Rate My Professor Carole Scott

Carole Scott is the Peer Learning and Programmes Coordinator at the University of Otago, working within the Higher Education Development Centre (HEDC). She has been instrumental in developing and managing peer learning initiatives, particularly the Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) programme, which she co-piloted at the university in 2008 alongside Associate Professor Jacques van der Meer. This programme shifts the emphasis from staff-led instruction to peer-supported learning, aimed at enhancing first-year students' academic engagement, transition to university, and overall success. Scott coordinates student leadership programs and oversees operational aspects of the Student Learning Centre, contributing to sustainable interventions that foster a sense of belonging, especially for local and off-campus students. Her administrative role includes managing the centre's activities, as noted in various university committees and events.

Scott's research specializations center on peer education, student experiences in learning support, and the efficacy of supplemental instruction. Notable publications include 'Students’ experiences and perceptions of peer assisted study sessions: Towards ongoing improvement' (2009, Journal of Peer Learning, 67 citations), which analyzes feedback for program refinement; 'Shifting the balance in first-year learning support: From staff instruction to peer-learning primacy' (2008, Journal of Peer Learning, 40 citations); '“We Were Told We’re Not Teachers… It Gets Difficult to Draw the Line”: Negotiating Roles in Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)' (2014, Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 27 citations); 'How peer mentoring fosters graduate attributes' (2019, Journal of Peer Learning, 25 citations); and 'Fix, build, diagnose or guide? Evaluating the metaphors for learning advisors' (2015, ATLAANZ Journal, 6 citations). These works highlight themes of role negotiation in peer mentoring, graduate attribute development, and learning advisor frameworks. In 2016, Scott and van der Meer received the Outstanding Supplemental Instruction research award from the International Center for Supplemental Instruction for a systematic review linking such programs to higher grades, lower failure and withdrawal rates, and improved retention. She also earned the Award for Exceptional Performance by Professional Staff in 2012 from the University of Otago. Her contributions have influenced peer learning practices at Otago and beyond, with over 60 citations across her oeuvre.