Advancing peer learning with learning analytics and artificial intelligence

Peer learning is a promising instructional strategy, particularly in higher education,
where increasing class sizes limits teachers’ abilities to effectively support students’
learning. However, its use in a traditional way is not always highly effective, due
to, for example, students’ lack of familiarity with strategies such as peer feedback.
Recent advancements in educational technologies, including learning analytics and
artificial intelligence (AI), offer new pathways to support and enhance peer learning.
This editorial introduces a special issue that examines how emerging educational
technologies, specifically learning analytics, AI, and multimodal tools, can be
thoughtfully integrated into peer learning to improve its effectiveness and outcomes.
The six studies featured in this issue present key innovations, including the successful
application of AI-supported peer assessment systems, multimodal learning analytics
for analyzing collaborative gestures and discourse, gamified online platforms, social
comparison feedback tools and dashboards, group awareness tools for collaborative
learning, and behavioral indicators of peer feedback literacy. Collectively, these
studies show how these technologies can scaffold peer learning processes, enrich
the quality and uptake of peer feedback, foster engagement through gamification,
promote reflective and collaborative learning, and address peer feedback literacy.
However, the issue also identifies underexplored gaps, such as the short-term nature
of many interventions, insufficient focus on the role of teachers, limited cultural and
equity considerations, and a need for deeper theoretical integration. This editorial
argues for a more pedagogically grounded, inclusive, and context-sensitive approach
to technology-enhanced peer learning—one that foregrounds student agency,
long-term impact, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The contributions of this special
issue provide insights to guide future research, design, and practice in advancing
peer learning through educational technologies.