“Maximum of our learning has actually happened outside our classrooms”. All what lectures help us in, is to clear our exams and step into the next class. Our experiences in the school and outside create our personality and most importantly make us what we are. Experience is considered as one of the best form of learning, but to teach someone by sharing your knowledge is considered an even more effective. Ironically, what we know about learning is that it is more personalized as all minds are developed with different backgrounds and with different modes.

Talking about learning, it is segregated into two forms i.e. conventional and modern learning:

What is conventional learning?

Conventional or traditional learning occurs when the professor condenses the vast study material and delivers it to the students in an organized way. For example in Lectures where there is a tendency of sticking to the bookish language. Due to lack of explanation from some teacher’s side, students’ topics stay hazy. Even variety of students can’t be catered to.

A lot of modern teaching methods have been designed which prove to be more effective than lectures. One of them is peer-to-peer teaching designed by Harvard professor-Eric Mazur.

The knowledge is shared not by an instructor or other person of authority. It’s all about people on the same level teaching each other what they know.

What is peer-to-peer learning?

Peer-to-peer learning is when one pupil leads another through a task or concept. It can be defined as 'students learning from and with each other in both formal and informal ways'. The peers don’t necessarily need to be from the same class or age group.

A simple way of expressing this difference is that in conventional learning, students learn together the same thing, in the same style and from the same teacher, whilst in peer learning they learn from one another.

In conventional teaching the roles of tutors and tutees are defined, whereas in peer learning they are either undefined or may differ.

Benefits-

·         Direct interaction between students promotes active learning and develops their oral communication and leadership skills.

·         Their self-esteem is boosted and knowledge amplified.

·         Attitudes towards teamwork improve, helping the learning process and preparing for future employment and social scenarios.

·         Students who have a phobia of approaching teachers feel more comfortable and open when interacting with a peer.

·         Research also indicates that peer learning yields more supportive relationships; greater psychological well-being, higher achievement and greater productivity in terms of enhanced learning outcomes for both tutor and tutee.

Peer-to-peer learning is often an effective way of analyzing different rates at which student learns. Faster learners can take the role of the explainer, developing their own understanding and helping other members of the class. These roles can then be reversed to ensure everyone benefits from a similar experience.

The potential of peer learning is starting to be realized, but examination of the ways in which it is used in existing courses suggests that practices are often introduced in an ad hoc way, without consideration of their implications. When such practices are used unsystematically, students unfamiliar with this approach become confused about what they are supposed to be doing; they miss opportunities for learning altogether, and fail to develop the skills expected of them.

Formalized peer learning can help students learn effectively. At a time when university resources are stretched and demands upon staff are increasing, it offers students the opportunity to learn from each other. It is not a substitute for teaching and activities designed and conducted by staff members, but an important addition to the repertoire of teaching and learning activities that can enhance the quality of education.

In Jean H. Guilmette’s book ‘Power of peer learning’ it is stated that, “Peer learning, based on jointly generated evidence, is an effective means to build capacity and foster scientific excellence. The body of knowledge it generates is a powerful tool for the development of evidence-based policy.”

Peer teaching is not a new concept. It can be traced back to Aristotle’s use of archons and was first organized as a theory by Scotsman Andrew Bell in 1795, and later implemented into French and English schools in the 19th century which focused on peer teaching as a method by which one student instructs another student in material on which the first is an expert and the second is a novice.

In one study conducted in an Ohio school in 2011, four sixth grade students of the same reading level engaged in reading passages from the Quality Reading Inventory (QRI), one pair of students engaged in a peer tutoring activity as they read a passage together, actively discussing and talking about the passage as they read. The students then individually gave a retelling of the story to the investigator. The second pair of students read the same passage separately and individually gave a retelling of the story to the investigator. Each pair of students engaged in this procedure twice a week, resulting in a total of eight times, over the course of four weeks.

The students who had engaged in peer learning scored significantly higher in the QRI test than the students who had not, indicating the effectiveness peer tutoring can have on academic achievement.

How to Pull Off Peer Teaching

§  Use a reward system: The inclusion of a reward system for students for good behavior would encourage participation.

§  Emphasize confidentiality, positive reinforcement, and adequate response time: The tutors at peer teaching are taught to demonstrate three important things during any given tutoring session; confidentiality, positive reinforcement and adequate response time when asking questions. The training process also instructed tutors on explaining directions, designing work for extra practice, watching for and correcting mistakes, and providing positive feedback and encouragement.

§  Use group strategies:

Buzz Groups: A large group of students is subdivided into smaller groups of 4–5 students to consider the issues surrounding a problem. After about 20 minutes of discussion, one member of each sub-group presents the findings of the group to the whole group.

Affinity Groups: Groups of 4–5 students are each assigned particular tasks to work on outside of formal contact time. At the next formal meeting with the teacher a group representative presents the sub-group’s findings to the whole tutorial group.

Solution and Critic Groups: One sub-group is assigned a discussion topic for a tutorial and the other groups constitute “critics” who observe, offer comments and evaluate the sub-group’s presentation.

“Teach-Write-Discuss”: In the end, students have to answer short questions and justify their answers. After working on the questions individually, students compare their answers with each other’s.

Peer-to-peer learning is important as it keeps you updated with any skill you want by taking a micro learning session from a peer who has a experience or knowledge in that field. Hence, it is suggested that students learning in a group learn more easily and efficiently than the ones learning only by the lectures of teachers. I suggest that teachers should introduce peer learning in classrooms keeping up with their style.