Free Peer Learning is offered to all AAP students who want to strengthen their abilities to think critically and independently, read analytically, write well, engage in interdisciplinary reasoning, and study effectively while mastering course materials. Every year, we train over 130+ Peer Learning Facilitators (mostly successful upper division AAP students) to work as Peer Learning Facilitators (PLFs) and to serve as academic role models. The Unit provides Peer Learning Sessions to almost 2,000 AAP students every week. AAP Peer Learning sessions offer students an opportunity to shape their own educational experiences – and to excel. The Peer Learning Unit builds on the premise that critical thinking and intellectual independence are developed through questioning and dialogue. Most of our Peer Learning sessions take place in small groups of three to twelve students. This setting fosters discussion and allows students to listen to, grapple with, and articulate new perspectives. It enables students to work collaboratively, helping them to see that they can rely on classmates as well as Peer Learning Facilitators; it helps students develop the tools necessary for scholarly inquiry. We treat writing as a process of ongoing revision, encouraging students to critically evaluate and edit their own writing.

Philosophy

AAP Peer Learning Makes a Difference!!!

AAP Peer Learning sessions are concerned with fostering excellence, not remediation. Every year, the AAP Peer Learning Unit provides free workshops to more than 5,600+ AAP students through its Math/ Sciences, and Humanities/Social Sciences Labs. AAP Peer Learning sessions offer you a unique opportunity to receive individual attention, to shape your own educational experience, and to push yourself to academic excellence.

The majority of our sessions are done in small groups of three to twelve students. Small group Peer Learning fosters discussion and allows for the articulation of different perspectives. It helps you develop the tools necessary for scholarly inquiry. It allows you to work collaboratively, to help one another, to see that you can rely on classmates as well as TA’s and PLFs, and to see that you are not alone in your personal and/or academic pursuits.

Composition courses are led almost exclusively one-on-one and focus on your own expression and understanding. Writing is treated as a process of ongoing revision, teaching you to critically evaluate and revise your own writing. Individual sessions allow the Peer Learning Facilitator to become more involved in your learning process, and to get a close-up look at what skills, experiences, and knowledge you bring to the course. Individual sessions give you and the PLF a better opportunity to get to know and trust one another.

AAP’s Peer Learning philosophy is grounded in the following beliefs:

To become active and critical thinkers, students must assume responsibility for the learning that occurs in Peer Learning sessions. The aim is to place students at the center of Peer Learning sessions, making students responsible for interpreting materials, questioning concepts, and testing the ideas encountered in classes.

AAP Peer Learning Facilitators do not reproduce the role of the instructor. In fact, they regularly encourage students to meet with their professors and TA’s. PLFs supplement instruction by getting you to engage course materials actively, critically, and independently through questioning, dialogue, and debate. The aim is to place you at the center of the Peer Learning session, making you responsible for interpreting materials, questioning concepts, and testing the ideas you encounter in your classes.

Students recognize their own intellectual authority best in an environment that combines rigorous academic expectations with encouragement, support, and respect.

AAP Peer Learning Facilitators encourage you to share your experiences and insights freely during sessions; they provide you with constructive feedback that acknowledges the value of your ideas and validates your potential as an aspiring scholar; they actively challenge your perceptions and help you appreciate the power and value of your ethnic and socio-economic background.

Effective Peer Learning Facilitators are intellectual mentors who offer their personal support and their knowledge of campus life.

Peer Learning Facilitators are sometimes asked to mediate in problems and situations that have roots in distinctly non- academic spheres: in feelings of alienation, anxiety about family expectations, financial pressures, and the like. Trained in crisis intervention, AAP PLFs provide students with information about campus resources and refer students to the appropriate campus offices.

Many students worry about using Peer Learning, thinking that it’s remedial. Perhaps you are one. Here are some reasons students give for not using AAP Peer Learning workshops and our responses to them.

Reason #1: I don’t need Peer Learning sessions because I’m not in academic difficulty.
Our unit is broader than trouble-shooting or remedy-seeking. AAP Peer Learning sessions are designed to enhance your learning–even if you are an “A” student. Learning is enriched if it takes place in a social context where you can test your understanding in dialogue with others. Everyone can benefit from seeing how others view things, hearing responses to one’s own ideas and the ideas of others, and receiving encouragement from one’s peers. Peer Learning sessions give you a place to assume the role of instructor as well as learner; and it introduces you to a network of other students. Of course, if you are having trouble understanding class material, Peer Learning sessions are a fine place to seek assistance. We know that people sometimes feel stigmatized when they ask for help, but it’s important to recognize that you don’t need to handle everything alone. Working with a Peer Learning Facilitator does not detract from whatever you accomplish.

Reason #2: I don’t want to depend on others.
Peer Learning  sessions are designed not only to strengthen your academic skills, but to cultivate your confidence and self-reliance. Peer Learning Facilitators will help you articulate your ideas, not impose their own. They will help you view your work critically and guide you to look for options. Peer Learning  sessions are student-centered. We encourage you and the PLF to discuss expectations, to examine the Peer Learning session relationship, and to work on that relationship as you work together on academic material.

Reason #3: I don’t have time for Peer Learning sessions.
Time is at a premium at the university. The quarter system is demanding. Our sessions will help you get started quicker and become more organized and focused, all of which should generate enthusiasm in your work.

Reason #4: I had a bad experience with Peer Learning sessions.
Perhaps you have had a bad experience with Peer Learning sessions. That does happen. Things can go wrong in human relationships. Maybe it was a personality conflict, or perhaps your expectations were different from the PLF’s. Whatever the reason, we urge you to try Peer Learning sessions again. Bad experiences are the rare exception in our unit.

Reason #5:  If I want Peer Learning sessions, I can use my friends.
We think it’s good for you to get together with other students and encourage you to do just that whenever you can. But we think you’ll find it useful to develop a relationship centered on our Peer Learning sessions. For one thing, friends may not always be available. Our Peer Learning sessions have more of a sustained quality rather than a drop-in one. An ongoing Peer Learning session relationship, with a trained PLF, guided by AAP’s educational philosophy, offers you an avenue to academic excellence. In closing, though we urge you to use AAP Peer Learning sessions for a number of reasons, one very important reason remains: this unit belongs to you–the students. It was formed by students like yourself, and it has been passed on to you. Many of the Peer Learning Facilitators (PLFs) are AAP students like yourself. If AAP Peer Learning sessions are to continue to meet your needs, it is extremely important that you help shape its direction by your active participation.