Seven Reasons to Create Peer Learning Processes

If you are reading Remarkable Results for the first time, please subscribe here to receive each weekly issue.? If you like what you read, please share it with others and invite them to subscribe.

Since before you started school, you learned from others.? You learned from your parents, of course, but from siblings, neighbors, most anyone around you.? You learned from observing and mimicking, and later by asking them questions or exploring new things together.? Learning from others - peer learning – was a natural and formative part of our life.

Then we went to school.? Peer learning didn’t stop, but it changed forever because we determined we were supposed to learn from the experienced person in charge.? While that role was critical then (and can remain so – whether in a class, as a mentor, from a book, or a YouTube explainer video), somewhere along the way we forgot just how important and powerful peer learning can be.??

In an upcoming article I will talk more about how we as individuals can get back to learning more effectively from peers, but here I want to talk about the organizational benefits you gain by tapping into this power by creating peer learning processes.

When you support peer learning within your organization, whether as a follow up to planned learning experiences, as a part of onboarding or job shadowing, or just as a culturally natural way learning happens in your organization, there are great benefits.? Here are seven things peer learning can do in your organization:

• Create ownership. It is one thing to sit in a workshop.? It is something else to talk with a peer about what you learned and what actions you will take. Talking tat through with a peer locks in and personalizes what is being learned.
• Create accountability.? Peer learning can easily lead to peer accountability.? Once I have ownership of what I have learned, another person – without the being my boss can urge, support and encourage me to make progress is natural in safe ways.
• Better results. Every organization wants people to be learning and growing. Peer learning is one of the best ways to ensure this growth is occurring.
• Increased relevance. Learning from external sources can be powerful, and often provides necessary new information and perspective.? But peer learning helps everyone put the learning into the context of individual work. Working together people are best able to put what they are learning into practice.
• Provides coaching practice.? While those engaged in peer learning may not realize it, they coaching each other. And since coaching skills are likely valued in your organization, this is a wonderful added benefit to supporting peer learning.
• Other organizational benefits. Beyond the learning benefits on this list, there are many other good reasons to support peer learning, including improvement to culture, retention, collaboration, relationships and more.
• It is cost-effective. It doesn’t cost much (if anything) for an organization (or an individual leader) to implement and support peer learning. Yet look at all the benefits!?

While peer learning can be an organic process, when the peers have common experiences, including any sort of planning instructional events, the learning can be more focused and often easier for people to start their conversations.

May I humbly suggest Virtual LeaderCon which continues today and tomorrow (Sept 18-19) as a cost-effective (it is free to attend) chance for your team members to learn from some true experts and with other learners around the world in our interactive online platform.? This could be the perfect chance to initiate and ignite learners in your organization to work together after the event to remember how powerful peer learning can be.

A version of this article was first posted on our blog

What Do You Think?

Share your thoughts in the comments – How have you implemented and supported peer learning in your organization?

My Favorite Post This Week

This Week’s Video