The semester flew by! I mentioned in some of my other blogs that at the beginning of the semester, I did not feel prepared at all to be a peer mentor. Now that the semester is coming to an end, I feel a lot more prepared! I do not know why but I have always felt like my peer mentors from the past knew everything. I probably thought this because they were well prepared, organized, and older. The main thing that I got from the past and returning peer mentors was that it is ok to not know everything and you will not be prepared for every situation that comes up.
Peer mentors are meant to be liaisons for the Hixson program and the University. We are equipped to know which situations we can handle and which ones we need to ask for help with. We now know how to refer others to resources that can help them a lot more than we could. In the fall, I will use the information given to us from this semester to handle situations and to make the class fun and informative.
The past peer mentors brought to light something that I have not considered before, every class is different. The class will be made up with different individuals with an array of personalities. I am very excited to see who will be in my section in the fall and I am probably just a little bit more excited to see who I will be co-leading with!
Monday, April 28, 2014
Monday, April 21, 2014
Peer Education Programs in Higher Education
Judging by many people's input in the last class period, almost all of us have had a peer mentor that may have not been up to par. The best thing we can do is learn from the mistakes of these mentors. I'm sure that everyone may have also had a peer mentor that he or she really liked and found him or her to be very helpful.
I had a peer mentor in my learning community, WISE, that really helped me a lot. My mentor met with me individually once a month to check in on me and she helped me with any questions I had. At each meeting she had me bring a list of SMART goals to discuss with her. She was easy to get a hold of and was always willing to help. We also met in a group about twice a month. At the group meetings, she was very organized and always had fun activities for us to do. I became good friends with a lot of the people in my learning community because my peer mentor made it fun to be involved. I wrote about my experience because she possessed a lot of qualities that I believe a good peer mentor should have.
Resources are something peer mentors can utilize in order to help out themselves and their mentees. Universities are indirectly successful because of peer mentors and there are a lot of peer mentor programs here at ISU. With all of this programs, it is safe to bet that there are a lot of resources available for mentors to utilize. In fact, peer mentors serve as resources for other students.
When I was a freshman, I know that if I had a question or needed help that I would have gone to a peer mentor before I would go to a different person or resource. Mentors are students just like their mentees which makes going to them more comfortable. Mentors are also more likely to have gone through similar situations as their mentess.
I hope that my mentees next semester will feel comfortable with coming to me for help or questions. I want to make the class fun but I also want the freshmen to gain information. As a mentor, we create the classroom environment. We decide if we want to be helpful or not by the qualities we display like being organized, available, and interested.
I had a peer mentor in my learning community, WISE, that really helped me a lot. My mentor met with me individually once a month to check in on me and she helped me with any questions I had. At each meeting she had me bring a list of SMART goals to discuss with her. She was easy to get a hold of and was always willing to help. We also met in a group about twice a month. At the group meetings, she was very organized and always had fun activities for us to do. I became good friends with a lot of the people in my learning community because my peer mentor made it fun to be involved. I wrote about my experience because she possessed a lot of qualities that I believe a good peer mentor should have.
Resources are something peer mentors can utilize in order to help out themselves and their mentees. Universities are indirectly successful because of peer mentors and there are a lot of peer mentor programs here at ISU. With all of this programs, it is safe to bet that there are a lot of resources available for mentors to utilize. In fact, peer mentors serve as resources for other students.
When I was a freshman, I know that if I had a question or needed help that I would have gone to a peer mentor before I would go to a different person or resource. Mentors are students just like their mentees which makes going to them more comfortable. Mentors are also more likely to have gone through similar situations as their mentess.
I hope that my mentees next semester will feel comfortable with coming to me for help or questions. I want to make the class fun but I also want the freshmen to gain information. As a mentor, we create the classroom environment. We decide if we want to be helpful or not by the qualities we display like being organized, available, and interested.
Sunday, April 13, 2014
Ethics and Strategies for Good Practice
When I think of ethics, my mind immediately goes to the business world. I guess I do not really think about the ethics involved for being a good student or person. As a peer mentor, I will come across situations where I will need to use good ethics to get through the situation. Some times doing the right thing is not always the easiest but in the end a person will be glad he or she did do the right thing. I believe that all the peer mentors do use good practices and have good morals. The book had great guidelines to help us use our morals to so we can practice good ethics.
The situations we came up with in class when Chelsee was leading discussion made me really think about what I would do next year if these situations came up. Some of the situations were easier to handle than others like social media. For me, the hardest situation would have to be dealing with someone I do not like. Generally, I tend to like almost every person I meet so I do not feel like this situation would come up but since I do not have a lot of experience working with people I do not like, handling the situation might be hard. It is difficult to try hide your dislike of someone but as a peer mentor I will have to treat everyone equally and with respect. The way I would approach this situation would be to find the good qualities that person may possess and to try not to focus on the bad qualities. If I am still having difficulties, I would go talk to one of our supervisors to see what I could do to either fix the situation or to leave it.
As the semester is winding down, I feel like I am a lot more prepared to be a peer mentor than I was at the beginning of the semester. I feel that the situations we do in class are one of the best ways to prepare ourselves for the fall semester.
The situations we came up with in class when Chelsee was leading discussion made me really think about what I would do next year if these situations came up. Some of the situations were easier to handle than others like social media. For me, the hardest situation would have to be dealing with someone I do not like. Generally, I tend to like almost every person I meet so I do not feel like this situation would come up but since I do not have a lot of experience working with people I do not like, handling the situation might be hard. It is difficult to try hide your dislike of someone but as a peer mentor I will have to treat everyone equally and with respect. The way I would approach this situation would be to find the good qualities that person may possess and to try not to focus on the bad qualities. If I am still having difficulties, I would go talk to one of our supervisors to see what I could do to either fix the situation or to leave it.
As the semester is winding down, I feel like I am a lot more prepared to be a peer mentor than I was at the beginning of the semester. I feel that the situations we do in class are one of the best ways to prepare ourselves for the fall semester.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Using Campus Resources and Referral Techniques
This week we learned about resources and how to refer students to a resource. I use resources all the time without thinking about them as a resource. I have learned to use different resource through mentors, advisers, and other students. This week we are given different situations and questions about the situations.
The situation I am choosing to blog about is the situation of Andrea and her grades.
Andrea has a couple of midterms due to an underlying factor, her friend had passed away in a car accident. I believe this situation is urgent because she needs someone to talk to and the accident is negatively affecting her academic performance. She is also probably experiencing some type of depression. Some questions I can ask to better understand could be when the accident happened and if she has talked to others about the accident. The main concern right now should not be her grades but her mental well being. A resource that I think would benefit her would be referring her to talk to Debra, Alli, or Abby. The Student Counseling Services may also benefit the student. The next concern is the midterm grades so I would give information to her about SI and tutoring services so she can get her grades up. I can explain to her that the reason I am referring her to others to talk is because I have not gone through what she is going through and others who are qualified will be able to help her better than I could. To build the students confidence about the resource I could give examples of times I had to ask for help or I could tell them about friends who have used the resource and thought it was useful. To follow-up on the students progress I would email a time to meet the student after she met with the people from the resources and I could meet with her after class to check in on her.
I liked having a blogging prompt this week because it allowed me to think of situations I might face next semester as a peer mentor.
The situation I am choosing to blog about is the situation of Andrea and her grades.
Andrea has a couple of midterms due to an underlying factor, her friend had passed away in a car accident. I believe this situation is urgent because she needs someone to talk to and the accident is negatively affecting her academic performance. She is also probably experiencing some type of depression. Some questions I can ask to better understand could be when the accident happened and if she has talked to others about the accident. The main concern right now should not be her grades but her mental well being. A resource that I think would benefit her would be referring her to talk to Debra, Alli, or Abby. The Student Counseling Services may also benefit the student. The next concern is the midterm grades so I would give information to her about SI and tutoring services so she can get her grades up. I can explain to her that the reason I am referring her to others to talk is because I have not gone through what she is going through and others who are qualified will be able to help her better than I could. To build the students confidence about the resource I could give examples of times I had to ask for help or I could tell them about friends who have used the resource and thought it was useful. To follow-up on the students progress I would email a time to meet the student after she met with the people from the resources and I could meet with her after class to check in on her.
I liked having a blogging prompt this week because it allowed me to think of situations I might face next semester as a peer mentor.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Strategies for Acedemic Success
I love Iowa State and I have never felt like I went to the wrong school. I feel at home when I am in Ames. The only time I felt a little unsure about my choose was when I decided I wanted to get a nursing degree. Iowa State does not have a nursing program and I discovered, while at college, that nursing was my calling. I worked through my feelings and did some research and found a program to get a bachelors in nursing after I graduate from Iowa State. Going to Iowa State will not be a waist of my time because the program requires a bachelors degree before being admitted into the program. Most of my friends at Iowa State felt the same way as me so, I guess I did not think people dropped out or wanted to leave as often as they do. As a peer mentor, I help the students who may feel that maybe Iowa State isn't the place for them. I realize that Iowa State is not the place for everyone and college in general is not for everyone.
The birthday card activity made me realize the affect positive encouragement had on my ability to make the card. The encouragement made me feel like my card actually looked decent and my ideas were for the card were good. I can use positive encouragement to help my students in the Fall accomplish their goals.
I thought about the affects of external and internal motivation. I have a hard time doing homework when my roommates are sitting together talking or watching TV. I want to join them but I know that I need to get my work done. I need to work on my internal motivation for instances like this but I feel that internal motivation helps me more than external motivation because after I finish my work I feel great. External motivation is always helpful but I feel it only goes so far. I have to motivate myself in order to get something accomplished especially if the task is something I do not really like. The freshmen Hixsons will need external motivation from us, the peer mentors, and others like family and friends.
The birthday card activity made me realize the affect positive encouragement had on my ability to make the card. The encouragement made me feel like my card actually looked decent and my ideas were for the card were good. I can use positive encouragement to help my students in the Fall accomplish their goals.
I thought about the affects of external and internal motivation. I have a hard time doing homework when my roommates are sitting together talking or watching TV. I want to join them but I know that I need to get my work done. I need to work on my internal motivation for instances like this but I feel that internal motivation helps me more than external motivation because after I finish my work I feel great. External motivation is always helpful but I feel it only goes so far. I have to motivate myself in order to get something accomplished especially if the task is something I do not really like. The freshmen Hixsons will need external motivation from us, the peer mentors, and others like family and friends.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
ISCORE
The Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity (ISCORE) was an event I heard about last year but I did not really know what it was all about, even though it's in the long title, so I did not attend. This year, I went to the conference and I actually really enjoyed the experience. I believe the reason I did not attend last year was due to a fear of listening to people blame other races for things that happened to their race. The sessions I went to did not have any aspects of blame in their presentations.
The session I attended first was Addressing a Colorblind Approach in Schools. Before college, I believed that being "colorblind" was a good thing. I have learned through out the past two school years that the colorblind approach causes more harm than good. By saying that you are colorblind, you are stating that white is the normal and instead of seeing a person for who they are. Race and Ethnicity makes us who me are whether we like it or not. Other people should embrace and celebrate different races and ethnicity because it brings diversity. The speakers discussed situations between staff and students, students to students, and staff to staff interactions in the Ames Middle School that have come up over time due to race. The speakers developed a program to embrace race and to educate staff on the most beneficial ways to do embrace diversity.
The second session I attended was Fly in the Buttermilk. I really liked this session. The speakers, one which is a friend of mine, informed the audience about the affects of integration and discrimination on African Americans at Iowa State through out history. The speakers had people from the audience tell their stories of discrimination here on campus. The stories really affected me because I did not realize that discrimination is still a really big problem here at Iowa State and its not just students contributing to this problem. I believe that since I am a white person I do not see discrimination as often as some people from other races might and I have not felt discriminated against because of my race. People with privilege tend to not know they have it.
The information I gained from these sessions will help me not only be a good peer mentor, but also a better person. The sessions made we realize just because we do not see the problem all the time does not mean it does not exist or that it is just a small problem. Diversity should be embraced and not hidden or discouraged!
The session I attended first was Addressing a Colorblind Approach in Schools. Before college, I believed that being "colorblind" was a good thing. I have learned through out the past two school years that the colorblind approach causes more harm than good. By saying that you are colorblind, you are stating that white is the normal and instead of seeing a person for who they are. Race and Ethnicity makes us who me are whether we like it or not. Other people should embrace and celebrate different races and ethnicity because it brings diversity. The speakers discussed situations between staff and students, students to students, and staff to staff interactions in the Ames Middle School that have come up over time due to race. The speakers developed a program to embrace race and to educate staff on the most beneficial ways to do embrace diversity.
The second session I attended was Fly in the Buttermilk. I really liked this session. The speakers, one which is a friend of mine, informed the audience about the affects of integration and discrimination on African Americans at Iowa State through out history. The speakers had people from the audience tell their stories of discrimination here on campus. The stories really affected me because I did not realize that discrimination is still a really big problem here at Iowa State and its not just students contributing to this problem. I believe that since I am a white person I do not see discrimination as often as some people from other races might and I have not felt discriminated against because of my race. People with privilege tend to not know they have it.
The information I gained from these sessions will help me not only be a good peer mentor, but also a better person. The sessions made we realize just because we do not see the problem all the time does not mean it does not exist or that it is just a small problem. Diversity should be embraced and not hidden or discouraged!
Monday, March 10, 2014
The Three-in-One Activities Post
The class on Thursday was about leading groups effectively. The book gave great ideas to get a group to work together while being productive. I really liked the different table setups the book gave for different situations. I also liked the different methods one could use to approach conflict within a group. Matt and Nikki did a great job with the activity for group problem solving. I liked listening to the different situations and solutions.
Problem solving with individuals was the chapter that we went over during the retreat. The chapter discussed different ways to approach the problem and how to set up goals. Brooke and Sam also had a great activity that had us work in groups to make a positive goal and a SMART goal. I liked the activity because I usually do not write down my goals so it was a good practice.
The icebreakers during the retreat were a lot of fun! I learned a lot about the other peer mentors during these different activities. I believe activities like the icebreakers are very beneficial because we learn a lot of things that we probably would not know about each other otherwise. When you better understand a person, it is easier to work with him or her because you know where that person is coming from. I could use theses icebreakers in the Fall to get to know the incoming students.
Problem solving with individuals was the chapter that we went over during the retreat. The chapter discussed different ways to approach the problem and how to set up goals. Brooke and Sam also had a great activity that had us work in groups to make a positive goal and a SMART goal. I liked the activity because I usually do not write down my goals so it was a good practice.
The icebreakers during the retreat were a lot of fun! I learned a lot about the other peer mentors during these different activities. I believe activities like the icebreakers are very beneficial because we learn a lot of things that we probably would not know about each other otherwise. When you better understand a person, it is easier to work with him or her because you know where that person is coming from. I could use theses icebreakers in the Fall to get to know the incoming students.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)