Exploring Peer-to-Peer Learning: Independence and Student Experience

This essay delves into the concept of peer-to-peer learning, examining its role in fostering student independence within the higher education environment. It explores various aspects of how peer learning can promote self-monitoring, provide behavioral models, and encourage effective communication among students. The essay further investigates how students can utilize the experiences of their peers, including overcoming challenges, making better decisions, and mastering course content. It highlights the benefits of collaborative learning, such as increased motivation and the development of independent ideas. The research emphasizes that peer learning encompasses a variety of activities that can be tailored to suit the needs of a given course, ultimately enhancing student learning and academic success. The essay concludes by emphasizing the multifaceted nature of peer learning and its potential to be combined with other techniques to meet the needs of any given course.

Running head: PEER-TO PEER LEARNING 1
Peer-to-peer learning
Name:
Institution Affiliation:

PEER-TO PEER LEARNING 2
Abstract
When it comes to the learning settings, the evaluation tasks usually get the attention of the
students, nevertheless when they send their work they typically becomes disengaged to the
assessment process. Therefore, the possibilities, for learning are lost since they become much
more recipients of the assessment results. Peer learning has by no means been a single,
undifferentiated educational strategy. It usually allows access to the broad sweep of the
activities. Many instructor from disciplines across the learning institution use the aspect of group
work to improve on their students learning. The aim could be geared toward increasing on the
student understanding of the content, to develop specific transferable skills, or even combination
of the two .In this research, it will look at how the peer-to-peer learning could promote on the
independence of the students, and how they could utilize the experience of the other students.

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Introduction
Peer teaching is not a whole new idea. This may be traced back to the Aristotle’s use of the
archons, or perhaps the student leaders (Bichy & O'Brien, 2014). Peer learning was initially
regarded as the theory by the Scotsman Andrew in 1975 and this was later implemented in the
English as well as the French schools in the nineteen century (Bichy & O'Brien, 2014). Over the
last thirty years now the peer teaching has increased on its popularity in the alignment with the
mixed capability grouping in the k-12 schools along with a vested interest in a lot more
financially efficient methods for teaching. The term peer learning remains abstract. The sense in
which we use it here highlights a two way, reciprocal learning activity. It should be mutually
beneficial and also involve the sharing of the knowledge, ideas as well as experiences between
the students. It could describe a way of moving beyond the aspect of independence or mutual
learning (Kirkwood & Price, 2005). In this research, it will describe how the peer to peer
learning could promote the independence of the student and how well they have been able to
utilize the experiences of the fellow students.
The peer to peer learning helps the learners to be able explain on the ideas to the others as well as
participate on the activities which they could learn from the fellow students (Brill, 2016). The
students are able to develop on their skills when it comes organizing as well as planning on their
learning activities, working collaboratively with the other peers (Brill, 2016). Peer learning has
become an increasingly aspect to many courses, and it has been used in various contexts as well
as disciplines.
The prospective of the peer to peer learning is starting to be realized , yet the examination of the
way to which it has been utilized in the existing courses clearly highlights there are practices
which are often introduced in ad hoc way , without very much consideration to the implications (
Casey & Wells , 2015 ) . When these kinds of practices are employed unsystematically , the
student unfamiliar with this method could become baffled in relation to the things they are
entitled to be undertaking , they miss on the possibilities for learning altogether, and they can fail
to build the skills that are anticipated from them (Casey & Wells, 2015). Most of the peer to peer
learning usually occur informally without the involvement of the staff and the students who are
already are an effective learners would benefit disproportionately.

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When there is a formalized peer to peer learning to the student it could help them promote their
independence. At the time when the learning institution resources have been stretched and the
demands upon the tutors has increased, it provides the student the opportunities of learning with
each other (Higgins, Reeh, Cahill & Duncan, 2015). It offers them a much considerably more
practices as comparison to the traditional teaching and the learning techniques which is taking
responsibility for their own learning and generally, learning how to learn.
How peer to peer promote student independence
The peer to peer learning has been able to promote the student independence in a number of
ways. One way is that it has provided the students with the opportunities to self-monitoring
themselves. The aspect of the self-monitoring highly depends on two processes when it comes to
the establishment of the goals as well as receiving of the feedback from the others and from
oneself (Comer, Clark & Canelas, 2014). It is possible to encourage the student to self-monitor
through helping them in the development of their use of the self as well as the peer assessment to
be able to highlight whether the strategies they were using if they are effective when it comes to
achieving of their learning goals (Casey & Wells, 2015). Another way it helps in achieving the
student independence is that it offers models of the behavior. Through peer to peer learning other
students encourage others on how they could model on their model. An example, the students
can show each other how to categorize information to be able tom make it easier to remember.
Peer learning has been found to help develop communication among the students which has
included the language focused on the learning (Casey & Wells, 2015). This has been found to
help the students to become much more aware of the steps which are involved in the learning,
understanding on their own learning styles as well as helping the students to share their thinking.
The peer learning has provided scaffolding strategy which entails the supportive structure which
is provided by skilled individuals, such as other students that has aided the students in their
learning. This technique helps the students to transfer responsibility to one another by step by
step (Comer, Clark & Canelas, 2014). Peer learning helps to develop an effective classroom
discourse, where by asking the higher order, open ended question as well as responding the
flexibility to the responses of the students so as to enhance and promote thinking along with the
problem solving skills and a deeper understanding. Through peer to peer learning it has helped in
encourage collaborations (Dalsgaard, 2014). As the fellow student it is important to give ones

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students with the regular opportunities to be able to complete the quality, small group tasks as
well as encourage them to learn from one another and be able to develop their own independent
ideas, rather than always looking for the answers.
How students utilize experience of fellow students.
When the student help other student to learn it is a powerful tool useful in classroom. The
students could utilize the others experience and be able to achieve the content focused as well as
process oriented goals, both of which are significant when it comes to learning success (Purser,
Towndrow & Aranguiz, 2013). According to research, it has showed that cooperative learning
could help to improve on the achievements of the students, persistence as well as attitudes
(Casey & Wells, 2015). The collaboration with the fellow students could increase on the
motivation and helps the student to be able to take responsibility for their own along with the
peer learning.
Student could learn from the others experiences such as the challenges they had previously faced
and read on how they overcame them could help them with the reassurances and the support.
They are able to learn what the shortcomings which their colleague encountered were and how
they were able to overcome some of them and the method they utilized.
Another way the student could utilize on the experiences of the other is on how to make better
decision (Kirkwood & Price, 2005). The student can see how other look at things in different
perspective, constructive deliberation as well as the critical analysis which could result to much
better decision solutions as well as performance.
The experience of the fellow students could help a student to learn content and master the
materials (Roehl, Reddy & Shannon, 2013). Whether one is working on a problem or even
answering of the questions in regards to reading, discussing of the case studies when the student
work together in content, they are able to learn the basics and this could be helpful when it
comes to learning various concepts from one another (Roehl, Reddy & Shannon, 2013). The
reason as to why they learn is much pretty straightforward when the student work with the
content especially in the group which they are figuring on things for themselves.
When one learns from the experience of one another, it is possible to apply on those concept they
used and apply to a given situation that could be much similar to the one which one encounters

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(Brill, 2016). Moreover, they are able to make better decisions when it comes to solving various
shortcomings.
Conclusion
As highlighted in the research, it is important to recognize that the peer learning has not been a
single practice. It has covered various activities that could be combined with the others when it
comes to ways which suit the needs of a given course. The students could learn a lot through
explaining on their ideas to the other colleagues and at the same time participating in the
activities which they have been able to learn from their peers. Additionally, peer to peer learning
has promoted the development of the skills especially in planning, organization along with the
learning activities, collaborating with the others as well as evaluating on their own learning. In
this research, it has examined in details how the peer to peer learning has been able to promote
on the independence of the students. Moreover, the research has also highlighted how the
students can utilize the best experience of the fellow students.

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