Scribd
Upload
65 views

Adam Beaver Timothy O'Brien: Derek Bok Center

The document discusses peer learning in the classroom. It provides an agenda that covers defining peer learning, why it works, and why instructors may resist it. Participants discuss peer learning definitions, research supporting its benefits, and challenges to implementation. They consider how misconceptions and challenges are more powerful barriers than the evidence in favor of peer learning. The document advocates changing assumptions about peer learning through initiatives at Harvard and its teaching center.

Uploaded by

Kinza Arif
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
65 views

Adam Beaver Timothy O'Brien: Derek Bok Center

The document discusses peer learning in the classroom. It provides an agenda that covers defining peer learning, why it works, and why instructors may resist it. Participants discuss peer learning definitions, research supporting its benefits, and challenges to implementation. They consider how misconceptions and challenges are more powerful barriers than the evidence in favor of peer learning. The document advocates changing assumptions about peer learning through initiatives at Harvard and its teaching center.

Uploaded by

Kinza Arif
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 9

Peer

Learning in
the
Classroom
Adam Beaver
Derek Bok Center

Timothy O’Brien
Harvard Kennedy School
Agenda for the session
1. What is peer learning?
2. Why does peer learning work?
3. Why might we resist peer learning?
4. Reflection & wrap-up: what can we do to promote a culture of peer
learning?
1. What is peer learning?
● Write down a definition and an example of peer learning in a classroom
environment.

● Turn to a partner and compare your definitions. Discuss how they overlap
and differ, and what they tell you about your assumptions.

● With your partner, write another definition of peer learning agreeable to


both of you.
2. Why does peer learning work?
● At your table, read/skim the two research articles on peer learning.
○ Boud, David. 2001. “Introduction: Making the Move to Peer Learning.”
Peer Learning in Higher Education: Learning from and with Each Other,
ed. David Boud, Ruth Cohen, and Jane Sampson. London: Routledge,
1–18.
○ King, Alison. 2002. “Structuring Peer Interaction to Promote High-
Level Cognitive Processing. “ Theory Into Practice 41(1): 33–39.
● Generate a list of arguments in favor of peer learning.
3. Why might we resist peer learning?
● Write down a list of the possible challenges posed by peer learning.
● Find a partner and collate your lists.
● Discuss the causes or stakeholders implicated in the challenges you
identified. Do certain categories emerge?
3. Why might we resist peer learning?
● What misconceptions do ● What challenges does peer
instructors have about peer learning generate for instructors?
learning?
4. Reflection and wrap-up
● We know why peer learning is useful.
● We know what to do. The strategies exist.
● However, the misconceptions and perceived challenges are more
powerful than the theory and data.
● Improving instruction is not (always) about adding more strategies to the
toolbox.
● What can Harvard and HILT do differently to bust the misconceptions and
assumptions about peer learning?
Thank you!
Adam Beaver
Derek Bok Center

Timothy O’Brien
Harvard Kennedy School
3. Why might we resist peer learning?
● Some possible categories of challenges associated with peer learning:
○ Logistical (“How can I implement this?”)
○ Institutional culture (“We don’t do that here.”)
○ Student expectations (“Why do I have to listen to my classmate?”)
○ Instructor authority/identity/preconceptions (“What am I contributing
to my students?”)

You might also like