Library Instruction West 2018

Drawing on Piaget’s developmental psychology (1970) and Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theories (1978), peer teaching has been shown to be successful not only for the peer teacher, but for the peer student as well (Howard, 2001; Soven, 2001). Nevertheless, implementing peer-to-peer (P2P) strategies at many institutions presents challenges of time, resources, and institutional support. To illustrate a variety of options for fostering P2P learning, this panel will share a range of experiences from both LIS and Writing across the Curriculum pedagogy. We will talk about a ready-to-launch, for-credit course designed to train undergraduates to become peer teachers at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis) as well as a Writing Fellows program involving students who assist with disciplinary courses at UCCS (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. In addition, we will share strategies that any librarian can bring into the classroom to harness the power and benefits of peer learning. We will discuss the challenges, constraints, and outcomes of P2P approaches across institutions and contexts.