PEER – MEDIATED LEARNING Computer Technology

LET US BE FAMILIARIZED WITH THE TERMS:• PEER –1. person of the same legal status:

a jury of one's peers.2.

person who is equal to another in abilities, qualifications, age, background, and social status.

3. something of equal worth or quality.

• MEDIATED –

1540s, "divide in two equal parts," probably a back-formation from mediation or mediator, or else from Latin mediatus, past participle of mediare. Meaning "act as a mediator" is from 1610s; that of "settle  by mediation" is from 1560s. Related: Mediated, mediates, mediating.

• PEER MEDIATION - is problem solving by youth with youth. It is a process

by which two or more students involved in a dispute meet in a private, safe and confidential setting to work out problems with the assistance of a trained student mediator.

• PEER – MEDIATED LEARNING – is a classroom-based practice where students work in

pairs to complete activities.

LET US BE… cont.

Peer Mediated Learning – HOW?• One student (tutee) provides overt responses while

the other student (tutor) provides immediate corrective feedback, clarification of concepts, or further instruction. 

• In some arrangements roles are reciprocal and students switch roles while completing activities together.  Activities that guide the peer interactions are often highly structured, and can even be somewhat scripted in some cases, especially for sessions involving young students.

• In most cases, peer-mediated learning sessions are short in duration (e.g. 10 to 30 minutes) and involve focused work tasks around a teacher-determined activity, goal or skill. 

• During peer-mediated learning sessions classroom teachers move throughout the classroom and are able to observe dyads at work, and provide frequent corrective feedback and instruction as needed. Students are placed in pairs based on the teacher’s judgment and assessment of their current abilities, with the requirement that one of the students in the dyad has a higher skill level than the other.

• The idea here is that the student who currently possesses a higher level of skill will be able to model appropriate task completion, as well as provide adequate corrective feedback on the skill or activity in progress.  

• However, this does not mean that students with the higher skill level will not benefit from the approach.  Depending on how the classroom teacher arranges the assigned work and objective of the activity, both students in the dyad can benefit from the paired arrangement.

Peer Mediated Instruction• or (PMI) is an approach in special education where 

peers of the target students are trained to provide necessary tutoring in educational, behavioral, and/or social concerns.(Chan et al., 2009). In PMI, peers may mediate by modeling appropriate behavior themselves, using prompting procedures to elicit appropriate behavior from the target students, and reinforcing appropriate behavior when it occurs. The peer tutors are chosen from the target students' classrooms, trained to mediate and closely observed during mediation. Among the advantages noted to the technique, it takes advantage of the positive potential of peer pressure and may integrate target students more fully in their peer group. 

Advantages of PMI as an Intervention Strategy• First, there is never a shortage of peers to use, especially

when implementing an intervention in a school or classroom. • Second, students are influenced through 

observational learning by what they see their peers doing. • Third, students are often less intimidated by a peer than they

are a teacher, which makes instruction and feedback from peers potentially more effective.

• Fourth, it may not only offer short-term intervention benefits, but can also strengthen the target student's social ties within the classroom.

• Finally, research has been done with many different types of learners, including students with learning disabilities, behavior disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which show that PMI may be effective for a wide range of students (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2005; Flood, Wilder, Flood & Masuda, 2002).

Application to General Education Classroom settings

Varying forms of Peer Mediated Instruction and Interventions have been conducted in a great range of settings over the decades. Research has been conducted in educational and non-educational environments with positive outcomes in each.

It is important to note that PMI strategies are not restricted or inclusive to education or special education, but have been found to be effective in each-as well as inclusive classroom settings. The following characteristics have been identified (Kulik & Kulik, 1992), as central for successful implementation of Peer Mediated Instruction.

• Expectations for student learning. Teachers should establish high expectation levels. No students are expected to fall below the level of learning needed to be successful at the next level of education.

• Careful orientation to lessons. Teachers must clearly describe the relationship of a current lesson to previous study. Students are reminded of key concepts or skills previously covered.

• Clear and focused instructions to participants.

• Close teacher monitoring of student progress. Frequently formal and informal monitoring of student learning by teachers. Teachers must require that students are accountable for their product and learning.

• Re-teach. If students show signs of confusion, misinterpretation or misunderstanding, the teacher must be responsible to teach again.

• Use class time for learning. Students must pace themselves and should be monitored for task completion.

• Positive and personal teacher and student interaction. Cooperative Learning and Peer Tutoring Strategies are instruction methods of choice in many classrooms as they are noted for preventing and alleviating many social problems related to children, adolescents, and young adults.

References:• http://www.theresolutioncenter.com/peermediatio

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-mediated_instruction

• http://ldatschool.ca/literacy/using-peer-mediated-approaches-in-the-classroom-to-benefit-students-with-learning-disabilities/

Example Activity: POWERSUPPLY DIAGNOSING