Peer Learning Circles

The Problem

Learning is largely an individualistic and competitive endeavor. You may be friends with your classmates, but do you teach and learn from one another? Do you celebrate the academic success of your classmates, or dismayed that they are getting ahead of you?

Youth may face challenges in their learning:  Some are related to access to knowledge resources, eg Digital Access (having laptops, reliable Wi-Fi and relevant software) or Digital Literacy (knowing how to navigating online resources for learning purposes). Others may not enjoy learning, and see school as a necessary stepping stone to the work or life they want. They may lack motivation to learn and have not learned ‘how to learn’. Relationship with school teachers might sometimes be difficult and parents can even be an additional source of stress. At the same time, tuition in Singapore has become a billion-dollar industry, profiting from an educational ecosystem where teachers’ role in school is no longer regarded as enough to perform academically.

One Solution - Peer Learning Circles

Learning circles has the potential to ignite the interest of learners, unlock their learning capacity and transform the culture of learning among youths by moving them from individualistic competition to mutually supportive and collaborative learning.

• Peer learning groups can be formed and supported by a ‘learning facilitator’ who does not provide tuition, but instead provides learning resources and guidance.
• While academic subjects can constitute the content of these learning circles (Language, Math, Science), you can also form circles for topics that are not covered by the school curriculum.
• Given that learning issues are often embedded in broader school or family circumstances, a supportive community circle can also offer practical or socio-emotional support where feasible. See also Community Support Circles

Learning circles will be structured to have check-ins so that youths can share what is going on in their lives. They will then engage in goal-setting where they define the curriculum they want to understand or homework they want to complete. Peer learning will be used as a first principle and escalating this to learning facilitators only when necessary. After each peer learning session, quick rounds of sharing by each youth and facilitator will help review what they felt worked well and what did not.

Significance

• If peer learning works, it can disrupt the billion-dollar tuition industry that is profiting from parental and student anxieties, fueling a hyper individualistic and overly competitive learning climate.
• Self-directed learning with peers will allow a more diverse set of learning interests to be cultivated beyond what is in the formal curriculum.
• Beyond individual circles, it is possible to create a mutually supportive learning community that extends beyond their own study group.

Playbook - How to Start and Manage Learning Circles

[This is one possible model, each community organiser should co-design the initiative with their participants to suit their unqiue circumstances].

2 Monthly Topical Schedule of Circles

·      Week 1 English / Language

·      Week 2 Math

·      Week 3 Science

·      Week 4 Reflection on Overall Learning Strategy / Group Identified Topic ($400 to design a learning experience)