader.
Departments and Courses with a PLTL Workshop Component
Offerings vary by semester. For a list of up-to-date courses contact the Learning Center.
Did you know...
The connections that students make through PLTL Workshops often lead to lasting academic partnerships.