Peer Teaching in Vocational Education: A Qualitative Analysis of Student Perceptions of Learning by Teaching

Abstract

Peer teaching is a learning strategy based on student involvement, whereby students themselves teach fellow students. If properly structured, peer teaching can be a very effective learning technique (Leung et al. 2012).Peer learning, group work, and other activities that foster peer learning are highly encouraged at the Malta College for Arts, Science and Technology (MCAST). These activities should be structured not only to fulfil the learning outcomes but also to present learners with an opportunity to learn skills and competences that go beyond such outcomes (MCAST 2020). Peer teaching, as a style of learning is most often relatively novel to the students and thus it is of interest to explore the experiences and attitudes of MCAST students with regard to peer teaching.This qualitative study explores the perceptions of the students when participating in a peer teaching session. In doing so, this research attempts to answer the overarching question of whether the phenomenon of learning by teaching is an effective learning strategy within vocational education.The research method adopts a constructivist approach as described by Charmaz (2014) and employs a grounded theory methodology that utilizes a conditional matrix as demonstrated by Corbin and Strauss (2015). The methodology made use of interpretative and qualitative in-depth interviews from which the researcher could derive a theory of a process that is grounded in the views of participants (Creswell and Creswell 2018).A conceptual grounded theory model represents the concepts identified in this research study. A number of factors influence the way in which students engage in peer teaching activities. These include the students background and experiences, their attitude towards learning, familiarity with the subject, lecturer preparation, the learning environment and available resources. Students respond to these contextual conditions through a number of actions and reactions, namely by acquiring information through in-depth research, teamwork, presentation of their work to their peers, as well as giving and receiving constructive feedback, while the lecturer acts as a facilitator for learning. As a result, students experience a number of consequences and outcomes which are mainly related to autonomous learning, a deeper learning and improved self-efficacy.These outcomes present an argument in favour of the implementation of peer teaching as an effective tool in education. Student engagement, collaboration and openness to learning from their peers are key to the success of this method and by incorporating peer teaching into pedagogical practices, lecturers can guide students towards achieving their learning goals while enabling them to acquire skills that facilitate communication with their peers and improve self-efficacy.