Classroom Choices for Enabling Peer Learning

W EEKLY TELEVISION SCHEDULES attest to the enduring popularity of home remodeling and craft programs among the American public. Viewers watch in fascination as precision tools transform raw materials into objects of usefulness, beauty, and, sometimes, even elegance. As many a do-it-yourselfer has found, however, outcomes are not guaranteed. The best tools offer the most positive results only in the proper supportive structure and under the guidance of those that know their power and exercise the wisdom and self-discipline to use them within their limitations. This image applies also to the tools of education. In this article, we look at one powerful and versatile tool, peer learning, and consider supporting structures and strategies for its optimum application. The 1973 Coleman report recommended the use of collaborative activities as an effective tool for initiating adolescents more fully into academic culture. Almost three decades of research since then attest to peer learning's strength as an instructional tool at all levels from pre-school to graduate school. Studies report that peer learning promotes greater conceptual and procedural gains for students, accommodates a broad range of learning styles, results in greater enjoyment of the learning task, and encourages a stronger persistence in learning (Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Peer learning does hold promise