Peer and Group learning

Using PLEs to encourage peer learning and learner autonomy

by Kiruthika Ragupathi

October 2011
Based on the talk by By Chris Harwood, Centre for English Language Communication for the "Technology in Pedagogy" series

Through the Eyes of Children. The Implementation of a European Dimension by Peer Learning in Primary School

by Martin Musumeci

Schmeinck, D., Knecht, P., Kosack, W., Lambrinos, N., Musumeci, M. & Gatt, S.
mensch und buch. Berlin (2010).
ISBN: 978-3-86664-753-4

Peer Assessment in Popular Music

by Mark Pulman

In: How am I doing? Valuing and rewarding learning in musical performance in higher education. University of Ulster, Ulster, UK, pp. 69-87. ISBN 1859231780

Peer Assessment in Popular Music Group Performance

by Mark Pulman

In: Assessing Musical Performance, 11-12th September 2002, Carrickfergus, University of Ulster. (Unpublished) Item availablity restricted

'Knowing yourself through others': peer assessment in popular music group work

by Mark Pulman

Examining how an Online Mentoring Model may support new Supplemental Instruction Leaders

by Phillip Dawson

PhD thesis completed in 2010 at the University of Wollongong Faculty of Education. Supervised by Lori Lockyer & Brian Ferry.

This study investigated online mentoring as a method of supporting inexperienced, geographically-dispersed... more This study investigated online mentoring as a method of supporting inexperienced, geographically-dispersed Supplemental Instruction Leaders (SILs). Supplemental Instruction (SI) is an academic support program that employs successful senior students as SILs to facilitate regular peer learning sessions. Over 250,000 tertiary students attend SI each year worldwide (Arendale, 2002). Students who attend SI are more likely to succeed in their studies, achieve higher grades, and be retained at their institutions (Martin & Arendale, 1993). The Australian higher education sector has a need for initiatives like SI that support the success of non-traditional students (Bradley, Noonan, Nugent, & Scales, 2008); however such programs can be difficult to implement in multi-campus institutions (Winchester & Sterk, 2006). In this study, online mentoring was examined as a method of addressing some of the difficulties in supporting inexperienced SILs who are geographically isolated.

There is minimal research literature about the use of mentoring or community to support SILs, and none addressing the problem of supporting geographically-dispersed SILs. Online mentoring and community models have been used successfully in other contexts to support novices that are geographically isolated from potential mentors and their peers. SILs are different from mentees in most mentoring literature; traditional mentees are either career employees or students being mentored for their academic success. In this study, SILs are being supported for a part-time, fixed-term role that few intend to continue as a career.

The following research questions were investigated:
Research Question 1: What models are appropriate for mentoring geographically-dispersed Supplemental Instruction Leaders?
Research Question 2: In what ways does participation in an online SIL support program impact on mentors, mentees and community members?

The study consisted of two phases, each addressing the corresponding research question. In Phase 1, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted into the development of an online mentoring model for geographically-dispersed SILs. A new theoretical framework was developed from Social Learning Theory (Bandura, 1977) and Social Exchange Theory (Emerson, 1976; Homans, 1958) to inform the design of the model. This framework assisted in understanding how mentoring happens, and why mentors and mentees might participate in it.

In Phase 2 the model was investigated twice using a qualitative, multiple-case study methodology. There were 30 participants from six campuses of five Australasian universities in the first study, and 67 participants from 27 campuses of 25 academic institutions from three continents in the second study. Data were analysed using a deductive approach based on the theoretical framework. Key findings of this research were:

A model for the mentoring of geographically-dispersed SILs.

An understanding of the impacts of the model on participating SILs. Role modelling was found to be the component of mentoring most used for SIL development; this is interesting given Ensher, Heun and Blanchard’s (2003) proposition that “role modelling may be the function of mentoring that is least efficiently done in a virtual setting” (p. 273).

A set of design variables for the development and expression of mentoring models. These variables address an identified need in the literature for clarity in academic communications about mentoring.

A new theoretical framework for understanding mentoring. This framework provides a more comprehensive understanding of mentoring than either of its components.

This research has significance for online mentoring and higher education in general, and more specifically, the support of geographically-dispersed, part-time staff, such as SILs and university tutors or teaching assistants.

The students’ role in distance learning

by Kristy Beers Fägersten

First author Kara McBride

McBride, K. & Beers Fägersten, K. 2008. The students’ role in distance learning. In S. Goertler and P. Winke (Eds.), Opening Doors through Distance Learning Education: Principles, Perspectives and Practices. San Marcos, TX: CALICO, pp. 43-66.

COMPUTER ASSISTED SELF AND PEER ASSESSMENT: APPLICATIONS, CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES This is the Accepted Pre-Proof Version. The …

by Peter Lugosi

This is the accepted pre-proof version. The final version was published as Lugosi, P., 2010. Computer assisted self and peer assessment: applications, challenges and opportunities. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, 9 (1), pp. 85-91. Please consult the final version before citing.

This paper discusses self and peer assessment (SPA) using CASPAR (Computer Assisted Self and Peer Assessment Ratings)... more This paper discusses self and peer assessment (SPA) using CASPAR (Computer Assisted Self and Peer Assessment Ratings) – a software tool designed to aid the administration of SPA. CASPAR was piloted on eight units from six subject areas (Hospitality, Leisure, Sport, Tourism, Retail and Events). Data were gathered through questionnaires from 146 students. The paper compares the SPA process and the application of CASPAR in a hospitality operations management unit with other units to identify good practice.

Parents, Siblings, and Peers: Close Social Relationships and Adolescent Deviance.

by Monika Ardelt

Ardelt, Monika; Day, Laurie
The Journal of Early Adolescence, Vol 22(3), Aug 2002, 310-349.

In this study, the relations between parents, older siblings, peers, adolescents' individual characteristics, and... more In this study, the relations between parents, older siblings, peers, adolescents' individual characteristics, and adolescents' deviant attitudes and behaviors were examined simultaneously, using a social learning perspective and data of 121 families from inner-city Philadelphia. Results of structural equation models show that older deviant siblings had the strongest effect on adolescent deviance. Deviant peers also played a significant role. The effects for parents varied for deviant attitudes and behaviors. Positive family relationships, parental support, and discipline consistency were associated negatively with adolescents' approval of deviance, but only parental discipline consistency and adult supervision of adolescents were related negatively to adolescents' deviant behaviors. Coefficient estimates did not differ by ethnicity/race, family structure, or the quality of the sibling relationship. However, adolescents who identified with their older sibling, were of the same gender, or had a deviant older brother tended to be affected most negatively by the deviant sibling.

Using Blogs for peer feedback and discussion - Case study

by Simon McIntyre

Written by Simon McIntyre & Karin Watson as part of the 'Learning to Teach Online' Collection http://bit.ly/d18ac5

This case study aims to describe how a blog was used in one particular teaching context to promote peer- to-peer... more This case study aims to describe how a blog was used in one particular teaching context to promote peer- to-peer interaction, feedback and discussion. While the case study does examine one particular teaching application of a blog, the principles discussed can just as easily be applied to any teaching situation where the ability for individuals to chronologically record a learning process, collate different learning resources such
as text, video and audio, and increased peer feedback or discussion between students is desired. This episode will examine the context, planning and teaching within the case study, and highlight any issues that were encountered, and benefits that make this type of online teaching worthwhile.

Popoviciu, S. Popoviciu, I. (2009) The relation between attitudes, behavior and peer pressure concerning teenage alcohol consuption. Comparative study between confessional and non-confessional highschools, Analele Universității ”Eftimie Murgu” Studii Economice,185-190

by Salomea Popoviciu

This paper analyses the relation between attitudes, behavior and peer pressure among adolescents from the city of... more This paper analyses the relation between attitudes, behavior and peer pressure among adolescents from the city of Oradea. For this purpose, a survey was given to three different subject groups. The objective of this study is to offer a comparison basis for attitudinal and behavioral dimensions with reference to ingroup pressure. The first group (G1) is formed of a sample of 105 students from a catholic confessional high-school; the second group (G2) has a sample of 149 students form a neo-protestant confessional high-school, and the third group (G3) is composed of a sample of 154 students form a non-confessional high-school.

Why Operativity-in-Context Is Not Quite a Cultural Model (2009)

by Ageliki Nicolopoulou

Ageliki Nicolopoulou & Jeff Weintraub |
Commentary on Psaltis, Duveen, & Perret-Clermont (2009), The... more Ageliki Nicolopoulou & Jeff Weintraub |
Commentary on Psaltis, Duveen, & Perret-Clermont (2009), The social and the psychological: Structure and context in intellectual development. Human Development, 52 , 291–312.

Children and Narratives: Toward an Interpretive and Sociocultural Approach (1997)

by Ageliki Nicolopoulou

Παιδι και αφηγησεις: Προς μια ερμηνευτικη και κοινωνικο-πολιτισμικη προσεγγιση (2010)

by Ageliki Nicolopoulou

Greek translation of:
Ageliki Nicolopoulou (1997). Children and narratives: Toward an interpretive and... more Greek translation of:
Ageliki Nicolopoulou (1997). Children and narratives: Toward an interpretive and sociocultural approach. In M. Bamberg (Ed.), Narrative Development: Six Approaches (pp. 179-215). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

In:
Μάριος Α. Πουρκός & Μανόλης Δαφέρμος, Εισαγωγή – Επιμέλεια (2010), ΠΟΙΟΤΙΚΗ ΕΡΕΥΝΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΨΥΧΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΚΑΙ ΤΗΝ ΕΚΠΑΙΔΕΥΣΗ: ΕΠΙΣΤΗΜΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ, ΜΕΘΟΔΟΛΟΓΙΚΑ ΚΑΙ ΗΘΙΚΑ ΖΗΤΗΜΑΤΑ

Editorial

by Phillip Dawson

Dawson, Phillip; Draper, Sanchia S.; and Rogan, S., Editorial, Australasian Journal of Peer Learning, 3(1), 2010, i-i.

Investigating Peer Tutoring

by Jo Mynard

Co-authored with Iman Almarzouqi in ELT Journal, Volume 60, Number 1, January 2006 , pp. 13-22(10)

This article gives an overview of a piece of qualitative research conducted at a women’s university in the United Arab... more This article gives an overview of a piece of qualitative research conducted at a women’s university in the United Arab Emirates. The aim of the study was to evaluate the English language peer tutoring programme in order to highlight benefits and challenges, and to make informed improvements. The study drew particularly on participant perceptions and observations of the programme. It identified various benefits for tutors such as learning through teaching and becoming more responsible while doing something worthwhile to help others. Benefits for tutees included improved levels of self-confidence and English language aptitude. The study also highlighted several challenges associated with the high dependence and low metacognitive awareness demonstrated by the tutees. In addition, tutors were not always able to offer appropriate assistance. Improvements to the programme could include increasing faculty involvement, improving tutee awareness of the aims of the programme, and providing additional assistance to tutors.