This qualitative research project describes the experiences of students in BYU's Hands on a Camera Project as they were introduced to co-learning pedagogies. Hands on a Camera is a media literacy service-learning project where university students are placed in public schools to teach K-12 students documentary production and media literacy. The project consists of a preparation phase and a teaching phase. In the research project, students were required to complete peer-learning and peer-teaching assignments during the preparation phase as in order to prepare for the teaching phase. This ethnographic study describes student experiences—positive and negative—with peer learning during both phases of the project.

Utbildningen till röntgensjuksköterska bedrivs på åtta lärosäten i Sverige och leder till både kandidatexamen och en yrkeslegitimation. En del av utbildningen sker på röntgenavdelningar, så kallad verksamhetsförlagd utbildning, och ger studenterna möjlighet att knyta ihop teorin med den kommande yrkesprofessionen tillsammans med yrkesverksamma handledare. På senare tid har handledarmodellen peer learning vuxit i användande, en modell som låter studenter arbeta tillsammans med problembaserad inlärning och där handledaren aktivt tar ett steg tillbaka. Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva röntgensjuksköterskors erfarenheter av att handleda studenter med modellen peer learning. Metod: Semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med sex handledare med erfarenhet från tre olika sjukhus. Intervjuerna transkriberades och datan analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Vid användandet av peer learning upplevde handledarna att studenterna generellt blir mer självständiga, ansvarstagande och trygga i sitt lärande. Samtidigt betonades att detta inte är en modell som fungerar för alla studenter, och att konkurrens kan skapa en negativ påverkan på inlärningen. Slutsats: Även om resultatet visar att många efterfrågade kvaliteter hos röntgensjuksköterskor upplevs förstärkas vid användandet av peer learning, blir det tydligt att det krävs kunskap och trygghet hos handledarna att använda modellen på ett bra sätt. Studien visade att det finns både för- och nackdelar med modellen. Om den sammantagna upplevelsen ses som positiv eller negativ grundar sig på både studenters och handledares erfarenheter, kunskaper, personkemi och motivation.

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An associate degree of nursing program in the southeastern region of the United States has had significant increases in student attrition over the past few years. Admission requirements did not include an entrance exam, such as the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS), which may be useful in decreasing the deficiencies associated with poor student progression. Guided by the Knowles' theory of adult learning and Bandura's social learning theory, the purpose of this correlation study was to explore the relationship between the TEAS scores and the cumulative grade point average (GPA) of first-year students to determine if success at the completion of students' first year in the nursing program can be predicted from the overall TEAS score and its subsections of reading, math, science, and English. Archival data for 130 nursing students enrolled from 2012 to 2013 were analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. According to the study results, there was a significant correlation of the total TEAS score and student GPA after the first year of nursing school. The first semester GPA was positively related to the TEAS English score and the TEAS science score; however, there was no significant correlation found for TEAS math and reading scores with students' GPA. A 3-day workshop and a student mentoring program were developed to address academic deficiencies of at-risk nursing students, particularly in English and science. Positive social change can occur through improved retention, which will lead to a higher number of nursing graduates eligible to take and pass the National Certification Licensure Exam for Registered Nurses, provide job security for graduates, and improve the present critical shortage of nurses in the United States.

While there has been research on development of multiplicative reasoning, and how to teach multiplication facts, there is little research on how children consider they learn these. This study explores the children's learning as they consider how they commit their multiplication facts to memory, discover calculation strategies and develop multiplicative thinking. A group of eleven Year 4 children (8 years old) participated in a series of 13 lessons where they became coresearchers in the exploration of their learning. A contextually based thematic approach was provided through 'Crocodilian Studies'. The mixed-method approach to this study included formal assessment, participant observation, individual interviews, the children's written ideas, and individual case studies. The most significant finding of this study was the powerful influence of peer learning. The children enriched and directed each other's learning as they shared ideas and reflected on their own mathematical learning as they observed and critiqued the thinking of peers. As the children were involved in thinking about how they learn they were able to identify gaps and construct their own learning pathways. A significant finding was that children can develop their multiplicative strategies while they commit their multiplication facts to memory, in a relatively short time provided that the learning process facilitates strategy development and understanding. By exposing the children to multiplication facts in sequenced clusters provided them with a manageable number of facts to be learnt at one time. Another finding related to how children develop calculation strategies through lesson activities rather than being explicitly taught them. The children considered practice important for memorisation. Parental support was significant in enriching the children's learning.

The study is a qualitative explanation of the emotional responses of children with learning difficulties regarding their social interaction experiences. The primary research question that guided the study is: What are the emotional responses of children with learning difficulties regarding their social interaction experiences? Two learners were selected to participate in the study. Activity sessions, observations and interviews were conducted to determine the participants’ emotional responses regarding their social interaction experiences. Theme analysis was used to analyze the data collected. Seven main themes with sub-themes pertaining to the main themes, emerged from the data. The findings of the study are understood in terms of a Vygotskian social development framework. The study revealed that the participants, identified as having learning challenges, experienced difficulties in their social interaction experiences. Their emotional responses to their social interaction experiences indicated that the participants found peer learning to be emotionally challenging. They further indicated that they were not included in the majority of their peers’ social activities in the playground setting. Both participants have developed methods of resilience to help them cope with the challenges they face in their social interaction experiences with their peers. These methods help to alleviate stress caused due to the challenges they face with social interaction but these forms of resilience do not help the participants to experience learning taking place in Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development as the coping mechanisms employed by the participants remove the participants from the majority of their peers’ interactions, rather than include them. Learning in Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development relies on social interaction, supported by more able peers or adults, resulting in learning taking place at a higher level than the individual would be able to achieve on their own. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Background: There is a need for students to integrate theory with practice and there is an ongoing search for the best learning and teaching models in Primary Health Care settings. The aim of this study was to explore preceptors' and nursing students’ experiences of using peer learning during clinical practice in Primary Health Care. Methods: A qualitative research approach was used based on semi-structured interviews with 7 preceptors and 8 nursing students performed in May 2017. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed by using content analysis based on an inductive reasoning. Results: Preceptors and students perceived peer learning as a pedagogical model beneficial for learning in primary care settings and described the model as stimulating, challenging and developing. All informants were positive of the peer learning experience and students described that they were seen as individuals and not treated as a couple even if they worked in peers. The physical environment was demanding due to telephone counseling, limited opportunities for using computers and small rooms. Conclusion: This study shows that despite the complex learning environment peer learning as a pedagogical model seems to work well in Primary health care setting. However, there is much to improve to facilitate the student's learning process. The students should be given priority and that the assignment with preceptorship should be highlighted Keywords: Learning environment, Peer learning, Physical environment, Primary Health Care, Structured learning activities.

For decades colleges and universities have been perplexed by the problem of retaining students within systems of higher education. With the advent of more diverse student populations and the increasing demands for more innovative pedagogical approaches, many universities have implemented learning community programs. To study how learning communities impact first generation college students, this study was undertaken to formulate a better understanding of student retention, peer learning, and faculty engagement. This was accomplished by drawing upon both qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore the data concurrently to derive a comprehensive picture of the phenomena under scope. Using a grounded theory approach for the qualitative data analysis, 24 interviews were conducted, an exhaustive document review transpired, and the researcher engaged in 32 hours of observation for a 16-week period. From this analysis, four primary themes emerged: psychosocial integration, intellectual integration, familial integration, and ecological integration. In addition, stages of peer learning were developed from the observations of the students in the learning community setting, as well as positions of faculty engagement in the learning communities program. From the grounded theory analysis, a socialization model was built to explain first year student retention. The study also employed a logistic regression analysis in the quantitative component of the research investigation, to determine how well the following variables could predict first year student retention: high school grade point average (GPA), first semester GPA, first year academic standing, gender, ethnicity, admission status, major decidedness, ESL status, and the number of developmental courses needed upon enrollment in college. A total of 900 archival student records were examined using a forward logistic regression and a 3-predictor model of student retention was yielded with a classification accuracy of 80.1%. The three significant variables in the model included: first semester GPA, first year academic standing, and ethnicity. When this model was applied to a cross validation sample (n = 685), the classification accuracy was found to be 82.0%. Overall, the findings generated from this study help to shed light on factors that might be predictive of student retention among first generation college students in a learning communities program.

Peer tutoring has become well-established in higher education and, with growing interest in peer learning, has started to gain popularity at school level with evident success in a range of settings and subject areas. Specific implementations such as PALS have become commercial successes based on offering attainment gains and social outcomes while reducing teacher workload. However, the impact on children with special educational needs is variable and there remains a lack of consensus on how PALS can affect performance for such students. Similarly, while there are some studies in the Middle East, the supporting literature for peer-tutoring and PALS is highly Western-centric and relies on adoption of constructivist principles in the wider classroom. Such values are uncommon in the Middle East, with the dominance of traditional values presenting a significant barrier to pedagogical innovation in Saudi Arabia. This study is therefore a timely exploration of how peer-tutoring can integrate with a group’s existing traditional pedagogical beliefs, engaging them in more active learning. The study used a mixed methods design to look at three main aspects of the PALS provision: the effectiveness of teacher training as preparation for leading peer tutoring, how fully was the Maths PALS programme implemented, and the impact on students with special educational needs in terms of a range of mathematics attainment and social outcomes. A 3-month intervention model is used to generate comparisons between an intervention and control pupils, helping to locate this study in the context of other quantitative research from Western countries. This is supported by qualitative data looking at the experiences of staff and students to better understand the specific experience of trying such a novel approach in a Saudi Arabian context. It is argued that attainment progress was satisfactory when considered alongside the substantial social progress, suggesting that peer tutoring has the potential to be a long-term learning strategy and, perhaps more importantly, can open the door to Saudi Arabia developing more purposeful and collaborative learning environments. The age grouping common in Saudi Arabia, spanning a much greater age range than is common in other countries, also offers insight into what makes cross-age peer tutoring effective and suggests that measuring progress in such situations requires more advanced statistical techniques. It is also shown that trainee teachers can be efficiently trained in using PALS and highly rate its impact, indicating that teacher training could be a valuable launchpad for pedagogical innovation in Saudi Arabia.

Over the years, graduate medical education has changed in order to create learning environments to best prepare physicians. The present system of residency and hospital affiliation was the model adopted to give students opportunities for active learning along with lecture and observation. This study investigated the varied ways residents learn the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for family practice. A within-site case study approach was used since this was a study of peer learning among family practice residents at a single community based hospital in a university affiliated network having an opposed program. A purposeful and typical case sampling strategy was used so that key participants provided information about their experiences with how the peer interactions among residents contributed to learning. The study had a sample of 11 residents progressing through this program and each participant was interviewed twice. Additional data were collected through observations of the morning and teaching rounds, an observation of the orientation session for new residents, and from program requirement documents. Each interview, observation, and document underwent content analysis for the identification of any emerging central themes or patterns and patterns were grouped according to recurring categories. Of particular interest were the themes that flowed from the interview and observation analysis for each resident class and the application of these themes to major learning theories. Matrix displays of themes that emerged between resident classes, of themes within the same resident class, and of the themes demonstrating relevant learning theories were developed and presented. Data analysis revealed themes categorized by learning process, achievement, identity as a physician, competence, and program improvement. The learning process consisted of various strategies, peer interactions, and use of resources. The within class analysis found varying degrees of strategies and peer interactions for each of the classes and the between class analysis found a progression of strategies, skills, achievement, identity, and changing peer interactions. Themes analyzed according to major learning theories demonstrated similarities to activity theory, social learning theory, and communities of practice. This study revealed that peer mentoring, coaching, and learning occurred within the context of a community of practice.