5 reasons why you should incorporate Peer-to-Peer Learning

When I was in school, sometimes we’d have a newcomer joining us in the middle of the academic year. The new kid invariably had to do some extra homework to catch up with all that he/she missed out on. The teacher too had to put in more efforts to guide them. I still remember one such case when I was in high school. This time the teacher allotted a topic each to some of us and asked us to take turns and teach the newcomer during our leisure time. At the end of it, I realized that apart from the house points that we earned, it helped us to revise what we had already learned. It also gave us a chance to break the ice and make the new kid feel comfortable.

In short, this was Peer-to-peer learning. Peer-to-peer learning at your workplace is similar – instead of students, employees teach one another.

Often, we come across employees who say they are not trained enough to do their job. This depends on the effectiveness of training and employee engagement. One approach to resolve this is through peer learning.

Here are five reasons telling you why peer-to-peer learning is a good strategy.

 

Employees understand each other better than a trainer could

Peer learning gives employees opportunities to interact and feel at ease. Some new hires may find it intimidating to ask questions to their boss. Employees by and large share similar experiences. This builds a connection between mentors and learners based on trust and respect. Moreover, it allows employees to work as a team.

 

Win-Win situation

You learn more when you take the role of a trainer. Mentors reinforce their knowledge and gain insights while preparing or while trying to clarify the doubts of learners who aren’t as familiar with the topic.

Hence, it’s not just the learners who are at an advantage; mentors get a lot out of it too.

 

Cost Effective and makes training simple

With peer learning, you don’t have to bother about investing in external training or organizing explicit learning sessions for employees. However, peer learning does require some structure regarding what will be taught and ways to implement it. So, it is advisable to chalk out a basic learning frame before the senior employees start mentoring. Tried and tested peer training sessions can be repeated in the future with a new set of employees.

Top performers get recognition

Good and reliable employees often continue to work for a company where they feel connected and are recognized or rewarded for their work. Peer-to-peer learning opens a window of opportunities to mentor and standout by training their peers. This recognition can help retain its top performers and also motivate other employees to be mentors.

Subjective to one’s teaching/ learning styles

Unlike traditional/ classroom training, there’s no hard and fast rule with the methods adopted in peer learning. Learning can happen via hands-on experience, or role play techniques, or any other method the employees have agreed upon based on a mutual understanding. In doing so, the learner is in a better position to grasp things, and it also gives the mentor the liberty to be creative with the teaching methodology.

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