In response to both my own desire for professional development
and candidates’ desires for more support, in 2012 I began to
coordinate a peer-to-peer learning group for creative writing
research degree students at RMIT University. Still going strong
over three years later, the group brings together creative practice
higher degree by research (HDR) candidates working in areas such
as prose fiction and nonfiction, screenwriting, poetry and digital
narratives. In the context of existing literature on peer-to-peer
learning in the HDR space, the group is somewhat unique in that
a range of academics from across the host School of Media and
Communication supervise the group’s members, rather than them
all being my own candidates. My role in the group is that of a
facilitator, guiding an activity that complements rather than
replaces the more traditional supervisor-candidate model of
supervision. In this way, the group seeks to re-distribute and
enhance the experience of HDR candidates, adding value to their
experience of research training through opportunities to
collaborate and critique, and through high levels of
encouragement from their peers, to present and publish their
work, and to work towards a more timely completion. This article
draws on the author’s experiences of facilitating such a group to
discuss the benefits of peer-to-peer learning for creative practice
research degrees broadly, and for screen production research
degrees specifically. Exploring areas such as collaboration, critique
and the building of a community of peers, the article outlines a
range of strengths and weaknesses in leading a peer-to-peer
learning group at this level. By drawing on the group’s activities
and reflections from some of its members, the article also seeks to
provide guidance to supervisors and candidates working on
screen production research degrees who are looking for ways to
enhance how they offer and experience research training.