1-190 - The Role of Peers in Learning across Distinct Life Stages

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Peers have been considered an important context in which students develop their academic prowess. Careful examination of peer dynamics and how peer influence operates across various stages of life will advance our understanding of the complex nature of social learning, and inform better educational policy and practice for diverse groups of learners. This symposium brings together four research projects that examine peer influences in distinct learning contexts ranging from pre-kindergarten classrooms with children of developmental language disorder, upper elementary collaborative small groups, linguistically diverse middle school classrooms, to college environments. Each study emphasizes a unique form of peer influence, including peer modeling and socialization of learning behavior, beliefs of academic competency, peer relationships, and peer networks. By looking across these four different projects representing diverse mechanisms through which the peer group influence students’ learning, we seek to stimulate intellectual dialogue concerning [1] the multidimensionality and multidirectionality of peer influence, [2] commonalities and differences in the roles of peers with respect to age and student characteristics (e.g., English learners), and [3] the challenges that educators in a range of academic contexts encountered in handling peer influences in the course of learning.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chairs

• Tzu-Jung Lin, Ohio State University

• Cecilia Cheung, University of California, Riverside

Individual Presentations

• Social Networks of Children with Developmental Language Disorder in Inclusive Preschool Programs - Presenting Author: Laura Justice, The Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Jing Chen, The Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Anna Rhoad-Drogalis, The Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Tzu-Jung Lin, Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Brook Sawyer, Lehigh University

• Friendship Effects on Socially Anxious Students’ Dialogue Patterns during Collaborative Small Group Discussions - Presenting Author: Jing Chen, The Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Tzu-Jung Lin, Ohio State University; Non-Presenting Author: Lynley Anderman, Ohio State University

• Peer Network Dynamics in Linguistically Diverse Middle School Classrooms: Associations with Students’ Academic Development - Presenting Author: Lauren Molloy Elreda, University of Virginia; Non-Presenting Author: Amanda Kibler, Oregon State University; Non-Presenting Author: Yin Gu, University of Virginia

• The Role of Peer Mindsets in Students’ Task Value and Performance: An Experimental Study - Presenting Author: Pamela Sheffler, University of California, Riverside; Non-Presenting Author: Cecilia Cheung, University of California, Riverside