Peer Relationships in Learning
Peer Relationships in Learning
The Interactions among peers in the school environment is normal and form a vital part of the learning process in students. Peer relationship in the learning environment is vital as it allows students to seek input on various academic issues that they encounter in the learning process. Peer relationship can form the platform on which students motivate each other to work harder (Casas, 2009). If a peer group encourages each other to embrace education and study hard, then individuals in that peer group will appreciate learning. Peer relationship can be used as the platform to adopt positive attitudes and behaviors towards education and learning.
Unfortunately, not all peer relationship results to positive attitudes. Individuals in peer groups may influence each other to ignore their studies and engage in vices such as drug abuse. Instructors can rely on the reward and reinforcement strategy to encourage positive peer pressure. The reward strategy involves rewarding peer relationship that lead to positive behavior e.g. excellent academic performance (Casas, 2009). When the students see that they are being recognized for their efforts, they will be motivated to engage in more positive than negative acts. Other students will also be motivated to adopt the positive behavior that the peer group exudes. Instructors and parents should educate students on the negative and positive influences of peer relationship. The educators should encourage students to embrace positive behavior and ignore any negative pressure. When students are familiar with the negative and positive influences, then they will be capable of making the right choice. Educators can also help students build relationships among themselves. Engaging students in activities aimed at determining their similarities enable them to form closer relations with each other. Identifying similarities such as shared birth dates and shared, favorite colors enable students to form friendships with strong and healthy relations. In the end, the strong and healthy relations encourage positive peer pressure.
Reference
Casas, M. (2009). Enhancing student learning in middle school. Taylor & Francis
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