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e-Learning Ecologies MOOC’s Updates

Learning as a community: Multifold benefits of peer-to-peer learning

With education moving online, embedding peer-to-peer learning technologies in the framework is essential for both students and teachers

Peer-to-peer learning can be best defined as learning with and from each other in an informal and formal setting. It has been an integral part of a student's learning journey in the traditional educational set-up, however, the concept still doesn't get the attention it deserves in the learning process. All of us have learnt, in fact, and continue to learn from, other students, and teachers have repeatedly learnt from other teachers - through an exchange of ideas, participating in activities, working collaboratively and sharing feedback. Then why not incorporate this concept, and prioritize it, in remote classrooms?

Peer-to-peer learning method was used by Socrates, championed by the psychologist Lev Vygotsky and has been a fundamental part of the Montessori classroom. And now, Bridget Terry Long, dean of Harvard Graduate School of Education opines that the current COVID-19 crisis is a time to encourage peer-to-peer learning. The model also helps form a strong foundation for future jobs, prioritizing collaboration, and communication skills, above all other soft skills.

In a traditional classroom setting, peer learning is a lot more candid, bearing in mind that there is face-to-face interaction. The same, however, cannot be said about online classes.

Hence, fostering peer-to-peer learning in online classes becomes all the more vital because teachers need to take additional effort to make students feel part of a community while keeping them motivated and engaged in the learning process.

The active learning experience offered by peer-to-peer interactions is an essential aspect in the promotion of better academic performances. In fact, a study by Stanford University pins this facet of the learning process as crucial to students' ability to study better, retain information and accomplish academic excellence.

To understand why peer-to-peer learning is critical for the success of remote learning process, one must understand its importance in meeting learning objectives:

Building a community - Turns education into a social concept. Peer-to-peer learning technologies are critical for students to engage with and learn from each other. This becomes a source of encouragement and motivates them to push boundaries and take up challenges. Constructive feedback is offered as well as received. In the long run, this promotes accountability, kinship, interdependence and deeper understanding of concepts.
Development of critical thinking and reasoning - Collaboration in studying takes place and there is a different approach that is taken by students to complete their assignments. They are better equipped to analyse and use logic to process information.
Cognitive enhancement - Study sessions in groups, attempting different exercises together, and solving problems helps students internalise brainstorming. Asking questions and working together to find answers improve the understanding of the subject matter, which automatically translates into better grades and academic performance.
Team players - The practice serves as a foundation to prepare students to exist and thrive in the workforce they will join as professionals. They learn to provide out-of-the-box solutions to problems given to them. Diverse perspectives to a problem are achieved.