NEGATIVE PEER EFFECTS AND
POSITIVE IMPACT ON LEARNING
Peers have tremendous influence on children as they grow up, but some of this can certainly have a negative effect (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015 ). Parents and family generally have the greatest influence on a child and although some have suggested that the peer role can be even greater, Berk (2006) counters this claim. However, the net effect of peer influence on student development can also be profound. As Ladd (2005) indicates, the longer the period during which a student is ostracized by his/her peers, the result can be severe effects on the ability to successfully contribute to group activities and to experience academic success. Therefore, because the of the degree …show more content…
As a teacher-administrator at a private school in China, I had a particularly unfortunate incident occur which culminated in a physical assault against a bullied student. As a result of the confrontation, I was forced to suspend both students and subsequently introduced a bullying program to the school, which previously failed to recognize the seriousness of such conflicts. After in-depth discussions with the two students and their families, the situation was positively resolved. And much later I even met the formerly bullied student whose dress and demeanour certainly revealed he had finally found his social niche and was more confident and comfortable with his self image. The most positive aspect of this particular student dynamic was it provided the perfect opportunity to deal with a serious issue that was not being addressed at the school and which ultimately had a positive learning effect on the rest of the …show more content…
Certainly, by the fact that students learn different perspectives from their peers and have to analyse other work from the perspective of the grading criteria can only help to improve their future work (Hernandez, 2010). This strategy of allowing students to see how their peers think about certain topics can help them realize commonalities which could form the base of potential positive interactions. In addition, there are benefits in terms of having students reflect more and justify their arguments.
However, introducing and having students not only “buy-in” to the peer assessment process but also become proficient takes some training and teachers must be prepared not only for some initial resistance. This is where strategies such as engaging students in the development of criteria and “embedding peer involvement within normal courses processes” (Liu and Carless, 2006) are useful. Then, once students become proficient at peer assessment, it certainly can have a very positive effect on learning.
Clearly, peer relationships are also very dynamic and subject to constant change so teachers must also realize that patience is necessary and that a strategy that might work well one day could have problems the next. However, as long as one remembers that learning is a process and peer effects are part of that process,
POSITIVE IMPACT ON LEARNING
Peers have tremendous influence on children as they grow up, but some of this can certainly have a negative effect (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015 ). Parents and family generally have the greatest influence on a child and although some have suggested that the peer role can be even greater, Berk (2006) counters this claim. However, the net effect of peer influence on student development can also be profound. As Ladd (2005) indicates, the longer the period during which a student is ostracized by his/her peers, the result can be severe effects on the ability to successfully contribute to group activities and to experience academic success. Therefore, because the of the degree …show more content…
As a teacher-administrator at a private school in China, I had a particularly unfortunate incident occur which culminated in a physical assault against a bullied student. As a result of the confrontation, I was forced to suspend both students and subsequently introduced a bullying program to the school, which previously failed to recognize the seriousness of such conflicts. After in-depth discussions with the two students and their families, the situation was positively resolved. And much later I even met the formerly bullied student whose dress and demeanour certainly revealed he had finally found his social niche and was more confident and comfortable with his self image. The most positive aspect of this particular student dynamic was it provided the perfect opportunity to deal with a serious issue that was not being addressed at the school and which ultimately had a positive learning effect on the rest of the …show more content…
Certainly, by the fact that students learn different perspectives from their peers and have to analyse other work from the perspective of the grading criteria can only help to improve their future work (Hernandez, 2010). This strategy of allowing students to see how their peers think about certain topics can help them realize commonalities which could form the base of potential positive interactions. In addition, there are benefits in terms of having students reflect more and justify their arguments.
However, introducing and having students not only “buy-in” to the peer assessment process but also become proficient takes some training and teachers must be prepared not only for some initial resistance. This is where strategies such as engaging students in the development of criteria and “embedding peer involvement within normal courses processes” (Liu and Carless, 2006) are useful. Then, once students become proficient at peer assessment, it certainly can have a very positive effect on learning.
Clearly, peer relationships are also very dynamic and subject to constant change so teachers must also realize that patience is necessary and that a strategy that might work well one day could have problems the next. However, as long as one remembers that learning is a process and peer effects are part of that process,