Learning from

Peers
and
Learning
Community
Prepared by:

Raquel E. Alota
MAED-ST
Learning from
Peers
 ○ The term peer learning refers to situations where
3
peers support each other in learning processes.
○ Peer learning emphasizes the experience of all
participating students
Meaning ○ It is the acquisition of knowledge and skills through
active helping and support among peers who are
equal in standing or matched companions
○ Peer learning does not always imply a subversion of
traditional roles and abandoning the teacher-student
hierarchy, it does imply a strong personal commitment
to your own learning and to your peers in a learning
environment where all are co-learners.
Psychological Basis
 “
5

“Education is not an affair of 'telling' and

being told, but an active and constructive
process.” John Dewey, Democracy and
Education
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○ Learners should constantly be challenged

with tasks that refer to skills and
Psychological
knowledge just beyond their current level
Basis
of mastery. This captures their motivation
and builds on previous successes to
enhance learner confidence (Brownstein
2001)
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○ Edwin Hutchins developed the theory of

Distributed Cognition. In this view,
Psychological
knowledge lies not only within the
Basis
individual but is situated in the individual’s
social and physical environment.
Distributed cognition refers to processes
whereby cognitive resources are socially
shared, extending individual cognitive
resources, and allowing groups to
accomplish some things individuals cannot
achieve alone.
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Learning Community
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What is a Learning ○ A learning community is a group of

Community? people who share a common interest
in a topic or area, a particular form of
discourse about their phenomena,
tools and sense-making approaches
for building collaborative knowledge,
and valued activities.
 ○ The philosophy of a community 10

such as this is everyone is a

teacher and learner. Everyone has
What is a Learning an expertise ready to share with
Community?
others. The community is based on
inquiry and reflection. What am I
doing that will help reach the
learning outcomes for the
students? What can I learn so I can
better support the student
program?
 ○ John Dewey is often credited with 11

creating the idea of schools and

classrooms as communities, and his
What is a Learning approach is helpful in understanding
Community? what community means in the
classroom. For Dewey, community is
not just a name for a collection of
individuals or an ideal of harmony and
collaboration. It is a process of people
living, working, and especially learning
together (Dewey, 1916).
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Schools as Learning Communities

Can schools be ○ When people come together and work
learning toward a common goal, a community is
communities? formed. In schools, that goal is learning. It
seems almost trite to label schools as
learning communities; of course schools
bring groups of diverse people together
with a common goal of student learning.
Schools reflect the inherent characteristic
of “community.”
 “
13

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may

remember, involve me and I learn.”
-Benjamin Franklin