Abstract
Social constructivism is an educational theory that can be applied in collaborative ways to facilitate student peer teaching and learning. University faculty may be unfamiliar with how to plan, structure, and instruct students in peer teaching and learning projects while providing an emotionally supportive environment. This article will identify characteristics of course activities that promote peer teaching and learning. Two student examples of a three-component peer teaching module will be highlighted along with the grading rubric. This article also describes an assignment module that was offered in a face-to-face second-year course in a professional allied health program. These assignment guidelines could also be utilized in general education courses and upper level courses in various colleges within the university. The peer teaching and learning model could also encourage student engagement in online synchronous or asynchronous learning.
Author Biography
Cindy Hayden is an Associate Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy in the College of Health sciences at Eastern Kentucky University. She received her Doctorate in Health Education from A. T. Still University and has been teaching at EKU for nine years. Her research interests in the area of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning include interactive quizzes, critical reading, and peer teaching and learning. Dr. Hayden also has research interests in chronic pelvic pain and hand therapy.
Cheryl Carrico, MS, OT/L, is a licensed occupational therapist and Ph.D. candidate in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. Her current research investigates the experience and effects of meditation for people with impaired attention due to stroke or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Since 2018, she has served as Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at Eastern Kentucky University. In the decade prior to that, she was an occupational therapy research specialist at the University of Kentucky’s Stroke and Spinal Cord Injury Neurorehabilitation Research Lab, which studies non-invasive neuromodulation to enhance outcomes of upper extremity motor training for adults with impaired movement function.
Cassie Ginn graduated from Eastern Kentucky University in 2011 with a master’s in occupational therapy. Her professional experience includes working in inpatient rehabilitation on a specialized brain injury unit. Cassie has a specialty certification and brain injury rehabilitation (CBIS) and has experience with various technologies; BIONESS H200 and RT300 which she has worked to train other therapists on. Additionally, she is a DPAM’s approved supervisor in Kentucky. In 2018, Cassie received her clinical doctorate (OTD) from Creighton University, and shortly thereafter joined the faculty at Eastern Kentucky University.
Alexis Felber received a bachelor's degree in occupational science at Eastern Kentucky University and is currently a master’s student in the occupational therapy program at Eastern Kentucky University. After graduation, her hope is to start her own practice and offer the services her small hometown desperately needs and deserves.
Shelby Smith is currently a student at Eastern Kentucky University working on her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. In years prior, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Exercise Science from Bellarmine University as well as a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Science from EKU. Her research experience includes working directly with the University of Louisville’s Kosair Charities Center for Pediatric NeuroRecovery at Frazier Rehabilitation.
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Social Constructivism in Learning: Peer Teaching & Learning
Social constructivism is an educational theory that can be applied in collaborative ways to facilitate student peer teaching and learning. University faculty may be unfamiliar with how to plan, structure, and instruct students in peer teaching and learning projects while providing an emotionally supportive environment. This article will identify characteristics of course activities that promote peer teaching and learning. Two student examples of a three-component peer teaching module will be highlighted along with the grading rubric. This article also describes an assignment module that was offered in a face-to-face second-year course in a professional allied health program. These assignment guidelines could also be utilized in general education courses and upper level courses in various colleges within the university. The peer teaching and learning model could also encourage student engagement in online synchronous or asynchronous learning.
