A new organization of school-based education (SBE, i.e. practicum) in Initial Teacher Education in Sweden has lead to changes on how practice should be structured in order to provide prerequisites for collaboration between ITE students. The aim of this study is to explore what ITE students and supervisors perceive as necessary preconditions in order to for peer learning to take place during SEB in this new organization where placing students in groups of three to six has been one of the arrangements used.
The research questions are here specified to learning within groups of students and are:
1. What are the pre-requisites and implications for peer-learning during practice in ITE?
3. What are the drivers and barriers for peer learning as a reciprocal phenomena?
ITE is similar to many other professions regarding apprenticeship. These learning communities are often defined as cultural practices that consist of practitioners belonging to the same area of work (Roth & Lee, 2006). What can be seen as a noticeable difference in comparison to regular apprenticeships, however, is the highlighting of peer learning where fellow ITE students are to attain prerequisites to evaluate and discuss shared lessons.
I am currently adapting the theory of peer learning as to what it encloses. Peer learning enfolds benefits of practicing interaction during teacher education where a supportive collaboration between equals creates opportunities to enhance student´s relational skills before entirely approaching the profession. The informal setting within teacher education allows students to improve their reflecting skills through trial and error (Martin & Double,1998). Studies show advantageous results concerning peer learning among student teachers such as empowering student teachers to become active learners in reciprocal teacher and observer situations (Driscoll, Parkes, Tilley-Lubbs, Brill & Pitts Bannister,2009; Zwart, Wubbels, Bergen, Bolhuis, 2009).
Evidence is also shown in research of student teachers, that they become more eager to absorb new ideas and raise issues with supervisors when collaborating with peers. Also, interview data illustrate that thorough preparation, explicit purposes and high expectations of peer learning are asked for, as well as expectations of how supervisors are to understand what dispositions that are required (Sorensen, 2014). Additionally, experiences allow students to bring upon knowledge from earlier peer coaching situations when later working alone in class and lead to student teachers enhancing their abilities to organize and manage class situations. This by adapting an increased flexibility and becoming less self-conscious in their working situations, opening up to ideas and plans from peers and also being more tolerant to criticism (Vacilotto & Cummings, 2007).
Student teachers who learn through organized contemplation on their experiences and reflections with peer students, initiate an establishment of their own professional knowledge (Korthagen, Loughranb & Russel, 2006). However, teacher educators, as well as supervisors, should be alert to the complexities of peer learning and should address student teachers in order to enhance their awareness of these facts (Boud, Cohen & Sampson, 2001; J. Grangeat & Gray, 2008; Wei, Darling-Hammond, Andree, Richardson, Orphanos, 2009; ). Also, in order to enhance the effectiveness of peer coaching from supervisors, there also needs to be formal oversight and support as to address problems such as scheduling for peer learning, inequity between ITE students and the lack of skills to provide relevant feed back (Gardner, 2007; Hsiu-Lien, 2010, Riese, 2012; Scherer, 2012 ).
A similar picture is shown in the results of a first study encompassing student teachers, that more than half of the participants surfaced positive feelings at the idea of being several students and spoke of aspects such as being able to support each other and having someone to exchange and reflect ideas with.