Knowledge Sharing among University Students: A Review of Current Practices

Abstract

This article provides a systematic exploration of approaches to knowledge sharing among students in universities by drawing on interdisciplinary literature. The importance of knowledge sharing between students is reviewed in relation to the current higher education landscape, especially in relation to graduate attributes and employability. A framework for the classification of arrangements for knowledge sharing is presented as a spectrum that ranges between formal and informal approaches. Group assessments and activities that formally incorporate knowledge sharing into the curriculum, peer learning activities that are located towards the middle of the proposed spectrum and a number of informal arrangements instigated by students for exchanging knowledge are explored at length. The benefits and challenges associated with these different arrangements and the obstacles to knowledge sharing that students may face are noted and some recommendations for harnessing knowledge sharing practices to improve students' success and satisfaction are offered.

Keywords: Knowledge Sharing, Universities, Peer Learning, Formalisation