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Due to high dropout rates (30%) among first-year students, our college of engineering operates programmes for promoting students' retention and learning. The peer-led team learning (PLTL) programme accompanies Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics introductory courses with a high rate of failures, and incorporates workshops of small groups of students for developing active-learning and problem-solving skills. The workshops are led by outstanding students from advanced years; the peer leaders (PL). This study focused on the effects of the PLTL programme (40 workshops, 26 PLs) on the achievements of students who participated in the workshops compared with those who did not, and on its impact on the PLs. Findings reveal that workshops advance students of all levels and improve their achievements in several courses, while contributing more to students with higher academic capabilities. PLs felt satisfaction and believe they have gained self-confidence, and mentoring and communication skills for their future careers.

Abstraction is a major concept in computer science and serves as a powerful tool in software development. Pattern-oriented instruction (POI) is a pedagogical approach that incorporates patterns in an introductory computer science course in order to structure the learning of algorithmic problem solving. This paper examines abstraction processes in the course of solving an algorithmic problem and highlights three distinct, although interrelated, facets of abstraction: pattern recognition, black-boxing, and structure identification. A study that examined the influence of the POI approach on students' abstraction skills is described; students who learned according to the POI approach were compared with students who learned in a traditional manner with regard to analogical reasoning and problem decomposition and solution, as well as verbal expression. The three facets of abstraction were used to analyze students' abstraction skills and their competency in algorithmic problem solving. (Contains 4 figures and 5 tables.)