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.
Monday, March 31, 2014
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.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Diversity Event
I went to the best diversity event, in my life this far, last Friday night. The speaker's voice was very pleasant to listen to and had a type of rhythm to it. I believe the speaker was pleasant to listen to because she is in the music business. The speaker was MC Lyte, the event was called Redefining Hip Hop Culture with Respect and Dignity. The event was part of the Annual Big XII Conference on Black Student Government.
Going in to this event I was not sure what to expect. MC Lyte talk about how music inspired her to become an artist. She believe that music is an art form that has been taken for granted. Hip Hop should be used as a vice to express yourself and your feelings. She explained to use that we need to find ourselves in order to become great leaders. MC Lyte also discussed things she had to overcome in order to be successful in the music industry while being true to herself. We need to see the potential in ourselves even when others do not see our potential.
I really like the fun environment at the event. She taught me a few things about the Hip Hop Culture.She grew up in an environment completely different from my own. As a peer mentor, I will need to keep in mind that not everyone is coming from the same background or lifestyle that I have come from. Understanding others will help me evolve as a person and will also allow me to better help others. I have the power to make my goals and dreams happen and I am the only one who can stop them.
Going in to this event I was not sure what to expect. MC Lyte talk about how music inspired her to become an artist. She believe that music is an art form that has been taken for granted. Hip Hop should be used as a vice to express yourself and your feelings. She explained to use that we need to find ourselves in order to become great leaders. MC Lyte also discussed things she had to overcome in order to be successful in the music industry while being true to herself. We need to see the potential in ourselves even when others do not see our potential.
I really like the fun environment at the event. She taught me a few things about the Hip Hop Culture.She grew up in an environment completely different from my own. As a peer mentor, I will need to keep in mind that not everyone is coming from the same background or lifestyle that I have come from. Understanding others will help me evolve as a person and will also allow me to better help others. I have the power to make my goals and dreams happen and I am the only one who can stop them.
Understanding Group Process
Group projects are a hit and miss for me. At times, I feel that I have benefited from working in a group. Other times, I had to do all the work for the project or people would fight about the minute details for the project. The times that I felt group projects benefited me the most were in science labs. I believe that science labs work well for group projects because the protocol is usually very well written so, the group follows the directions and there is usually a rubric. I know that it is important to be able to work in a group because almost every job requires some sort of group work.
I really liked the Lego activity we did in class. I did not think that there were roles while working in groups. The roles will allow for a project to be done in, hopefully, an efficient, organized manner. During the group project, I was the initiator. I was not very comfortable with the role because I had to come up with the ideas while others either agreed or questioned my ideas. I would say that my role in group project is usually the coordinator because I like help with the work but I do not like to be the one who initiates the project or ideas.
The group dynamics like the role each person will play, the atmosphere of the group, and good communication are just a few things that will benefit a group. As a peer mentor, I will be working in a group with others and I will have the students in my recitation work in groups. Understanding how groups work is very important in order to be able to help in a group and to help others whose group may be struggling.
The group dynamics like the role each person will play, the atmosphere of the group, and good communication are just a few things that will benefit a group. As a peer mentor, I will be working in a group with others and I will have the students in my recitation work in groups. Understanding how groups work is very important in order to be able to help in a group and to help others whose group may be struggling.
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