Outside our board member @1L2P’s office at the MIT Media Lab.
P2PU is driven by three core values.
Peer learning: Underlying our work is the conviction that learning is a social activity. We believe that every person develops expertise through their own life experiences, that people learn when they share and connect with others, and that feedback is necessary in order to improve.
Community: P2PU is a community-centered project, which is reflected across our organization from learning circles to our governance model. We involve learners and collaborators in all stages of the design and delivery of our work, and believe that sustained learning communities are created through grassroots collaboration, not hierarchical mandates.
Equity: Equity in learning is only possible when we recognize education as a social good rather than a commodity. A prerequisite to this value is a commitment to working openly, leaving the commons better off than we found it. However, creating space for access is not enough. Systemic injustice means that access does not equal equity, and we must actively design for inclusion and accessibility at every step along the way.
By convening a group of learners who are interested in a similar topic, you’ve got the basis for an open, collaborative learning environment that has the the potential to be the support system many learners need. Learning circles can create a rich learning environment in which everyone simultaneously teaches and learns, acts and observes, speaks and listens. This exposes learners to new perspectives, provides an opportunity to develop useful social skills, and allows individuals to achieve something greater than they could have on their own.
Does this align with your values? What is missing?