Paper Title
Peer Driven Learning: Utilization of Capstone Courses in Higher Education to Foster Student Leadership and Ethical Development
Abstract
The value of adopting innovative instructional techniques that guide students to be independent, autonomous and collaborative learners in order to best prepare them for success in life-long learning within their professional careers is a universal expectation in higher education. Research suggests that how teachers understand or conceive of teaching informs their teaching approach, indicating that a learner centered conception of teaching is necessary for quality teaching and learning to occur. It is the contention of these presenters that the word “educate”, derived from the Latin: “e-dūcere” which means “to lead out” clearly compels the educator to not only “pour in” content and knowledge but to literally lead and draw the learner out: to excite and engage the learner actively in discovery and critical thinking, allowing for concrete active application of knowledge. This paper will describe a process of employing two different collaborative student centered learning strategies used in a capstone courses: team teaching and peer driven learning.
Index Terms - Capstone Courses, Cooperative Learning, Peer Driven Learning, Team Teaching