Lifelong Learning Programme

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

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This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Teachers’ Guide

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ENHANCE STUDENTS’ SCIENTIFIC BASIC SKILLS THROUGH THEIR ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

Table of Content

Chapter 1: Peer-learning education
1.1 What is peer-learning education?
“Peer learning”, or “Peer-to-Peer Education” are examples of constructivist education and a departure from traditional didactic delivery of material. Currently “peer-to-peer learning” is viewed as a mode of “learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything”. Whether it takes place in a formal or informal learning context, in small groups or online, peer learning manifests aspects of self-organization that are mostly absent from pedagogical models of teaching and learning. Other types of peer-based learning have been developed from the peer education, namely peer-assisted learning (PL) and team-based learning (TBL), which tend to have the same basic idea, although the peers are gathered in other types of arrangements.

Peer learning is taking place across a variety of disciplines. In a recent survey by Keenan (2014) for the UK Higher Education Academy, respondents indicated that recipients are predominantly first year students, though schemes also extend to higher years across a diverse range of student types, and outreach to sixth form pupils. Peer-led learning approaches that use structured schemes such as peer-assisted learning (PAL) and peer-assisted study sessions (PASS) are the two chief examples cited in the survey.

Peer-assisted learning (PAL) and peer-assisted study sessions (PASS) derive from the ‘Supplemental Instruction’ (SI) model developed in 1973 in the US by Deana Martin. Hilsdon (2014) suggests that genuinely cooperative and collaborative work, with relatively symmetrical power relationships, is underway in PALS sessions to interpret course-related concepts and language, and with further study this could develop student views on the nature of knowledge, and ways to improve pedagogy].

Despite all the research being carried out, including in the recent years, some authors still pointed out the need for robust evidences about the effectiveness of peer education. Particularly, more qualitative research is needed to provide an insight into the complex interactions of the peer education process.
Online Resources
  • Philosophy of EducationThis explains the underpinning theory of constructivist education.
  • Pedagogy and science in EuropeThe landmark Rocard Report which informed innovations in science teaching and learning in European countries in the ten years since its publication.
  • Peer Assisted LearningThe Higher Education Authority in the UK commissioned a number of studies on the process and impact of implementation of Peer Assisted Learning.
  • Supplemental InstructionPresents an interview with the director of the Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program at the University of Missouri, describing key elements of the technique in which study sessions are offered along with courses. Suggests that SI is widely used because it successfully reduces student attrition and is cost-effective. Reviews the development of Video SI.
  • Peer learning for changeThis paper draws upon small-scale qualitative research at a university in the UK to present a learning development perspective on peer learning.

Table of Content