Reciprocal learning by experienced teachers and their educators on a master's degree programme in The Netherlands

Abstract

This article reports findings from a case study into reciprocal learning in tutor groups in a research‐based master's programme, run jointly by Roehampton University, London, UK and Fontys OSO, The Netherlands. The research was designed to investigate to what extent, and how, forms of reciprocal learning arose in tutor groups for experienced professionals in special and inclusive education without reciprocal learning being an explicit aim of the course. From the first‐year cohort, two units of analysis were chosen—each consisting of three students and their tutor. Triangulation was used in the form of a combination of data‐gathering methods and sources and there was a member check with the whole cohort. The results show that students and tutors had clear expectations of their learning process and that those expectations strongly influenced that process. The students, in particular, expected they would learn a lot from each other, and they did learn more than the tutors. These findings indicate that it would be worthwhile paying more explicit attention to reciprocal learning, and to the tutors' learning especially.