What is P2P Learning?
Here at P2P Learning, our goal is to promote learning through thought-provoking, “peer to peer” discussions in place of teacher-led student discussions. Here’s why our method works:
- Think back to ancient Greece and remember Socrates, who most famously educated his students by asking questions in “seminars” to guide them toward reasonably sound conclusions. Here at P2P, we believe he was onto something! Given a simple subject, students should be capable of elaborating upon their ideas to form coherent, defensible essays, whether in the form of fictional story-telling, eloquent poetry, or straightforward opinion-writing. That’s where part 1 of our method comes into play: after registering an account and optionally attending a Zoom meeting (for history and reading), students can upload their writing to be peer-reviewed. Once approved, we publish the submission on our website and the discussion begins unregulated (within reason and without explicit content, of course)!
- But why not teacher-to-student learning? There’s nothing wrong with it, of course; there’s a reason schools continue to utilize such methods. Think of it this way: sitting on an airplane while the pilot is in control is one thing. When all controllable parties are cooperative, the journey will go smoothly for the passenger. Piloting the plane, however, requires much more training and active thought. The same idea applies to academics. For students who wish to go above and beyond the clouds, learning to pilot the plane is a vital skill which, more often than not, is overlooked for far too long. At P2P Learning, we teach students to “fly the plane” with focuses on history, reading and writing, because these subjects are so multifaceted and relevant in our daily lives that to not be excellent at any area is the first crack on a sheet of glass. Keep in mind that we are not looking to replace any student’s efforts in school, but rather to enhance their critical thinking and give them room to share their skills.
To put it simply, P2P Learning is an online forum where students are encouraged to share, discuss, and critique their peers (though, again, within reason). Our learning environment is meant to foster old ideas and inspire new perspectives.
Enjoy!