Abstract
College Fellows have consistently reported that they have found their participation in Peer Review Groups (PRGs) to be a valuable experience, even with the acknowledgement that some PRG experiences are difficult. This raises the question of what is it about the functioning of PRGs that is valued.
The origins of PRGs (in the Psychotherapy Section in 1991) is linked to their current functioning, which is then considered, using a complexity theory perspective, to show how these groups embody aspects of adult and professional learning, as understood in current educational thinking, which may explain why they are valued by Fellows.
Conceptualising learning in complexity theory terms requires a shift in perspective from the traditional view of learning as a linear intake of information. Seeing PRGs as complex adaptive systems, then, has significance in terms of their requirements in order to function, how they can be evaluated, and what they can and cannot be expected to do. What this means for the future of the College's PRGs is then considered.