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What are the roles and benefits for you as a PAL leader?

Overall, there are three PAL leadership roles which evolve with the experience of the student

Leader roles are as follows:

  • Session Leader
  • Subject Leader
  • Co-ordinator

PAL leaders are required to attend an initial training session, as well as additional training where possible delivered by the PAL and academic coordinators. Subject leaders plan the structure of the PAL sessions which are then delivered by the session leaders to small teams of students. The contents of the sessions are further developed by gaining feedback from participants about what material they wish to discuss while maintaining close contact with the academic and the PAL coordinators.

During PAL sessions, leaders will encourage students to engage in useful learning activities. Leaders will redirect questions back to the group of participants to encourage active collaborative discussion between the participants. PAL leaders will also be responsible for relaying information back to the PAL and the academic coordinators.

PAL coordinators support and enable PAL subject and session leaders to organise the sessions. They steer the recruitment of new PAL leaders and their training, promoting it to the new students and ensure the continuation of the scheme in close collaboration with the academic coordinator.

PAL leader benefits

After being the recipient of our PAL scheme in the first year, students may wish to take one of the PAL leadership roles. By doing so, they can use their experiences to help newer students from year 2 onwards. Becoming a PAL leader helps:

  • improve your own learning.
  • solidify and review of your own academic knowledge and a deeper understanding of physics.
  • enhance your own personal development.
  • develop your confidence.
  • improve skill sets such as communication, organisation, teamwork and leadership.
  • connect with other students and building up networks.
  • enhance your employability by adding various skills to your CV.

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