Creating a transitional learning space: Peer-led learning with social work students in community and voluntary sector placements in Northern Ireland

This intensive workshop will reflect on a multi-methods study evaluating the Peer Learning Bubble Model (MacDermott and Harkin-MacDermott, 2021). Peer learning approaches are rooted in constructivism and Vygotsky’s (1978) theory on socio-cultural learning and the Zone of Proximal Development; the social and cultural interactions and collaborations that occur between learners, helping them to make sense and meaning through active interaction and experiential learning with others. Central to this is students as active and equal learning partners participating in constructing knowledge.

The Model was found to be effective for participating students in improving practice confidence, digital competence, critical thinking skills and critical reflection, core attributes that social workers need in their career to improve practice, remove risks associated with routinisation of practice, co-create learning and understanding, and support better outcomes for service users.  This study uncovered the importance of creating a transitional learning space modelling the absence of traditional power dynamics and hierarchies associated with learning and assessment.

Implications for social work education include how trust develops in the process and students engage in collaborative learning, enhancing critical thinking skills, considering how real-world experiences can be analysed and understood.