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Page Revision: 2010/04/01 13:56

Learning Path #1: What is Peer Learning?¶

Peer learning is an educational process where peers interact with other peers interested in the same topic. It is when we learn with and from each other. We can do this formally, informally, while we are face to face, or online. We can do it at the same time, or we can learn from each other asynchronously by leaving messages, comments, emails or recordings back and forth between ourselves.

Adult Learning¶

A bit about social learning and other learning theories - just a peek! The point of this section is to provide references for those who wish to understand the theory and research that sits beneath peer learning in the context of adult learning.

The importance of peer learning is situated in what we know about adult learning and social learning. (For more on adult learning, see Adult Learning: An Overview by Stephen Brookfield.)

A brief overview of the theory and research showing value of peer and social learning. Relating peer and social learning concepts with each other.

What about children?¶

ADD THIS SECTION IN LATER

What Peer Learning is NOT!¶

There are many ways we learn. Not all of them involve peers. But if you get creative, just about any solo learning experience can become peer learning. All you have to do is invite in at least one other person.

For example, self pace learning modules that rely solely on sequenced content is not peer learning. UNLESS you do it with someone else. Listening to a recorded webinar is not peer learning,  but the fact that  someone else took the time to make previous interactions available to others is an indication of relationship and accountability to others - to peers - for learning.  Teams are dedicated to completing a shared task in a specific time. But along the way, they can learn together.

The bottom line? We each know a lot. When we make that available to each other through both interactions and the artifacts of our interactions (summaries, blog posts, recordings) we all learn. That's peer learning!

Related Approaches¶

There are many terms and approaches that involve peers learning with and from peers. Some of them are very specific types of peer interactions. It is helpful to have some sense of these approaches. You may choose to use one or more of them in your work. Below is a short description of each one with a link to either a one-page overview or to an existing external resource on the approach. (Our goal here is not to reinvent things, but to make them easy to find and use!) 19

• Communities of Practice - Learning together about things we do in our own practice
  • See also Learning Path #3: A Communities of Practice Lens on Peer Learning
  • Communities of Practice Overview
  • http://delicious.com/choconancy/WSL+communities_of_practice
    

• Learning Networks (thematic networks, personal learning networks) -  Connecting to learn
  • Personal Learning Networks (PLNs)
  • http://www.slideshare.net/dwarlick/personal-learning-networks
  • http://mollybob.wordpress.com/tag/personal-learning-network/
  • http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1704
    

• Peer Coaching - "We all need somebody to lean on..."
  • http://webserver3.ascd.org/ossd/peercoaching.html
  • http://www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com/docs/articles/Peer-Coaching-Overview.pdf
  • Harvard Business Review Blog"Coaching, to put it simply, is the process of helping others to improve performance now and developing their capacity to perform well in the future. It's about changing behavior to make things better.Because the process of change is difficult and can provoke anxiety,people often resist it. The forces of inertia are strong, but effective coaching can surmount them. Peer-to-peer coaching is fun, because it involves learning and solving real problems; it's free; and, I've found, just about anyone can do it."
  • http://www.autismnetwork.org/modules//academic/pc/index.html (nice "how to" section)
    

• Mentoring - "Standing on the shoulders of giants" (at least those who have been in the game longer!)*
  • http://www.mentoring.org/find_resources/
  • From Wikipedia "Mentorship" refers to a personal development relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person helps a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentoring
    

• Action Learning - Learn by doing
  • From Wikipedia"Action learning" is an educational process whereby the participant studies their own actions and experience in order to improve performance. This concept is close to Learning-by-doing and teaching through examples and repetitions." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_learning. See also Inquiry Based Learning
  • http://www.humtech.com/opm/grtl/OLS/OLS2.cfm
    

• Informal Learning
  • Conner, Marcia L. "Informal Learning." 1997-2009.
    http://www.marciaconner.com/intros/informal.html "Informal learning" describes a lifelong process whereby individuals acquire attitudes,values, skills and knowledge from daily experience and the educational influences and resources in his or her environment, from family and neighbors, from work and play, from the market place, the library and the mass media.:"
  • From Jay Cross a short You Tube Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlETGJ0mnno (10 minutes Maybe not so short!)
    

• Personal Board of Directors
  • http://www.schaefersblog.com/create-a-personal-board-of-directors-part-i/
  • http://www.jimcollins.com/article_topics/articles/looking-out.html
    

• Self Help Groups/Support Groups
  • From Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Support_group "In a support group,members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and non material, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic. The help may take the form of providing and evaluating relevant information, relating personal experiences,listening to and accepting others' experiences, providing sympathetic understanding and establishing social networks."
    

References¶

• Brookfield, Stephen (1995) Adult Learning: An Overview in in A. Tuinjman (ed.) International Encyclopedia of Education. Oxford, Pergamon Press. http://www.fsu.edu/~elps/ae/download/ade5385/Brookfield.pdf Accessed 2/19/10
  

• Cooper, Marie A., O'Donnell, Angela M. (Ed); King, Alison (Ed). (1999). Cognitive perspectives on peer learning. The Rutgers Invitational Symposium On Education Series. (pp. 215-233). Mahwah, NJ, US: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
• Departament of Education and Training. Evaluation of Professional Learning. Northem Territory Governenment. http://www.det.nt.gov.au/education/professional_learning/docs/evaluation_of_prof_learning.pdf
• Hourihan, M. (2002) What We're Doing When We Blog? Available at http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/javascript/2002/06/13/megnut.html
• Reushle, Shirley (2005) Inquiry into a transformative approach to professional development for online educators. Thesis (_PhD/Research) (Unpublished)http://eprints.usq.edu.au/1494/ Accessed February 2/19/10
• Siemens, G. (2008) Learning and Knowing in Networks: Changing roles for Educators and Designers. Presented to ITFORUM for Discussion. Available at http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf
  

Peer Learning Resources