ADMIN REGIONAL WORKSHOP FOR EASTERN

AND CENTRAL AFRICA KENYA INSTITUTE OF ADMINISTARTION , 18TH JUNE 2008

PEER LEARNING IN AFRICA

Prof Okoth Okombo, UON

profokoth@yahoo.com

1. Illustrative Group Activity

Participants go into groups as suggested by the

presenter.

Each group forms a line based on the members’

agreement on how the steps towards becoming a

learning organization should be sequenced

footprint by footprint.

Win or loose as a group.

2. Our Blindness to Great Groups As We Worship Great Individuals

The foundations of peer learning

“Our mythology refuses to catch up with our reality. We cling

to the myth of the Lone Ranger, the romantic idea that great

things are usually accomplished by a larger-than-life individual

working alone. Despite the evidence to the contrary, we will

tend to think of achievement in terms of the Great Man or

Great Woman, instead of the Great Group”

________W. Bennis and P.W Biederman, 2003 [Organizing

Genius]

3. Is there a Place for Great Groups in the Classroom?

Yes; listen to Warren Bennis (op.cit.) again:

“Obviously, there are lessons here for transforming our

classrooms, our offices, even our communities.

Traditionally, collaboration in the classroom, for

instance, has been taboo, condemned as a form of

cheating. Yet what we discover in Great Groups is that

collaboration can only make our classrooms happier and

more productive.”

4. So, What is It?Generally a form of cooperative learning

Values the interaction of learners

Supports or facilitates the interaction of learners

Encourages ‘positive interdependence’

Takes learning to innovative settings: beyond the

written word and teacher-guided tasks

Requires teacher or trainer support but may be

learner-initiated. Etc.

5. Where Does it Take Place?

Peer learning activities may be conducted or

performed:

a) On-site

In the classroom

At the training place

b) Off-site

Away from the classroom/training place

At a distance

6. What are Its On-site Methods?Buzz groups

Solution and critic groups

Affinity groups

Group project

Self-study groups

Peer tutoring

Jigsaw

E.t.c

7. What are Its Off-site Methods?

Peer-group newsletters

Peer-group websites

Peer-group teleconferencing

Peer-group correspondence

Peer-group journals

Peer-group networks of various kinds.

E.t.c

8. Whose Responsibility is It?

a)0n-site

Peer-group initiatives

Trainer/teacher-guided peer activities

b)Off-site

Peer-group initiatives

Institution/organization-guided peer activities

9. In a Nutshell

Going back to good, old African wisdom

enhanced by modern technologies

10. Appendix:The Five Disciplines

[cf Peter Senge, 1990 as reported in James Kirk

and Lynne Kirk, 1997]

1) Systems thinking - comprehending the big picture

2) Personal mastery - doing the job well

3) Mental models - critically questioning old

assumptions

4) Shared vision - arriving at a collective purpose

5)Team learning - working together collaboratively

11. Cited Sources*

Bennis, W. and P.W. Biederman (2003) Organizing Genius: The

Secrets of Creative Collaboration. Magna publishing Co.

Ltd

Kirk, James J. and Kirk, Lynne D. (1997). Training Games for

the Learning Organization. New York, San Francisco etc:

McGraw-Hill

* The activity performed in this presentation was modified in

various respects to suit the time and theme of the presentation. It was

based on the play for “Walking the Talk: Becoming a Learning

Organization.” (PP 168-174)