MbShea@PWP@English@UMCP

ABSTRACT: Peer learning is an increasingly popular form of learning in college classrooms. This type of learning consists of students teaching and learning class material from their peers, often through group-based activities that promote peer collaboration. This form of learning turns the passive learning of professors lecturing students, into an active form of learning, challenging the students’ understanding through higher order thinking. Many scientific studies support the implementation of peer learning in college classrooms. Research has shown that peer learning group activities cultivated a deeper understanding of the material, allowing students to answer more complex, higher level exam questions. Peer learning has also been shown to increase student self-efficacy, giving them a greater confidence in learning the subject material. Because college lecture halls are large, often not designed for peer collaboration and lecture time is limited, peer learning activities should be implemented in the smaller discussion and laboratory sections that coincide with the lecture. Activities such as “Think Pair Share” and “Jigsaw” have been proven to be successful peer learning activities and are discussed further in the paper. The directions for the above mentioned activities will be provided for easy understanding of the activity to encourage its implementation in the classroom.

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READER'S PROFILE: I imagine a skeptical reader may think that peer learning is a waste of time and unproductive. They may think that students teaching students is a waste of time. This may be a professor or teaching assistant.
Reader’s Response: I don’t think that peer learning is effective in helping my students learn because they are only just learning the material themselves! Hmm. I guess it would make sense that they understand the material more if they discuss it with each other. I would like them to not just memorize the material, but actually understand it. They also gain a greater self-efficacy. But it seems like a lot of work for me to find activities to implement and I simply do not have the time to organize this change. Maybe I will try some of these short activities that the paper suggests about. This “Jigsaw” activity seems like a practical one that will be easy to incorporate. I guess I will give it a try in the beginning of next class!

REVISED THESIS OR PROBLEM STATEMENT: Introductory biology college courses are often taught by professors through direct instruction in large lecture rooms, allowing for organized teaching. However, typically, lecture rooms are big and composed of rows of fixed seats, leaving little opportunity for peer collaboration. Keeping students engaged and actively learning is difficult. Therefore, peer learning can be used by teaching assistants in smaller discussion and laboratory sections to engage the students and deepen their understanding in the material. This document will introduce the idea of peer learning in college classrooms, reveal its benefits for students and instructors alike, and suggest effective ways for teaching assistants to incorporate peer learning activities into their classes.

VOICE: First person to relate to my audience, who are teaching assistants and establish credibility. 3rd person as I review scientific literature supporting peer learning and conclude in 2nd person as I write directions on how to incorporate peer learning activities in the classroom.

CITATION: I plan on using in text APA citations throughout the document and reference citations at the end that link to websites. I will suggest further readings on peer learning activities to my audience.

J -- as you know, I am a big fan of this project and want to see what happens when you share with your real audience. :)

What do you think could happen in writing classes? Did the GroupMe function this way, at all?