I personally think peer (pair?) programming is not a very effective way to work or learn. I think it is far better for individuals to work on planning better (

I personally think peer (pair?) programming is not a very effective way to work or learn. I think it is far better for individuals to work on planning better (together) so they can work on atomic pieces of work independently. Having a dedicated mentoring session (like a 1:1 sync 2x a month with the principal architect) to go over what you're working on and learning from them is better. Both for your potential, and for overall productivity.