Supporting student integration by implementing peer teaching into environmental studies

ABSTRACT

The benefits of peer teaching have been intensively explored. However, there is still a lack of research in relation to student integration in higher education. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between peer teacher interaction and students’ experiences of components of integration in the study programme. This comprises student and teacher interaction and support as well as identification with the programme. In addition, the aim is to explore how the students experience peer teachers as effecting their integration into the programme, and to explore how they visualise the relationship between students, teachers and peer teachers as part of the programme. Peer teaching was implemented in an introductory course in Environmental Sciences, in which the peer teachers were responsible for organising and teaching the course. The study was conducted with a mixed-method approach combining questionnaire data (N = 115), open-ended experiences (N = 80) and sketches (N = 80) done by the students participating in the course. The results show that peer teaching affected student integration in several ways. Practical implications and future research are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Peer teaching
• student Integration
• student-teacher interaction
• higher education

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Henna Asikainen

Henna Asikainen is a senior lecturer in university pedagogy with a PhD degree in university pedagogy. She is also a docent of university pedagogy. She has done a lot of work in improving teaching and learning both nationally and internationally and in different disciplines. Her research areas focus on student wellbeing and its relation to learning, assessment in learning as well as interaction and communality at university.

Jaanika Blomster

Jaanika Blomster is University Lecturer in Aquatic Sciences with PhD degree in Marine Biology. She is doing research and teaching in Aquatic and Environmental Sciences, but is also interested in learning and the development of better learning environment. She carries out research on Educational Sciences, and has studied research-based teaching and the experiences of communality in a higher-education context. She is also member of the Teachers' academy of University of Helsinki and currently the director of the B.Sc. Programme in Environmental Sciences.

Timo Cornér

Timo Cornér is a doctoral candidate of educational sciences in University of Lapland. He is a master of arts in education from university of Helsinki. He currently researches older people’s relationships with media in connection with wisdom in his article-based dissertation.

Janna Pietikäinen

Janna Pietikäinen is vice-dean in charge of educational and bilingualism affairs and university lecturer in environmental studies. She received her PhD in forest sciences andhas further specialized in inter- and transdisciplinary teaching within sustainability science. She is active in developing teaching and learning methods and member of the distinguished Teachers’ academy at the University of Helsinki. Her research is focused in environmental issues within forestry, food production and teaching and education of environmental and sustainability sciences.