The peer-leaders meet with small groups of six to ten students each week, for one to two hours, to discuss, debate, and engage in problem solving related to the course material.
PLTL originated at the City College of New York in the early 1990s as part of an effort to address the low success rate of students in General Chemistry.
Preliminary results at City College of New York and other collaborating institutions indicated improved student attitudes and performance in General Chemistry and other courses.
[2] An extensive national dissemination effort resulted in more widespread adoption of essential components of PLTL in a variety of science, mathematics, and engineering coursework.
[4] A recent review of research on PLTL and closely related peer-led learning formats found that published studies representing courses at over twenty institutions have demonstrated an average increase of 15% ABC as a fraction of the initially enrolled students, compared to traditional lecture.