The document discusses strategies for teachers to maximize the positive impact of peers in the classroom. It suggests (1) creating activities where students can share personal experiences with peers to help them feel less alone, (2) having students provide feedback to each other because peers may be seen as more understanding than teachers, and (3) frequently changing group roles so everyone can explore different identities and skills like leadership. It also recommends (4) engaging students in truly collaborative projects where each person's role is important to help students understand the value of teamwork.

1. The positive impact of peers
in the classroom
Ana Isabel Puértolas Girón
Foundations of Teaching for Learning
Course 3: The power of the peer group
December 2013

2. Introduction
Along these two weeks we have seen the very
important role that peers play, both positively and
negatively, in the learning that happens in the
classroom. As professor Oduro says, peers are an
important element of social support. The peer group
provides an opportunity for the individual to get physical
assistance and emotional support. They also help the
individual understand who they are and how they fit in
the world. In this presentation, I am going to suggest
some things that we might do as teachers to maximize
the positive impact of peers.

3. Create activities and situations where students can
share their personal experiences with their peers
I agree with the idea that teenagers feel much safer
when their own friends experience the same feelings
and same problems. They, therefore, begin to trust and
seek guidance from friends who they consider to be
undergoing the same experiences. Then, we should try
to create the opportunity for them to realize they are not
alone and people of their age are going through the
same difficult situation.

4. Make students a valuable source of feedback
Sometimes pupils see the teacher as a distant
figure. Therefore, when they receive corrections or
instructions they might feel the person who is
addressing them is too experienced and does not
understand them. Whereas if it is their peers who give
them feedback they might value it more since it comes
from equals.

5. ● Change group roles frequently so that everyone can
find his/her identity
When talking about skill development, Oduro refers to
the idea that peer groups offer children the opportunity
to
develop
various
social
skills,
such
as
leadership, sharing or teamwork. They also offer them
opportunity to experiment with new roles and
interactions. Therefore, by putting them into different
roles we would make sure that they “find themselves," or
work toward formation of their relatively permanent
identity.

6. ● Engage students in collaborative projects where
everyone’s task is equally important
In many occasions school projects are done in
groups of students. As a matter of fact, the aim is to
make them work together, share ideas and make
decisions agreed by consensus. However, what they do
is to do each part at home individually and finally they
join them together in a project which is not always a
piece of work but many pieces put together. To avoid
this, we should design activities which cannot be done
individually. That way students will understand that the
world is done by bits and not by individual work.

7. Thank you