Peer To Peer learning is a term known to everyone but implemented by very few fields. I have been an avid ally of p2p learning ever since I got into middle school whats more, is that I have been trying to implement it by engaging in group activities, setting up classes for my juniors, my podcast, my YouTube videos, my blog and very soon my own app. The reason I support peer-to-peer learning is that I feel it is a really efficient method of learning as it not only helps you learn more about the topic at hand but using the power of collective you learn a lot more about the topics itself as everyone is using their genius. However, after all these years I still wasn't able to make out what stopped people from trusting this method of learning.
I decided to take matters into my own hands by doing some research on this subject so that I can understand more and prove why I believe it is one of the most effective ways to learn.
Peer-to-peer learning has always been practised within the field of science although, the popularization of the idea began in the 1990s when Harvard professor Eric Mazur started carrying out more peer instruction activities in his university classes. This encouraged more science classes within Harvard and other prestigious universities to start applying this method.
Usually, the professors would provide the students with a question or topic and leave them unattended to discuss and find the right answers by themselves. Through this method, it was found that the students who were initially hesitant to deviate from their own solutions started acknowledging the possibility of other theories which furthered their learning. Students who would keep to themselves started embroiling with the exchange. So in closure, students were more prone to stand out and not only arrive at the answer to that particular question but also enhance their knowledge holistically about the entire subject itself, opening doors to many unanswered theories and questions, which works towards the preference of p2p learning.
Research published in a cognitive research journal on springer has researched peer-to-peer learning by taking surveys and information from a plethora of universities at different periods of time spanning from 1995 to 2015. They conducted an experiment where students were split and made to answer the same questions. The first group was made to answer the questions after an orthodox learning method with an instructor, while the latter engaged in peer instruction. In the end, they found that the student accuracy increased with the post-discussion group (p2p learning) compared to the answers provided by the pre-discussion group (orthodox learning). The following graph shows the results:-
This graph shows the relation between pre-discussion accuracy and post-discussion accuracy. Points represent individual questions. The solid diagonal line represents equal accuracy pre- and post-discussion; points above and below the line indicate improvements and decrements after the peer-to-peer discussion. For the observed data, the dashed line indicates the line of best fit.
Moreover, the article affirms that peer-to-peer learning broadens conceptual knowledge, heightens student efficiency, pares failure rates, and encourages more students to attend classes frequently as the discussions are more fun and beneficial compared to orthodox teaching, furthermore increments student confidence and participation.
According to the research and my personal experience, peer instructions are only used for science-specific subjects which is a waste of potential for such a conducive method of learning. The majority if not all the data collected for this research itself was from science-related universities. Additionally, one of the more palpable observation about this source of information is that its almost 7 years old and since then a lot has changed - one of the more noticeable changes being lesser use of peer-to-peer learning.
After going through such secondhand resources that just prove why peer-to-peer learning is very efficient I wanted to know whether people would opt for it now if they knew its positives, not only for science students but other fields too. So, to find that out I did a survey and spread it out among my fellow peers between the years 8-20 and I found the following:-
So in denouement Peer-to-Peer learning helps students be more vocal about their opinions, and broadens the understanding of the whole concept, additionally, it emboldens students to learn more as it is a fun way of learning. While the method has mostly been implemented with sciences, the benefits can also be reaped by fields of all kinds if utilized. Finally, as to my personal survey, more people are willing to practice out peer to peer learning in coherence with the conventional method of teaching.
I hope that this has helped expand your knowledge on the topic of peer-to-peer learning as it certainly has updated mine and persuades you guys to try it out with your peers and friends.
Thank you for reading and I will soon be releasing more of my thoughts on my different fields of interest with the next one! Have a good day!
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