Teachers’ Guide

2.1 Importance of learning about learning methodologies

With regard to preparing pedagogical interventions, it can be a useful exercise for both teachers and learners to take tests to identify their ‘Learning Styles’. Recognition that individuals have different learning styles may also underpin the notion that individuals can have different contributions to make to peer learning or other collaborative work.

Teachers must plan the interaction of their students in the peer learning mode to ensure that they will collaborate and work as a team. There must also be effective management of the peer learning process within the constraints of formal timetabled sessions. There needs to be a classroom culture where all students feel comfortable and have the chance to participate in all aspects of the work. Peer learning may also take place in informal situations outside the classroom. This may be in the context of peer tutoring. In the E-learning from Nature project it is incorporated in the production and viewing of the E-lessons.

Several techniques have been developed to promote effective and engaging teamwork whereby peers learn from each other. The teacher has a critical role in group selection and may choose to use specific techniques for setting up the groups.

Online Resources

• Experiential LearningDavid Kolb published his learning styles model in 1984, having developed it over a number of years. The model gave rise to related terms such as Kolb's experiential learning theory (ELT), and Kolb's learning styles inventory (LSI). In his publications - notably his 1984 book 'Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development' Kolb acknowledges the early work on experiential learning by others in the 1900's, including Rogers, Jung, and Piaget. This was a seminal work in development of our understanding of how individuals learn on their own, and learn from each other.
  Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.: Prentice Hall
• Learning StylesLearning styles were developed by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford, based upon the work of Kolb, and they identified four distinct learning styles or preferences: Activist, Theorist; Pragmatist and Reflector. These are the learning approaches that individuals naturally prefer and they recommend that to maximise one's own personal learning each learner ought to understand their learning style and seek out opportunities to learn using that style. Honey and Mumford have developed a Learning Style Questionnaire that is now available on-line.
  Honey, P. & Mumford, A. (1982) Manual of Learning Styles London: P Honey
• Peer Learning in Higher EducationWithin any educational setting learners naturally engage in informal peer learning to make sense of their course, test their ideas and share their concerns. This book explores how educators can formalise the use of this powerful approach to learning and shows how to understand, encourage and make explicit reciprocal peer learning. It investigates how peer learning can be integrated into the design and delivery of courses in higher education, and looks at what role it can play in encouraging more effective learning. Based on the experiences of a leading team of educators, the book draws on the practical guidance of those working with formalized peer learning, and explores: what peer learning is and how can it help students; how to introduce and foster peer learning; ways of learning effectively; the benefits and limitations of peer learning; issues that need to be considered by teachers and students.
  Boud David, Cohen Ruth, Sampson Jane, eds., Peer Learning in Higher Education: Learning from and with Each Other, 2001, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, Kogan Page UK