Cognitive and social congruence in peer-assisted learning – A scoping review

Abstract

This scoping review presents an overview of cognitive and social congruence in peer assisted learning (PAL), as the positive effects of PAL have been shown to rely on these critical factors. The scoping review followed the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) statement. Databases were systematically searched for articles that focus on PAL and cognitive and social congruence. Participants of the studies included were medical, health science, polytechnic, law and paramedic students. Studies that assessed cognitive and social congruence by questionnaires with a 5-point Likert scale were regarded for meta-analytic pooling. Sixteen of 786 identified articles were included in the review, whereof 9 studies were considered for meta-analytic pooling. The meta-analytic pooling showed that tutees tend to see their student tutors as cognitively (Mweighted = 3.84; range of Mweighted = 2.69–4.56) and socially congruent (Mweighted = 3.95; range of Mweighted = 2.33–4.57). Further, characteristics of student tutors are summarized. This scoping review presents an overview and operationalization of cognitive and social congruence in PAL. Based on the presented meta-analytic pooling, cognitive and social congruence were found to represent relevant key factors in the PAL context. Thus, this theoretical background should be acknowledged as a core concept for tutorials within the medical curriculum.

Qualitative analysis of cognitive and social congruence in peer-assisted learning – The perspectives of medical students, student tutors and lecturers

“…Cognitive congruence was represented by the following categories: knowledge base, high expertise by student tutors, same language, effective knowledge transfer and trust in student tutors. For social congruence, we found trust in student tutors, relaxed learning atmosphere, asking questions directly, motivation, sharing social roles, empathic and supportive behaviour of the student tutors, sharing experiences and giving tips, understanding difficult topics, and enjoying the tutorial as associated categories As many studies have already reported, cognitive congruence has been based on the same knowledge framework and similar language between the students and student tutors [1,2,5,25,27]. The results of this study further showed that the student tutors had an advanced knowledge that focuses on relevant details for the students' learning [30].…”

“…A semi-structured interview guide was constructed for students, student tutors and lecturers based on previous evidence [1,9,26,27] [28]. First, questions were gathered by brainstorming.…”

Peer-Assisted Learning: A New Look at the Good Old Monitoring and Its Motivation from the Perspective of Student-Monitor

“…Since monitors and students participate in the same social groups, they are presumed to be "socially congruent" (Morris & Turmbull, 2004;Bugaj et al, 2019). Consequently, students feel more comfortable with monitors than with teachers (Trevino & Eiland, 1980;Ebert, 1999;Haag et al, 2008;Dantas, 2014;Loda et al, 2019), that is, they share interpersonal qualities that facilitate informal and empathic communication (Bugaj et al, 2019). Social congruence allows monitors to be more supportive of the needs, difficulties and expectations of students (Franco, 1998;Haag et al, 2008;Dantas, 2014;Loda et al, 2019).…”

“…Consequently, students feel more comfortable with monitors than with teachers (Trevino & Eiland, 1980;Ebert, 1999;Haag et al, 2008;Dantas, 2014;Loda et al, 2019), that is, they share interpersonal qualities that facilitate informal and empathic communication (Bugaj et al, 2019). Social congruence allows monitors to be more supportive of the needs, difficulties and expectations of students (Franco, 1998;Haag et al, 2008;Dantas, 2014;Loda et al, 2019). Some studies have shown that social and cognitive factors between monitors and students are crucial for aspects such as self-confidence, autonomy, clinical reasoning, self-assessment and peer collaboration (Damon & Phelps, 1989;Maheady, 1998;Solomon & Crowe, 2001;General Medical Council, 2003;Bugaj et al, 2019).…”

“…Knowing that anxiety is deleterious to the acquisition of new information and/or skills, students are reassured by monitors in a context of friendship, being much more affective and relaxed than in formal classes (Dantas, 2014). Several studies have stated that social congruence can also be reflected by monitors encouraging their students to actively participate in the class, give feedback, take risks, and ask questions (Masetto, 1975;Escovitz, 1990;Goldsmith, 2006;Loda et al, 2019). Monitoring thus enables the teaching methodology to be adapted according to the students' needs, allowing doubts to be flexibly and spontaneously remedied, and it is up to the monitor to explore the different options of verbal and visual communication available (Topping, 1996), in addition to communicating informally.…”