Learning from Peers

In the following section, the ways in which students learn from their peers are presented, in order to elucidate this aspect of their learning experience and its influence on the de-velopment of the students’ skills in their domain.

5.2.2 Learning from Peers

As discussed in Chapter 2.5.2, learning from fellow students or learning from peers is defined as networks of learning relationships amongst students (Boud and Lee, 2005: 503). It is construed as a two-way reciprocal learning activity (Boud et al, 1999, 2001). In reciprocal peer learning, students act both as teachers and learners (Boud et al, 1999). Peer learning has considerable promise, as it helps students learn without requiring help from their instructors (Boud et al, 1999; Lea and Nicoll, 2002; and Boud and Lee, 2005). However, this learning approach has not been very popular amongst the AD students during the apprenticeship because of their lack of practical vocational skills and knowledge in their domain.

The results of the interviews suggest that many of the AD students did not learn from their peers as frequently as from their instructors because, as mentioned, they considered their fellow students equally lacking in vocational skills and knowledge in their domain. This was particularly true in the beginning of the apprenticeship programme. Their vocational skills and knowledge were not sufficient to allow for reciprocal learning amongst them. S3/IS and S8/HL explained:

“I have some time to share with my fellow students when I am doing a job task which I am in charge of, especially when we are near each other. I sometimes ask them. We ask each other. That’s it.... In the break, I just ask my instructor if I am not clear about a task [technical skill]”

(Interview, S3/IS November 15, 2011).

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“Well, I share with friends about something. For example, if he knows something better than me, I ask him. We share with one another, sir.”

(Interview, S8/HL November 21, 2011)

The quotations indicate that there is a very little interest on the part of S3/IS and S8/HL in sharing vocational skills and knowledge with their peers. S3/IS did seem confident about sharing technical skills with his peers, but he preferred to ask for detailed information from his instructor. The preference of S3/IS for his instructor’s explanation about some technical skills required for doing some tasks (especially tasks with high complexity) shows the importance of having sufficient experience and skills in order to share with others. As further explained by S3/IS, distance or familiarity between students are other factors that influence students’ peer sharing in the workplace. The latter, as Boud et al (1999) noted, can be a reason for S3/IS to share with his peers. In addition, as the job task was mainly given individually (each student is responsible for completing their own task), the student had no time to share vocational skills and knowledge with his peers.

As Ellstrom (2001, 2006b) noted, the type of work tasks on offer is another condition for whether a student feels it necessary to ask for information from their fellow students or instructors. S1/JA described his experience concerning this issue:

“Well, when I get confused and I do not know how to do a work task, I usually ask my instructor or a mechanic.”

(Interview, S1/JA November 15, 2011)

For a complicated task, for example, where extra technical skills are required, there is a greater possibility that students like S1/JA are more likely to ask for their instructors’ help, whereas for a normal routine (for example, cleaning and putting away mechanical tools tidily immediately after use) the need for help (both from students and instructors) decrease to the extent that the students no longer need it, especially when the task is already familiar to them.

In the garage, the students were more encouraged to do the easy work tasks individually rather than in a peer group. S2/ST expressed his experience regarding this issue:

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“If the job task is easy, for example, replacing the cross joint of a car, replacing stick seal oil, and including scrubbing car body, we are not encouraged to work with others”

(Interview, S2/ST November 15, 2011)

The quotation indicates that the complexity of job tasks (Higgs et al, 2005) contributes significantly to students’ need to learn from others. The more complex the job task the more likely students are to ask for help from instructors rather than from their fellow students (Smith, 2001). As learning in the workplace is situated learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991), the decisions the students take to ask for help is dependent on the complexity of the tasks and their experiences in handling similar kind of tasks previously. This situation is related by VT1/AD as follows:

“The level of trust a company has, especially a large-scale garage, in our students is extremely low. The instructor does not want to give full rein to students, especially with luxury cars. If students handle these and a mistake can happen, it results in a loss for the company.”

(Interview, VT1/AD November 14, 2011)

The analysis of the data suggests that the previous learning experiences of students heavily influenced the way they learned from their fellow students. Moreover, the more complex the job tasks the less likely the instructor was to entrust these to the students, or even if he entrusted them, it did not seem to involve peer sharing in such task. In such cases the instructor has an authority not to entrust the students with that particular task because it can be a loss for the company.

Learning from a fellow student was not only in the form of discussing or asking for information but also in observing the activity of fellow students. S3/IS expressed his experience about this issue as follows:

“Yes, sir. We usually ask one another. Besides, I often observe my fellow students doing their job task if I have no work task to do.”

(Interview, S3/IS November 15, 2011)

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The observations that S3/IS made, in the way he developed his skills, reflected his eagerness to share with his fellow students. This is because he used to observe his uncle in a small-scale motorbike workshop (see Appendix 4 – 3g). As Kolb (1984) and Dewey (1936) noted, an experience is something continuous, and this very much helped S3/IS to develop his interpersonal relationship with his fellow students. However, it did not seem to happen frequently, as he did the observations only during his leisure time. It is important to note that the IS garage (see Appendix 4 – 1e) where S3/IS followed his apprenticeship is a large-sized garage where more than 10 mechanics work. Thus, the opportunities for students like S3/IS to have adequate time to observe their fellow students (rather than experienced mechanics) for gaining knowledge is rare.