Learning Without a Teacher: Perceptions of Peer-to-Peer Learning Activities in Simulation Training

Abstract

This chapter reports from an experimental study carried out at University College Copenhagen. In the experiment, fifth-semester nursing students were subjected to an intensified simulation intervention, combined with supporting elements designed to increase collaborative and peer learning. One supporting element was a series of peer-to-peer sessions in which students in small groups trained technical nursing skills for mastery learning, e.g., duodenal tube placement. We describe the study and analyze how the students perceive strengths and weaknesses of the peer-to-peer format and how these perceptions seem to be linked to the students’ perceptions of learning and authority. We discuss how the method may be a positive addition to simulation training in nursing education and particularly how the role of the teacher should be conceived.