Adult students as peer learners

Leena Vainio, Research DirectorHAMK Centre

11.9.2012ALT 2012 A confrontation with reality

HAMK University of Applied Sciences

Education – Research - Development

HAMK in Finland and in Europe

Situated centrally in the greater Helsinki metropolitan area of southern Finland at 7 locations

Teaching and learning

TechnologyPedagogy

Competencies

Content

• Is peer learning for adults the way to achieve better outcomes?

• Formal learning is not enough any more• Digital literacy skills demand new ways of

learning and teaching

Peer learning is collaboration and communication

Motivates and gives meaning

Engagement leads toempowerment

Sharing

Two roles: evaluator and target of evaluation

Helps to recognise whatis important

Trust and respect

Recognising the quality and using that in your own practice

Adults as peer learners

Experiences Contrasts

Attitudes

Needs

Motivation

70-20-10 learning(Charles Jennings)

70 % through experience &practice

20 % through other people

ConversationsNetworks

10 % of learning is formal

Example of peer learning

COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN A NETWORK ENVIRONMENT, 5 CREDITSThe aim of the course is to learn various working methods and possibilities offered by new technologies and social media. During the course, the students practise how to operate in networks in different environments so that they can improve performance and develop their own work and working environment.

Adult students digital literacy skills

Year StudentN

Beginners%

Moderate skills %

Experts %

2008 36 60 % (21) 38 % (13) 2 % (2)

2009 32 58 % (18) 40 % (12) 2 % ( 2)

2010 27 42 % (11) 55 % (14) 3 % (2)

2011 33 32 % (10) 62 % (20) 6 % (3)

2012 78 12 % (9) 82 % (64) 6 % ( 5)

Self organised learning

Students take responsibility for their own learning and put

this into successful action in their

workplaces or in private life

Methods and tools

• Face-to-face meeting at the beginning

• Recorded online lessons and learning materials

• Team project • Online meetings• Small group meetings just-

in-time• Individual coaching just-in-

time• final report and feedback

Tools:

Teaching and learning

TechnologyPedagogy

Competencies

MoodleKyvyt.fi - ePortfolio

Wiki

WebEx/AC

SecondLife

Oskari-portal for students

Portal fo staff

Online Campus

eHops

SoleOps

Facebook

Twitter

Ning

iGoogleLinkedIn

SlideShare

Flicker

Delicious

Diigo

Blogger

TeamSpeak3

Skype

GWMessenger

Echo360Virtual classroom

Teacher centred Learner centred

CREATIVE TOOLS?

Success rates

Year StudentN

Beginners

2008 36 94 % (34)

2009 32 100 % (32)

2010 27 96 % (26)

2011 33 91 % (30)

2012 78 64 % (50)*

* The last group has not yet completed

Feedback

“I was a bit confused in the beginning but step by step I started to realize, what is going on. Maybe the confusion in the beginning was due of the fact that teachers gave us “free hands” nothing too structured. I think the learning process is the key point of this course. “

“Despite my deficient personal skills I’ve always been interested in learning more about social media

and online working, just have been too shy to try them on my own. That leads us to the best part of this process: learning together with our group and supporting each other in everyone’s’ own learning process. It was also a

pleasant experience to be able to advice the other team members at

least in some ways.”

Conclusions

• Peer learning works• New practices,

channels, networks• Connections,

collaboration• Leading

"From the errors of others a wise man corrects his own." -Pubilius Syrus

•Leena.vainio@hamk.fi•Skype: leena.vainio•Twitter: @lvainio•LinkedIn: Leena Vainio