Created byDavid Hancox,

Melissa Pontzer andAmy Tuer

A peer group is a group of friends that a certain person will try to impress to get their bond, social status, and interests. Generally, people are relatively equal in terms of power when they interact with peers (Peer group, 2009)

Peer groups are an important influence throughout life, but more critical during developmental years of childhood and adolescence (Peer relations, 2009).

M. Pontzer

Developmental psychologists have argued that peer relationships provide a unique context for cognitive, social, and emotional development, with equality, reciprocity, cooperation, and intimacy maturing and enhancing children's reasoning abilities and concern for others.

Modern research echoes these sentiments, showing that social and emotional gains are indeed provided by peer interaction.

Albert Bandura and Lev Vygotsky are two theorists who support peer group learning.

M. Pontzer

In Social Learning Theory, learning occurs within social context. People learn from one another when they observe, imitate and model. The aim of instruction is to guide students how to observe others’ behaviors, which behaviors and modeling are acceptable for the instruction, and how they acquire knowledge or information through imitation and modeling.

The Social Learning Theorists mainly focus on the relationship between learner and the environment.

M. Pontzer

Albert Bandura's social learning theory speaks precisely to the human interactions involved in learning.

Observational learning is based upon learning by watching then "modeling" or acting similarly to others.

If the student views and works with people who appreciate learning by engaging in learning activities, then the student too will engage in learning and might work harder at learning.

Peers with positive attitudes and behaviors toward education will allow and teach each other to set goals that include opportunities to learn and achieve.

If peer models do not convey positive attitudes toward learning, then the students observing these models will not prioritize learning in their own lives.

They will learn to prioritize other goals (Peer relations, 2009).

M. Pontzer

In 1978 Lev Vygotsky presented ideas on the facilitation of learning through experiences mediated by other people.

He states the learner cannot reach full potential without the aid of others. The processes of guiding the learner to higher stages of cognitive functioning rely on interactive human relationships.

M. Pontzer

Peer groups are used for teaching students how to:

◦ Develop social skills such as leadership, sharing, teamwork, and empathy.

◦ Develop opportunities to experiment with new roles and interactions.

◦ Resolve conflict without the use of violence or peer aggression (Mind disorders, 2009).

M. Pontzer

Settings for peer groups include:

◦ Elementary, middle and high schools◦ Mental health adult counseling and intervention

facilities◦ Rehabilitation centers

Drug and alcohol intervention Chronic illness support groups Physical therapy Grief counseling

M. Pontzer

The learner is more active, and has better engagement.

The learner can ask questions in a less formal manner.

The learner can learn from their peers’ opinions and comments.

The peers can take ownership of their own ideas that are being discussed.

This learning strategy is great for auditory learners.

Discussions create greater interaction between the teacher and the learner (Kelly, n.d.).

Research shows that peer group discussions enhances understanding even when none of the students in a discussion group originally know the information. (Smith et al., 2009).

A. Tuer

The peers may share incorrect or inaccurate information with others.

The students might feel like they are put “on the spot”.

There is the possibility of the students being unprepared.

Side conversations among peers may happen more often.◦ This may lead to off topic conversation

It is hard to see what the peers learn from the discussion.

Talkative students may try to dominate the discussion.◦ This leads to the quiet students

listening, rather than engaging Students who are weak note takers will

have trouble remembering what to take away from group discussions (Kelly, n.d.).

A. Tuer

In order to use peer group discussion as a teaching strategy, we must use it along with other methods. ◦ This strategy is very effective if used with

lecture, videos, group projects, etc. “Teachers need to provide their students with

note taking skills before starting discussions” (Kelly, n.d.).

The teacher who is heading the peer group discussion must have good skills at managing and facilitating discussions.

A. Tuer

D. Hancox

In the workplace, learning from one another is known more commonly as peer collaboration.

Peer collaboration is a model of ongoing professional development. Many clinical ladder programs foster peer collaboration.

Mutual goals must be established prior to peer collaboration beginning. The effectiveness of the group can than be measured based on the goals set forth and the outcome that was achieved. (Estell et al.,2008)

D. Hancox

In schools and the workplace, positive peer relationships are key elements to learning and professional growth (O’Brien et al 1998).

Successful adaptation to the school environment is then a positive outcome of an effective peer group.

Inclusion amongst all students is essential for the peer group to be successful.

Children with learning disabilities may show improvement academically and socially as they interact with other children within their peer group.

A facilitator of the peer group helps to energize and focus the group. This maintains organization and helps the group focus on the task at hand.The facilitator holds an integral role in the outcome of the peer group discussion.

The heart of the peer group discussion is the relationship that is built within the collaborative working experience.

Personal, professional and educational growth evolves from these collaborative relationships.

The most valuable component to peer collaboration is that of constructive criticism. This type of criticism shows that truth and respect have been fostered by a successful peer relationship.(Phelan et al., 2006)

The individual learner becomes more engaged in a peer group. The group has enhanced the individuals knowledge of the topic. Ultimately the individual has gained a greater amount of knowledge as it relates to the topic.

D. Hancox

Estell, D.B; Jones, M.H; Pearl, R; VanAcker,R; Farmer, T.W; Rodkin, P.C(2008). Peer groups, popularity, and social preference: trajectories of social function among

students with and without learning disabilities. Language Disabilities,41(1) 5-14.

O’Brien,S.F; Bierman, K.L(1998). Conceptions and Perceived influence of peer groups: Interviews

with Preadolescents and adolescents, 59(5) 1360-

1365.

Phelan,A.M; Barlow, C.A, Iverson,S(2006). Occasional learning in the workplace: The case of inter-professional peer collaboration. Journal of Interpersonal Care, 20(4) 415-424.

D. Hancox

◦ Mind disorders (n.d.) Membership in peer groups. Retrieved May 18, 2009 from

http://www.minddisorders.com/Ob-Ps/Peer-groups.html

◦ Peer group (n.d.). (Ed.), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 17, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer_group

◦ Peer relations and learning (2009). Retrieved May 17, 2009 from

http://www.answers.com/topic/peer-relations-and-learning

M. Pontzer

Kelly, M. (n.d.). Whole group discussion pros and cons. Retrieved on May 20, 2009 from http://712educators.about.com/od/lessonplans/p/discussions.htm

Smith, M.K., Wood, W.B., Adams, W.K., Wieman, C., Knight, J .K., Guild, N., et al. (2009). Why peer discussion improves student performance on in-class concept questions. Science, 323, 122-124.

A. Tuer