Peer Teaching & Learning

Peer Teaching & Learning supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism to come together and create their own learning environments. Participants are the faculty, administrators, and scholars. At Peer Teaching & Learning, we believe everyone has knowledge to share and that advanced learning is an empowering process that builds connection, friendship, and self-esteem.

Peer Teaching & Learning (PTL) was formed for the purpose of providing advanced learning opportunities for under-served populations worldwide, primarily people with disabilities. Celebrating ability, PTL reorients the experience of disability as a positive and unique life experience with the pursuit of lifelong learning as a noble goal.

Vision: The vision of Peer Teaching & Learning is to create and sustain a community of campuses for lifelong teaching and learning opportunities for adults who experience disability.

Mission: The mission of Peer Teaching & Learning is to empower persons who experience disability to take ownership of their educational experience, share their passions, build self-confidence, and expand meaningful relationships among their peers and in their communities.

PTL's educational philosophy and methodologies promote campus members taking ownership and stewardship of their campus. Participants are the creators and producers of their educational experiences and take on leadership opportunities as faculty, students, and administrative staff.

Peer Teaching & Learning (PTL) operates ten campuses in Vermont and one in western New Hampshire, providing educational opportunities for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism Granite United Way's Upper Valley region serves four PTL campuses in Lebanon, NH, and Bradford, Randolph, and Springfield, VT. 

Using a peer-to-peer educational model, PTL offers a unique curriculum that focuses on ability, not disability, and is based around an individual's interests and skills. Through partnerships with Human Service Agencies, community organizations, and the State of Vermont, PTL provides lifelong learning opportunities for approximately 200 people annually. We are based on a college model and use the structure and language of higher education. PTL offers two semesters of learning, plus a winter and summer interim. Classes meet at community colleges and at various community venues such as libraries, churches, or community centers. Central to PTL's methodology is peer-to-peer learning. Each term, students prepare and teach a class to the rest of the student body. This type of learning empowers students to become experts on a topic and teach their friends and community members. Throughout the process, students gain research and study skills, practice public speaking, and become more engaged in their communities. Students move forward at their own pace and the study is tailored to how they like to learn. Peer Teaching & Learning supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to come together and create their own learning environments. At Peer Teaching & Learning, we believe everyone has knowledge to share and that advanced learning is an empowering process that builds connection, friendship, and self-esteem.